Marketing to tweens

I always (mostly) feel so relieved after I hear from people who work for publishing houses. There seems to be, especially for people new to the library world, a fear of the publishing world. It's as if librarians are the good guys, so what does that make publishers? Well, in my opinion, they are good guys too. It seems that their mission is very similar to ours: get good books in the hands of people. It's really exciting. It's actually really inspiring and makes you realize how important every step of the book process is to the final goal. Librarians need the publishers and they need us too!

39 Clues

Unfortunately I am posting this late. I meant to do it while my reaction was still fresh. I was really excited about David Levithan's presentation on 39 Clues. I liked one thing he said in particular which was something along the lines of: "A book isn't confined to the paper pages, it's anything that enhances the story." This was his argument as to why 39 Clues works and why (I think more importantly) the series is legit and not just a marketing scheme. I came home really excited to tell Alex (my fifth grade teaching friend) that I had his curriculum all figured out! He just had to use 39 Clues! Well, that buzz has since, well, cooled off. I think that perhaps, Mr. Levithan is very good at his job.

Schooled

Though we we didn't talk about Schooled in today's class, I thought I would mention it as it has been on my mind. Of all the books we have read so far it reminded me most of Every Soul a Star. Both have do-gooder protagonists who have spent important developmental years living in a hyper-sheltered environment. They have grown up without TV, computers or even friends their own age. And both have extremely admirable outlooks on life and are patient, kind and thoughtful. My question is: what does this say about the authors' perceptions of tween society? The least judgmental characters we have yet encountered have been the two who have, if not never, RARELY, interacted with anyone their own age. I'm not sure about the answer, but it's something I can't stop thinking about. Maybe next week I can get some clarity from my classmates and teachers. :)

Kids read!

I thoroughly enjoyed the students from Little Red Schoolhouse. They were engaging, intelligent, thoughtful, mature and had just enough spunk and self-consciousness that I never even forgot they were 12. It was helpful to have them in a semi-formal setting. This allowed for more organized dialogue with an emphasis on turn-taking. We really had a chance to hear all of them and they seemed to take the opportunity seriously. It made me think hard about the differences and similarities between the students from LRS and those from PS 503 where I visited for my paper. These fifth-graders, also intellegent and thoughtful were crowded 25 deep into a windowless classroom with no school library. However, these kids also talked to me about their love of reading and interest in learning about new books. I guess it just goes to show that deep down, despite socioeconomic and cultural differences, all kids are created equal, and with the right encouragement, they also all love to read.