In a recent SLJ article titled “Make Way for Stories,” author Anita Silvey adds yet another voice to the debate about why juvenile picture book sales have declined. The author has experience in publishing, writing, and teaching. She doesn’t question the value of JPB. She states “they’re the perfect form to move children from what they have–visual acuity–to what they lack, verbal acuity.” So why the drop in sales?
She has found that older titles continue to sell very well. Why? She concludes that newer books have fewer words. Although great authors can tell a great story in 500 words or less–not all authors can. Silvey believes the prevailing philosophy in publishing is to get picture book authors to be as creative as possible with very few words. Older titles with more text give the authors the ability to develop a story. Because the stories are longer, the books can be read many times, with the reader or listener gaining a different appreciation of the content with each exposure. Also sentences are likely to be more complex, richer in language. She believes that a picture books with “an anemic amount of text” don’t satisfy the reader or the listener. This may be the reason why parents are forsaking picture books and moving on to chapter books and other more developed material.
As in everything else in life, there are trends in publishing. Anita Silvey believes that there are authors out there now that will revitalize the picture book market. The result will be better picture books and better sales.