English-Language Children's Literature

▪ 1998

by Shannon Maughan

      "Jack, be nimble." In 1997 publishers of children's literature appeared to heed this sage advice from Mother Goose as they adapted their book programs to an ever-changing marketplace—one that embraced both a blend of timeless classics and a flurry of new contemporary titles. Overall, fewer new titles were released in 1997, as publishers focused on those considered surefire hits, such as titles from established best-selling authors, tie-ins to movies and television programs, and paperback series for intermediate (ages 8-12) and young adult readers (ages 12 and up) in such popular genres as horror and adventure. Nonetheless, in the U.S. about 5,000 new titles were introduced, some sure to become enduring classics that would fuel the booming $l.5 billion business in children's books.

      As a result, one of of the largest publishing mergers of 1996, the new U.S. company Penguin Putnam Inc., began 1997 boasting more than eight different children's imprints in the U.S. and a roster of best-selling authors and illustrators, including Jan Brett (The Mitten and The Hat), Tomie De Paola (Strega Nona), Eric Hill (the Spot books), S.E. Hinton (The Outsiders), and such classic properties as Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans, novels by British author Roald Dahl, and Beatrix Potter's beloved Peter Rabbit titles.

      Bookstores greeted customers in 1997 with a barrage of books featuring the stars of popular children's television programs and films. In addition, licensed properties gained a stronger foothold in the children's book market, whether it was Blinky Bill or Bananas in Pajamas from Australia, Noddy in the U.K., Rugrats or the Sesame Street gang in the U.S., or any of the globally recognized Disney characters.

      It was no surprise that behemoth Disney led the licensing pack in 1997 with tie-ins to Hercules, its animated summer release. The animated November release of Anastasia from 20th-Century Fox, however, was poised to give Disney a run for its money at the box office and in the bookstores. HarperCollins, the U.S. publishing division and sister company to Fox, released 12 books related to the film, which was set in Russia at the time of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Big-budget action films with PG-13 ratings also muscled their way onto the children's book scene with tie-ins and novelizations of The Lost World, Men in Black, and Batman & Robin.

      Just as TV and film spawned books, the reverse was also true. Classic children's literature inspired a record number of television spin-offs, featuring such enduring characters as Babar the elephant king, Madeline the Parisian schoolgirl, spunky gadabout Pippi Longstocking, and Thomas the Tank Engine ) (Awdry, Wilbert Vere ). "Wishbone," a live-action TV program about an imaginative dog, introduced children to classic adult literature, including such books as Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities. In addition, "The Busy World of Richard Scarry," "The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss," and the aardvark of the hour, "Arthur," were just a few of the television series based on children's books that continued to gain a phenomenal number of young fans. Although "Arthur" began airing on PBS in late 1996, in 1997 Marc Brown's original Arthur books, many of which were first published nearly 20 years ago, began routinely selling one million copies per month owing to the show's great popularity. The beloved aardvark made his debut in Arthur's Nose, published in 1976.

      While licensed books represented the up-to-the-minute trends, many classic children's books proved their staying power in 1997 by marking significant anniversaries. Parents continued to share with their own little ones the titles that they had loved as children. In 1997 Rudyard Kipling's adventure story Captains Courageous reached the century mark, A.A. Milne's Now We Are Six hit 70, and J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit turned 60. One of the best-loved bedtime stories of all times, Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, celebrated its 50th anniversary. The book had sold more than seven million copies and was among the titles most frequently purchased for newborns. Also celebrating a half century of enduring popularity was Esphyr Slobodkina's Caps for Sale, a cautionary tale about what can happen when one is napping. The Cat in the Hat, starring the irrepressible feline in a striped top hat, one of the creations of verse virtuoso Dr. Seuss, turned 40 in 1997, as did the green galoot who ultimately grows a larger heart in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Also 40 and sharing the spotlight were the groundbreaking "I Can Read" series of books from HarperCollins. Along with the Grinch and the Cat, such I Can Read titles as Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik and Maurice Sendak, Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel, and Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff have been helping children learn to read for decades.

      Several books for older readers were feted in 1997 as well. Misty of Chincoteague, a tale of wild horses by Marguerite Henry OBITUARIES) (Henry, Marguerite ), passed a 50-year milestone, and The Outsiders, a young-adult coming-of-age novel about teenage boys, turned 30 and reigned as the highest-selling children's trade paperback. British author Brian Jacques's fantasy-adventure Redwall series—first published in 1986—continued to sell briskly. The 11 books about the brave mice who defended Redwall Abbey against cruel rats and other woodland marauders became equally popular with British, American, and other English-language readers.

      Top-selling children's titles experienced a good deal of crossover readership in the various English-language territories. The tender tale of Little Nutbrown Hare and his father proved to be a hit with children around the globe as Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney, illustrated by Anita Jeram, appeared on best-seller lists in several countries. Authors such as Canadian Robert N. Munsch (Love You Forever) and Australian Mem Fox (Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge, Time for Bed) joined the list of authors whose works have become increasingly well known outside their homeland. This phenomenon was especially true of books that garnered their respective country's top children's book honours, including two U.S. awards presented by the American Library Association, the Newbery Medal for excellence in fiction or nonfiction and the Caldecott Medal for excellence in illustration, and the U.K. equivalents, the Carnegie Medal for outstanding fiction and the Kate Greenaway Medal for excellence in illustration, the latter two given by Britain's Library Association.

      The subject matter in the books nominated for the Carnegie Medal also pointed to a trend in children's literature toward realism and the darker aspects of life. The 1997 shortlist of nominees included Melvin Burgess's Junk, a story about drug use; Fine's The Tulip Touch, which broached such topics as a suspected murder and arson; and Michael Coleman's Weirdo's War, which addressed the kind of incessant bullying that could lead to suicide. In the U.S. author Judy Blume had begun broaching teenage coming-of-age issues some 25 years earlier. She had discussed such subjects as menstruation, puberty, and divorce in the family at a time when those topics were not greeted enthusiastically by librarians. Nonetheless, Blume's Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (1972), a story about sibling rivalry, ranked as the third highest selling children's trade paperback, behind The Outsiders and E.B. White's Charlotte's Web. As early as 1963 writer and illustrator Sendak had introduced younger readers to Where the Wild Things Are, a vivid depiction of grotesque monsters. He followed with two others in a trilogy—In the Night Kitchen (1970) and Outside Over There (1981), all of which raised controversy because of their frank and possibly frightening story lines.

      When adolescents were seeking mystery and intrigue, they gravitated to series of books by R.L. Stine. These included Fear Street, in which teenagers solve mysteries under frightening circumstances, and Goosebumps, which were slightly scary suburban mysteries.

      All in all, children's book publishers in 1997 managed to get the jump on nimble Jack, not only making it over the candlestick unsinged but also using its light to tally their profits.

Shannon Maughan is a freelance editor-writer for Publishers Weekly magazine.

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