In a session that gave attendees a good sense of how Nielsen can use its consumer data to look into a sector of the market, Jo Henry, director of Nielsen Book Research, told us something we did know—that children’s books are a leading growth area of the market—and then told us something we didn’t know: boys in the 9-to-12 age range are increasing their market share within the children’s sector.
Some quick points from her presentation:
- This trend shows up when comparing 2010 to 2016 figures, with an increase in books being bought for boys aged 9 to 12.
- What books are being bought for boys? Fantasy and adventure.
- Authors represented in this realm include J.K. Rowling, of course, as well as Rick Riordan, Suzanne Collins, R.L. Stine, James Dashner, and Kathryn Lasky.
- Interestingly, 64 percent of these books aren’t being bought for boys as gifts; in many cases, they’re being asked for by the boys and offered by their parents.
- The main discovery method of these books by boys is in-person, usually through spotting a store display or TV ad.
Bottom line: One of Henry’s most interesting takeaways is that Nielsen is seeing a need to influence the child, not just the parent. That’s because a lot of these purchases are made in response to boys asking for the books. Authors and publishers of adventure and fantasy books may want to think about getting the goods into the boys’ faces with in-store displays and television exposure, in particular. It’s long been thought that the way to a kid’s reading habit was through the parent. In this case, it just might be the kid doing the influencing at the cash register.
Editor’s note: This article is from a special Digital Book World issue of The Hot Sheet.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
