Most of our visitors who registered are reading with kids ages 3 to 8. In that audience, "picture books" is the most common answer, but that covers a broad array of subjects. Animal stories and adventure are neck-and-neck for second place. In houses where families are reading with kids in the 9 to 12 audience, adventure beats out fantasy (though not by much). I need to add, though, that there are lots of registered readers who have no preference for a genre.
Do you think there’s a saturation of the fantasy genre at the moment, or simply enough to meet the demand?
The short answer is yes. One of my parent reviewers asked that I please give him a break from the fantasies. He wants to be able to have enough diversity in what he's reading to give each book a fair review. And when you have too many fantasy stories together they begin to read like they're using the same formula.
That said, for the reader who loves fantasies, there are some great ones out there. We created a page on our site to list some of the really good books we've found.
I am pleased to report that we have gotten some (what I think are cool) historical fiction novels lately. I can't wait to see those reviews come back.
The Harry Potter series has been wonderful for spurning creativity and getting (and keeping) kids reading, and there seems to be a rush to become the next J.K. Rowling. As a former editor, I think that there may be times when authors or publishers rush to get something out there so they don't miss that "hot" genre. So sometimes, I think they push too hard or forget to take a step back and get a fresh look at what they've got. I've seen some books that are being touted as a series in Book One. It seems to me that if you're holding out information for the next book, you could be shortchanging your readers on the first one.
Article comments
1 - Susan Berger
This is a wonderful article!
I would like to add a comment to why children struggle to read.
I was a late reader. (I am now a bookaholic)I fould that large print and wide spacing between lines made a big difference.
I loved the childhood of famous Americans series because it had those attributes. I hated the Landmark Biography series because the print was too small and my eyes kept sliding to the wrong line.
A friend of mine recently came up with a way to improve their child's reading skill and I would like to pass it on to as many people as possible. While watching TV, they keep the subtitles turned on. By the time her youngest started Kindergarden, he was reading at a third grade level. You get used to the subtitles very quickly and it is a big help.
2 - Mayra Calvani
Thanks for sharing, Susan! That's a great tip!