Kids Today
According to Kim Hawley, sales manager for Walsworth Publishing (www.walsworth.com), "Books are becoming more interactive with electronic chips. Some publishers are trying to compete with new technology, especially in the reading and educational markets." But Hawley is suspicious of the trend. "Publishers have pushed the limits of design to the point that (children's books) are difficult to read," he explains. "Harry Potter, however, is an original." Hawley admits that after bringing home a number of interactive, highly graphical, and often highly confusing books for his grade-school-age children, the Rowling's series won hands-down. He attributes the success to the fact that children can use their own imaginations when reading the simply printed books. "They don't have to have a master's degree just to read a book," he adds.