When children have something fun to read, it makes the entire aspect of reading more enjoyable. A survey from 2006 by The Kids and Family Reading Report found that 51 percent of Harry Potter readers ages 5 to 17 years old said they did not read books for fun before they began reading Harry Potter, but have been doing so since.
Lin Oliver, executive director of the Society of Children’s Book Authors and Illustrators, explained to Fortune that twenty years ago, children’s book publishers sold mainly to librarians and teachers. However, that changed ten years ago when state funding took a serious hit and publishers stepped up their marketing to kids and parents via bookstores.
“Children’s publishing became more of a business with breakout hits,” Oliver told the source. Books with graphic elements, like the handwritten text and cartoons of the Wimpy Kid books, became especially popular. “They are not like book report books,” Oliver said.
The children’s and young adult book market posted sales of $845 million the first six months of 2012 – up by 41 percent from the same period in 2011, according to a survey by the Association of American Publishers.
Jeff Kinney, author of the Wimpy Kid series, started out with his cartoons being published on Pearson’s – an educational publisher – website. After 20 million unique visitors in the first year and a half, Kinney attended a comic book convention to try and translate it to print. Abrams, which specializes in illustrated books, agreed to publish it.
The successful crossover for Kinney is another example of how physical material continues to be valued in a digital world. Even if a company doesn’t print books, any document or pamphlet can be of great importance. Binding equipment and laminating machines can ensure that printed products are professional and can withstand the test of time.
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