The book fair is in school for the week. There are 4 large bookshelf cases loaded with the latest books for 3-12 year olds. I opened up all the cases and told J5 to imagine that they could buy any book that they would like. Before I let them loose on the shelves, I asked them to be conscious about HOW they chose their book. What did they look at first? What were their criteria for choosing a book? I even role-played the process. I perused the shelves carefully, picking out book after book. I analysed the cover, read the blurb, opened each one up and read the opening lines finishing off my charade by flicking through some pages reading random excerpts.
It was their turn. They raced, pushing unceremoniously past one another to grab the book that they had been eyeing whilst I had been doing my one-man-show. Although the instruction was to refrain from holding on to a book until the five minute choosing session had ended, they knew what they wanted. The Top Gear book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the Titanic Diary and D-day were gripped by determined hands. Without letting go, they filled in their quiz sheets and started to read. The result surprised me. Very few children opened any of the books whilst choosing. They made up their minds quickly. Looking at the results, it is clear that they looked at the cover and read the title. If it was a series they knew and loved, that was enough to convince them. If it wasn’t, the cover picture was more important than anything else.
‘I have all the series and I treasure them.’ Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Cabin Fever by Jeff Kinney
‘Because this one shouted at me.’ Titanic by Ellen Emerson White
‘I liked it because the puppy looked sad.’ Dog Lost by Ingrid Lee
My favourite : ‘This one was authorised by my favourite author.’ Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Cabin Fever Jeff Kinney
So if you are taking your child shopping for a book, you may want to steer them past the front cover and ask them to read the first page. What questions does the opening paragraph bring to mind? Is it going to be worth reading the book to find out?
New 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' Book Beats Steve Jobs' Sales Record
http://www.michaelmorpurgo.com/books/an-elephant-in-the-garden/
