In a market filled with robotic toys and other technological marvels, old-fashioned children's books are selling in ever higher numbers. Juvenile book sales reached 446.8 million copies in 2000, a 35.8 percent increase over sales reported six years ago, according to Book Industry Trends, which defines the category as books for children age 14 and younger. Harry Potter, the hero of four fiction books by Scottish author J.K. Rowling. But librarians say the boy wizard's appeal has spawned a notable interest in other fantasy books as well.
Teachers also point to school book clubs as a factor in sales growth.
Harry Potter books accounted for 19.8 million of the 2000 total. But while more books are being purchased for children, it has yet to translate into better test scores in reading. She and her third-grade classmates at St. Hilda's and St. Hugh's School in New York City just received their book club orders. Jan Duke, an elementary school teacher near San Diego, Calif., and a national curriculum specialist, said such clubs foster children's reading by providing kids a sense of ownership and a large selection on topics such as science, magic and friendship. Scholastic Inc., the largest of the nation's school book clubs, has seen a 16 percent growth in sales in the past three years, said Judy Newman, senior vice president of Scholastic Book Group.