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It’s hard to keep up with all the latest news and discussions about children’s books and publishing, so I’m helping out by doing it for you. Here are a few articles that caught my attention, from children’s books in translation to the latest children’s imprint closing.
Middle Grade Book Club Observations
I love this X thread from middle grade author Carlie Sorosiak, who runs a middle grade book club at her local indie bookstore. She lists ten observations about middle grade reading preferences based on her experiences leading the book club that she hopes will help children’s book professionals. Some of her observations are things I expected: kids love book series, especially longer ones, don’t much care for older “classics,” and tend to get bored by award-winning middle grade (sorry, award judges, y’all aren’t kids). But some of her observations were more surprising. I’m overjoyed to hear her book club kids love novels-in-verse. I’ve been seeing more of those published lately (and adore them), and I’m so glad they’re going to find an audience. She also says they like chunky graphic novels that have a solidly complex storyline, which makes my heart happy. But, while her kids don’t like to be pandered too and enjoy complexity, they’re turned off by too many subplots.
I wonder if this indicative of middle grade reading trends in general, or, if because these are kids in a book club, they’re tastes might be a bit different than the average middle grade reader?
Saying Goodbye to Algonquin Young Readers
Hachette imprint Algonquin Young Readers (AYR) has officially closed as of September 23, 2024. School Library Journal writer Andrew Bauld traces its history in this piece, from its launch in 2011 to its many successes and its ultimate, baffling closure. While it’s the third children’s imprint to close in the last 15 months, AYR was making money for Hachette and seemed like a successful, though small, imprint. Many are confused about its closure. Books published by AYR include The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill, Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez, and one of my child’s favorites, the new chapter books series The Kids in Mrs. Z’s Class. AYR will be folded into Little Brown Young Readers (LBYR), though some authors are worried about becoming lost amid LBYR’s much larger publishing list. While AYR published about 15 books a year, LBYR publishes around 200.
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