Reading is essential for child brain development, and the amount they read will shape their future, however are they reading less due to an increase of technology consumption? US physical therapist, Glenn Doman explained that the ‘infant’s brain grows more in the first year than at any other time’ (Carey 2014). Dr Alice Sullivan ran a case study, where she discovered that children who read more than once a week at age 16, had higher test results than those who read less (Sullivan 2013). So if a child’s future is determined at an early age, are they reading as much as they should? Below is a graph, illustrating the percentage of children aged 0-17, who read books weekly (Nielsen 2014 pp.11).
Looking at these statistics from Nielsen, the highest age bracket of children that read were aged 3-4 at 98% in 2012. Comparatively; in 2014 the highest was for the 5-7 age group at 92%. The reduction of reading is linked to more children owning tablets. In 2013, 3% of children aged 3-4 had their own tablet computer, and 13% of 5-7s did as well (OfCom 2013).
Educational publishers are adapting learning, to the increase of technological use. Palgrave Macmillan Education have created an interactive software called Launch Pad in the US as part of Learning Curve, to encourage e-learning (Jayatunga 2014). This institutional model works in US schools and universities, as their curriculum is similar throughout the country. Frania Hall states that ‘the UK schools market is not driven by the adoption culture in quite the same way as in the US’ (Hall 2013), suggesting that learning through technology isn’t something that will be embraced so warmly over here.
Paula Cocozza from the Guardian disagrees with Frania Hall’s view, as she writes about Snapdragons nursery-- which offers iPads to their children. ‘They are listening to their teacher, Amy Porter, read aloud an interactive story from an iPad about Zub the monster’ (Cocozza 2014).
Adult readership figures are incredibly low. Publishers need to encourage children to read, as they will be the future consumers. The Huffington Post created a poll with YouGov asking 1,000 U.S. adults, how often they read, and only 25% read between 1 and 5 books a year (Huffington Post 2013). This statistic can externally affect children, especially if their parents don’t read to them, or encourage reading from an early age. Glenn Doman argued that ‘babies arrive in the world so thirsty for knowledge that they would rather learn than eat’ (Carey, 2014). Low adult readership statistics, can have a knock-on effect on children’s sales, as they purchase the books for their kids. So how is Children’s publishing doing financially?
Nielsen BookScan data shows that consumers spent £187.9m on children’s books in the first eight months of 2014. This market has increased by more than 10% against the previous year (Bookseller 2014). This means that despite an increase of digital, children’s print book sales are still on the rise.
Encouraging children to read is incredibly important; this can be done through cross-media storytelling or online communities such as Pottormore. The Harry Potter website is a great example of this as they provide their readers an ‘extensive insight into the deeper narrative of the characters, locations and history of the HP world’ (Publishing Technology 2013).
Word count: 548
Bibliography
Carey, T. (2014). We need to stop pushing our kids. The Guardian. [online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/oct/04/we-need-stop-pushing-our-kids-parents [Accessed 23 Nov. 2014].
Cocozza, P. (2014). Are iPads and tablets bad for young children?. [online] the Guardian. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jan/08/are-tablet-computers-bad-young-children [Accessed 24 Nov. 2014].
Hall, F. (2013). The business of digital publishing. London: Routledge.
Huffington Post, 2013. POLL: Shocking Number Of Americans Don’t Read Books. Huffington Post. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/07/american-read-book-poll_n_4045937.html [Accessed November 3, 2014].
Jayatunga, N., Digital and Developmental Editing, U65021: The Editor, [Lecture] Oxford Brookes University. 27 Oct 2014.
Nielsen, 2014. Understand the children’s book consumer, Nielsen BookScan. Available at: https://moodle.brookes.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/557268/mod_resource/content/1/Nielsen_Understanding_the_Childrens_Book_Consumer_2014_presentation_for....pdf [Accessed November 3, 2014].
OfCom, (2013). Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report. p.28.
Publishing Technology, 2013. Five Online Communities changing the way publishers interact with readers. Available at: http://www.publishingtechnology.com/2013/04/five-best-publisher-communities/ [Accessed November 3, 2014].
