Tianjin, April 3 (Xinhua) -- With the rapid development of the children's book industry, the "children's book corner" of many bookstores has become a "popular area." However, although there are many kinds of children's books, you can also find some problems by opening the inner pages of some books. Some are indeed classics, but they seem to lag behind the times; although some are "new songs", the quality is not satisfactory. For readers, although the range of choices is wider, sometimes it is still worrying to pick a few high-quality children's books with bright content and children's favorite reading.
There are thousands of children's books on the shelves, and it is still difficult to choose a good book
In recent years, in order to cultivate their children's reading habits from an early age, many parents have spent time and money to buy children's books. However, although the children's books on the shelves are dazzling, many parents "complain" that it is not easy to buy a good book.
In a large chain bookstore, there is a wide variety of children's books. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Weizhen
-- "Cliché" is more, but the original is less innovative. Recently, the reporter visited a large chain bookstore and saw that many children's books have exquisite designs, but the content is similar. The reporter randomly selected ten fairy tales in the store and found that Cinderella appeared 7 times in 10 books, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White appeared 6 times respectively, and three little pigs, frog prince, golden axe silver axe, thumb girl and other stories appeared more than 3 times, and the "weight check rate" was higher.
"We also go to some of the big book fairs to buy children's books, but this work is not easy. Last year, we spent two or three days at an expo to purchase new books for children, but we gained very little. Zhang Lingyun, director of the interview and cataloging department of Tianjin Library (Tianjin Children's Library), said that he really felt that there was a shortage of original high-quality children's books, and there was still a gap to meet the high-quality reading needs of children.
——The unit price grows fast and the quality improves slowly. Industry analysis data shows that in the first half of 2020, the average price of a single book of children's books reached 37.05 yuan. Although prices tend to rise, the quality of some children's books has not improved - in 2021, the special work of "quality management 2021" organized by the State Press and Publication Administration organized a total of 300 kinds of books, and 62 of them were found to have an error rate of more than 1/10,000, many of which were children's books published since 2020.
In addition to editing errors, there are also a small number of "problem children's books" that are still sold. The reporter saw on a book sales website that a horror mythological novel appeared many times under the search classification of children's books, which was obviously not suitable for children to read; in the reading recommendation area of children aged 8-12 in a bookstore, some feudal fragments were still preserved in the book.
--------------------------------- Many parents said that although some children's popular science books are rich in knowledge, they lack story and interest, "Sometimes I am sleepy when I read it." "Children can still read story books, but the popular science books bought at home are basically 'eating ashes', children always read a few pages and put them down, and some even do not turn over." Ms. Qian, a "baoma" in Beijing, said.
"The content of some children's popular science books makes it difficult for children to be interested in reading. If knowledge and popular science books can be integrated into more vivid and innovative content, children's willingness to read independently will be stronger. Fu Dawei, president of tomorrow publishing house, said.
The level of publishing is uneven, and the price chaos affects the market
-- The publishing threshold is low, and the level is uneven. Xiong Bingqi, president of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, believes that the threshold for children's book publishing is not high, and some publishing institutions are eager to make quick profits and weight rather than quality. Fu Dawei said that the publication of teaching supplementary books and health care books needs to be qualified and equipped with professional editors, but there is still a lack of children's book publishing in this regard.
- "Price chaos", affecting the original power. Many industry insiders pointed out that the price chaos in the children's book market is intensifying, and "bad money expelling good money" is also one of the reasons for the decline in the quality of children's books.
"Some publishers sell children's books with high pricing and low discounts. Similar price competition has caused publishers to sink their hearts to refine the time and energy of original products, and the money is insufficient, and everyone is addicted to the 'traffic myth' and hopes to create 'FMCG'. Fu Dawei said.
-- Insufficient staffing and limited team strength. Many industry insiders pointed out that at present, there is still a lack of authors, editorial forces and channel resources in the field of children's books, and the importance and demand for children and parents in the field of children and parents are difficult to match with the existing domestic children's book creation and editing team. "In addition to the well-known children's literature writers, there have been some new creators who have stood out in recent years, but the overall number is still small, and it will take some time to cultivate and create a high-quality children's book original team." Zhang Lingyun said.
Don't make children's books "fast food"
Experts suggest that we should further stimulate the original enthusiasm of children's literature, improve the quality of children's books, promote the "resonance" of children's books with the times, and let more children fall in love with reading from an early age.
A child browses in the children's book section of a bookstore. (Photo by Xinhua news agency reporter Liu Weizhen)
Zhang Lingyun, Fu Dawei and others suggested that while continuing to pay attention to the quality of children's book editing, we can increase support for professional children's book publishing houses and original writers of children's literature from policy funds and other aspects, and encourage personnel of relevant institutions to create. "I hope that in the future, we can strengthen the communication between authors and readers by holding offline meetings and writer signing meetings, so as to stimulate the enthusiasm of children and teenagers to read high-quality original children's books and the enthusiasm for independent book selection, and create a good atmosphere environment for the creation of children's literature writers." Fu Dawei said.
A number of experts suggested that the pre-"check" of children's book publishing should be strengthened, and experts in related fields such as psychology, education, and publishing should be invited to give guidance. Xiong Bingqi suggested that an ethics review committee for children's books be established to conduct ethical checks on the content of children's books and prevent shoddy children's books from harming children.
The strength of society and family is also indispensable. "We can consider establishing a children's book publishing foundation, and at the same time actively carry out family education guidance, guide parents to choose suitable children's books for their children, carry out parent-child reading, and cultivate children to develop good reading habits." Xiong Bingqi said.
Edited by Xin Jing