NEW YORK, Dec. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Scholastic,
(NASDAQ: SCHL), the global children's publishing, education and
media company, released its annual predictions of top trends and
themes in children's books for 2018. Curated by Scholastic Book
Clubs editors, this list aims to help families discover new
books to add to their home libraries, as well as showcase what kids
will want in books when reading for fun. All titles will be
available for purchase in January
2018 from Scholastic Book Clubs through classroom flyers or
at scholastic.com/BookClubs, as well as the Scholastic Store at
store.scholastic.com.
Visit the Scholastic "On Our Minds" blog for a full list of
books for each trend, as well as a special Scholastic Parents New
Year's reading challenge activity calendar, at
http://bit.ly/2018KidBookTrends.
Top Trends in Children's Books for 2018 by Scholastic Book Club
Editors:
- MORE BOOKS WILL CELEBRATE STRONG FEMALE CHARACTERS:
Research from the Kids & Family Reading Report™:
6th Edition shows that children look for characters
that are "smart, brave or strong" when reading a book for fun.
Expect to see new fiction titles that will feature strong, female
protagonists as role models for both girls and boys. In addition,
many new nonfiction titles will explore stories about notable women
that made history, as well current changemakers that continue to
advance social progress.
- THE DEMAND FOR KID-FRIENDLY NONFICTION WILL CONTINUE TO
GROW: Civics and media literacy education will become a major
emphasis in classroom lesson plans. Classroom resources such as
Scholastic Classroom Magazines and the new We the People website
will help kids make sense of the world with age-appropriate news
covering current events. To make the home-to-school connection,
families will work with educators to select nonfiction titles that
help educate and engage children. Many new nonfiction children's
books will place the reader in a time, place or situation through
the protagonist's eyes across various topics – ranging from climate
change to World War II – to help a child understand complex
topics.
- ICONIC SERIES AND CHARACTERS RETURN WITH NEW STORIES:
This past year, films and television series reimagined comic book
and literary characters for a new generation. This trend continues
in children's books as readers revisit memorable characters from
beloved book series, such as The Boxcar Children, The Magic School
Bus and Jigsaw Jones, with new stories, but with a special twist as
these worlds expand with new characters and unexpected
situations.
- LITERARY MAGICAL CREATURES WILL TAKE CHILDREN TO NEW
WORLDS: Research from the Kids & Family Reading
Report™ shows that many children (31%) look for stories that
"explore places and worlds I've never been" when reading a book for
fun. Unicorns, mermaids and dragons will lead the way this
year with engaging storytelling that explores the beauty of being
unique and staying true to oneself. These stories come with a
healthy dose of humor – the number one thing kids look for when
reading a book for fun. Expect to see a reemergence of local lore
and world mythology to take children on an imaginative, literary
adventure.
- BOOKS FEATURING HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES WILL ENGAGE CHILDREN OF
ALL AGES AND INTERESTS: The call to educate children about
STEM-related activities grows as more book titles will feature
special coding activities, scientific experiments, and more. Many
books will be paired with popular characters and franchises to
attract more readers to the world of STEM. As more makerspaces
appear in classrooms and libraries nationwide, families can now
access affordable activity books in Scholastic Book Clubs flyers,
Scholastic Book Fairs events and KLUTZ® activity books at local
retailers in the new year.
"Scholastic Book Club editors have unique insight into the
trends surfacing in children's literature through their dedicated
effort to feature a wide range of choice all year long in our
monthly, in-classroom flyers. Their expertise helps more children
find just the right book at the right time to encourage a love for
independent reading," said Judy
Newman, President of Scholastic Book Clubs. "As we predicted
last year, kids gravitated toward books that made them laugh – as
seen with Dog Man, which as has appeared for more than 52
weeks on the New York Times bestseller
list to date and was also one of our most popular titles in Book
Clubs. We look forward to seeing how our predictions will play out
in 2018 as more families take time to read aloud together – and
laugh together – and work closely with their child's educators to
build a home-to-literacy connection through books."
To read more about what kids want in books and other timely
data, download the Scholastic Kids & Family Reading
Report™: 6th Edition at
www.scholastic.com/readingreport.
For more information about Scholastic, visit
http://mediaroom.scholastic.com.
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SOURCE Scholastic