"Girly" book covers discourage boys--Times, 9/07


	"Girly" book covers discourage boys--Times, 9/07

readforpleasure

9-22-2007 12:47 PM

488 views

tags:

books, reading, marketing, gender, children, rfp

readforpleasure says:

The article highlights a couple of books with plots that should appeal to boys. It's a pity they're given bright pink covers. Surely that increases boys' resistance to reading, and especially their resistance to reading books with female protagonists. (For more on that, see:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1494932,00.html
and:
http://www.readforpleasure.com/2007/09/why-women-read-more-than-men-or-not.html

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<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/859cc096-74c6-43cb-9c2b-1835b6d9bce7/AB64D303-A296-419F-9652-A4A01BFC558E/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article2507850.ece" href="http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article2507850.ece" style="font-size: 11px;">entertainment.timesonline.co.uk</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article2507850.ece"><P>
Attempts by parents and teachers to persuade boys to read more are being
undermined by publishers whose insistence on using lurid “Barbie” pink
covers on books is turning away young male readers in their droves.
</P><P>
Wendy Cooling, of Bookstart, a charitable programme that encourages children
to read, said she was dismayed that publishers were now using
gender-specific marketing for certain children’s books. Whereas girls were
not put off boys’ books, which tended to have primary colours, few boys
dared to be seen reading a pink or purple book, even though they might
otherwise enjoy it.
</P><P>
“Publishers are getting the covers wrong. Some stories are perfectly
attractive to boys, but they are needlessly put off,”</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article2507850.ece">The latest national curriculum test results for
11-year-olds show that 87 per cent of girls, but only 81 per cent of boys,
achieve the reading level expected of their age. At 14, the figures are 78
and 65 per cent respectively.</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article2507850.ece">For young people, covers are crucial.</blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/AB64D303-A296-419F-9652-A4A01BFC558E/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content8.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

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