SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Fusenews
  • Reviews
  • Librarian Previews
  • Best Books
    • Top 100
    • Best Books of 2022
    • Best Books of 2021
    • Best Books of 2020
    • Best Books of 2019
    • Best Books of 2018
    • Best Books of 2017
    • Best Books of 2016
    • Best Books of 2015
    • Best Books of 2014
    • Best Books of 2013
  • Fuse 8 n’ Kate
  • Videos
  • Press Release Fun

December 9, 2014 by Betsy Bird

Could It Be Published Today?

December 9, 2014 by Betsy Bird   4 comments

This past Saturday I hosted a Children’s Literary Salon at the main branch of NYPL that discussed the past, present, and future of children’s book publishing. It was a stellar line-up, moderated by author Jane Zalben. To kick off the panel discussion, the panel was asked a question that has been posed many times before but not always in this context.  Let us consider the case of Goodnight Moon.  Here we have a book that is often considered right up there with Where the Wild Things Are in terms of picture book popularity.  So the question is, could it be published today?

This type of question is raised fairly regularly on the internet.  It ranges from the sane (Rebecca: Could It Be Published Today?) to the ridiculous (Could The Hunger Games Be Published Today?).  It is usually raised to highlight changes in the publishing industry.  Then vs. now.  The distant (or maybe not so distant) past and our much improved/much impoverished present.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

What made this discussion so interesting to me was how it examined the publishing history of Goodnight Moon itself.  I was aware that it wasn’t a hit when it came out.  It just didn’t make the sales, which seems ridiculous at first glance.  What could the public have had against it?  But Leonard Marcus made it clear that the book was, itself, a bit of an anomaly.  It was a pre-schooler / toddler title in an era when that market simply didn’t get books of their own.  Public libraries, the major buyers, weren’t set up to cater to the very young, and books for that age range didn’t normally exist.  So Margaret Wise Brown’s book came out and missed its mark.  It wasn’t until at least five years had passed and a columnist recommended it that the sales started to take off.

The takeaway from all of this is the difference in how long books were allowed to stay in print back then vs. today.  These days if you don’t make back your advance in two years (at least) it’s to the out-of-print dustbin with your remainders.  Back then a book had a bit more of a chance to find its audience.  And as any children’s librarian who has had to deal with summer reading lists from schools will attest, five years is sometimes precisely how long it takes for folks to discover a book.

All this is a roundabout way of saying that the question is impossible to answer because when we are discussion a genre, like picture books, it’s not as though they are published without owing something to their forbears.  Goodnight Moon set the tone for all the “quiet books” to come.  Bedtime fare was forever changed, and continues to be affected, by its presence in the marketplace.  The same could be said if we tried to consider if children’s books like Where the Wild Things Are or Harriet the Spy or The Phantom Tollbooth could be published today.  That said, it’s still fun to ask.  And then to look at books being published now, one wonders what books they’ll be saying this about in the future.

Filed under: Uncategorized

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

March 2023

Announcing the Stinetinglers Winner! The Kettle's Dark Secret by Clara J.

by Betsy Bird

March 2023

Bologna Presentations: IBBY Doing the Good Work That Needs to Be Done, Worldwide

by Betsy Bird

February 2023

Sydney Taylor Book Blog Award Tour Interview: Featuring Mari Lowe of Aviva Vs. the Dybbuk!

by Betsy Bird

January 2023

The Top Ten Most Disappointing Edibles and Potables of Children's Literature

by Betsy Bird

January 2023

Announcing the 2023 Newbery/Caldecott/YMA Pre-Game Show!

by Betsy Bird

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Keeping an Eye On . . . the PEN America Book Ban Lawsuit

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Ellen Myrick Publisher Preview: Fall 2023/Winter 2024 (Part Four – TOON Books, Albatros, Arctis, and Barefoot Books)

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Spider-Man Fake Red | Review

by Esther Keller

Heavy Medal

And now there are 38: May Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Suggestions

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Not the Mermaid or Monster You Knew, a guest post by author Robin Alvarez

by Karen Jensen, MLS

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

A Conversation with Laurel Snyder

by Colby Sharp

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

10 Nonfiction and Fiction Titles to Give Young Readers Context on The Great Migration

15 Short & Sweet Love Stories for Tweens and Teens

USBBY Announces the 2023 Outstanding International Books List. Download a PDF of the Full List.

6 Immersive Survival Stories to Bring Gary Paulsen's 'Hatchet' Alive | Refreshing the Canon

Making 'The Outsiders' Immersive: Books, Movies, and Other Media to Enliven the Hinton Classic | Refreshing the Canon

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. leda says

    December 9, 2014 at 1:50 pm

    Any chance this was recorded for the masses?

    • Elizabeth Bird says

      December 9, 2014 at 9:23 pm

      *sigh* Nope. But as a small consolation it was written up by Publishers Weekly. http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/65006-children-s-book-publishing-in-the-21st-century-a-children-s-literary-salon.html?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly&utm_campaign=216a5a2dae-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0bb2959cbb-216a5a2dae-304423837

  2. Clare Sweeney says

    December 9, 2014 at 9:29 pm

    This is encouraging to me. I’ve written what has been described by a major publisher as a “quiet”children’s book myself. It caused me to wonder if it could even have a chance in the world of modern children’s books, but I decided to publish it myself. I believe that it will become one of those “quiet books” that parents will read to their children forever. Thank you.

  3. Rebecca says

    December 11, 2014 at 4:19 pm

    I remember writing an explication of sorts on this book ten plus years ago in library school. It seems like a simple quiet book, but once you peel the layers, you find that it’s pure genius. The change of color from dark to darker and the rhythmic text are the two most obvious points. And The Runaway Bunny strikes me as similarly perfect.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • External Links

    • A Fuse #8 Production Reviews
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2023


    COPYRIGHT © 2023