Sullivan, A. (2013). Reading for fun improves children's brains, study confirms. [online] The Guardian. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/sep/16/reading-improves-childrens-brains [Accessed 24 Nov. 2014].
The Bookseller, 2014. Children’s market 10% up on 2013. Available at: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/childrens-market-10-2013 [Accessed November 3, 2014].
Looking at these statistics from Nielsen, the highest age bracket of children that read were aged 3-4 at 98% in 2012. Comparatively; in 2014 the highest was for the 5-7 age group at 92%. The reduction of reading is linked to more children owning tablets. In 2013, 3% of children aged 3-4 had their own tablet computer, and 13% of 5-7s did as well (OfCom 2013).
Educational publishers are adapting learning, to the increase of technological use. Palgrave Macmillan Education have created an interactive software called Launch Pad in the US as part of Learning Curve, to encourage e-learning (Jayatunga 2014). This institutional model works in US schools and universities, as their curriculum is similar throughout the country. Frania Hall states that ‘the UK schools market is not driven by the adoption culture in quite the same way as in the US’ (Hall 2013), suggesting that learning through technology isn’t something that will be embraced so warmly over here.
Paula Cocozza from the Guardian disagrees with Frania Hall’s view, as she writes about Snapdragons nursery-- which offers iPads to their children. ‘They are listening to their teacher, Amy Porter, read aloud an interactive story from an iPad about Zub the monster’ (Cocozza 2014).
Adult readership figures are incredibly low. Publishers need to encourage children to read, as they will be the future consumers. The Huffington Post created a poll with YouGov asking 1,000 U.S. adults, how often they read, and only 25% read between 1 and 5 books a year (Huffington Post 2013). This statistic can externally affect children, especially if their parents don’t read to them, or encourage reading from an early age. Glenn Doman argued that ‘babies arrive in the world so thirsty for knowledge that they would rather learn than eat’ (Carey, 2014). Low adult readership statistics, can have a knock-on effect on children’s sales, as they purchase the books for their kids. So how is Children’s publishing doing financially?
Nielsen BookScan data shows that consumers spent £187.9m on children’s books in the first eight months of 2014. This market has increased by more than 10% against the previous year (Bookseller 2014). This means that despite an increase of digital, children’s print book sales are still on the rise.
Encouraging children to read is incredibly important; this can be done through cross-media storytelling or online communities such as Pottormore. The Harry Potter website is a great example of this as they provide their readers an ‘extensive insight into the deeper narrative of the characters, locations and history of the HP world’ (Publishing Technology 2013).
Word count: 548
Bibliography
Carey, T. (2014). We need to stop pushing our kids. The Guardian. [online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/oct/04/we-need-stop-pushing-our-kids-parents [Accessed 23 Nov. 2014].
Cocozza, P. (2014). Are iPads and tablets bad for young children?. [online] the Guardian. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jan/08/are-tablet-computers-bad-young-children [Accessed 24 Nov. 2014].
Hall, F. (2013). The business of digital publishing. London: Routledge.
Huffington Post, 2013. POLL: Shocking Number Of Americans Don’t Read Books. Huffington Post. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/07/american-read-book-poll_n_4045937.html [Accessed November 3, 2014].
Jayatunga, N., Digital and Developmental Editing, U65021: The Editor, [Lecture] Oxford Brookes University. 27 Oct 2014.
Nielsen, 2014. Understand the children’s book consumer, Nielsen BookScan. Available at: https://moodle.brookes.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/557268/mod_resource/content/1/Nielsen_Understanding_the_Childrens_Book_Consumer_2014_presentation_for....pdf [Accessed November 3, 2014].
OfCom, (2013). Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report. p.28.
Publishing Technology, 2013. Five Online Communities changing the way publishers interact with readers. Available at: http://www.publishingtechnology.com/2013/04/five-best-publisher-communities/ [Accessed November 3, 2014].
Sullivan, A. (2013). Reading for fun improves children's brains, study confirms. [online] The Guardian. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/sep/16/reading-improves-childrens-brains [Accessed 24 Nov. 2014].
The Bookseller, 2014. Children’s market 10% up on 2013. Available at: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/childrens-market-10-2013 [Accessed November 3, 2014].