Millennial Publishing
From ChildLitWiki
A sea-change is happening in children’s book publishing. Though there were rumblings beforehand, it really began with Harry Potter, which made so much money that even those outside the arcane little world of children’s books sat up and took notice.
But J. K. Rowling’s success showed more than the possibility of fat profits. It expanded the boundaries of what was possible. In order to get children to read you didn’t have to pander to their basest instincts with tawdry R. L. Stine-style trash or gross-out humor that no real Talent in his or her right mind would stoop to. She showed that children were eager for rich, complex, lengthy literature, of a kind that any writer would be proud to produce, the kind that would provide an enjoyable challenge for both author and young reader. See here for more about what Rowling brings to children’s books.
The change continued with a reversal of the usual talent flow from books to movies, as movie screenwriters, directors, and producers began writing books for children. Major Talents, people like Clive Barker and Frank Cottrell Boyce, entered the field. And where authors of adult novels often floundered when attempting a children’s book, finding that doing it well was much harder than they imagined, many of these converts from the world of film nailed it on their first attempt.
Why have they succeeded where others have failed so miserably? Because those who work in movies and television have an ingrained understanding of two of the most necessary elements of 21st century children’s fiction -- plot and pacing. Their cinematic style is well-suited to the visual intelligence of the Digital Generation. Though many of these writers are arguably weaker in character development than their literary peers, they bring to children’s books a much needed jolt of energy.
Now, with The Looking Glass Wars, that cinematic sensibility is being brought to the promotion of a book as well. Take a look at the website: with its flash animation, trailer, commercial, soundtrack, games, media downloads, and even a related comic book series, it is indistinguishable from a movie website. There’s even a MySpace site. I say it’s about time. Children’s publishing is one of the few places where the need of commerce for profit can happily converge with the best interests of children, in this case to get them reading. In a country that can convince people they need quilted toilet paper, it has often seemed to me that publishers were averse to making money, as if it was somehow beneath them. But the more successful they are (as long as they are promoting real books and not pandering trash) the better it is for children.
Another trend converging with these, perhaps also borrowing from the cinematic world, is the reimagining of classic works of literature, but in children’s literature it has been much more successful than in movies. As Gregory Maguire did with ‘’Wicked’’, providing a grounded backstory for characters in The Wizard of Oz, others have done for Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, and even ‘’Paradise Lost.’’
So, is this trend a good thing? By and large I think it is. These millennial novels, tightly written and fast-paced, are not the literary masterpieces that dominated the field in earlier eras. On the other hand, more actual children are voluntarily reading them, eagerly seeking them out, preordering and tracking the progress of their favorites. There’s an excitement about books among children these days that is something new. And unlike the R. L. Stine type of books that were touted a decade or two ago as a way to get reluctant readers to read, these books are well written literature that no teacher, librarian, or parent has to think twice about recommending.
There will always be a place, I hope, for the literary children’s book, and they are the ones that will most likely go on winning the major awards. But these new types of books will dominate sales because their purchase will be pushed by children, not adults. And that’s not a bad thing. -- Matt Berman
