Print books still cast their spell on toddlers.
That's what I have concluded from observing the brisk business at the check-out counter at the Miller Public Library, Hamden, Connecticut. Pre-schoolers, with their mothers, grandmothers, and sometimes even fathers, check out about 7 print books at a time.
Those books are from the children's section, oversized with many images and the minimum of words. So many are doing this that often another check-out clerk has to be parachuted in to process the rest of us who want to check out our choices from the adult sections.
Of course the toddlers also check out videos. But the excitement seems to be about the print books. After all, they are large, colorful, and image-centric. Therefore, those who make a living in the children's print book industry have little reason to be worried about the future, at least not in the present.
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