Do you have a vision for the future of children’s literature? Who will be the drivers of change?

Although as a generalization society believes that e-books and technology based literature is the way of the future I would disagree. Society is trending towards a more visual based literature (Short, K, 2018) and those needs are being met in other ways not purely by technology. Short (2018) highlights book design as a method for engaging audiences that are expecting more interaction and visual stimulus.

As we live in a commerce driven society the drivers of change will be the most popular or money making areas. As Short (2018) pointed out children 8-12 and before them the young adult market were where publishers saw growth and therefore invested their money into developing these types of text. However, I hope that publishers will continue to diversify their texts so that we all have stories that we can engage with not just the majority of society or the ‘norm’.

Personally I hope that the future of children’s literature is one where children are engaged, being exposed to a range of societies and cultures through text and developing their love of learning. Possibly a new favourite quote summarises it excellently,

“The ultimate purpose of literature is not to teach something, but to illuminate what it means to be human and to make accessible the fundamental experiences of life, love, hope, loneliness, despair, fear, belonging” (Short, K, 2018).

References

Short, K. (2018). What’s trending in children’s literature and why it matters. Language Arts, 95(5), 287-298. Retrieved from http://www2.ncte.org/