The Hard Sell

There's a depressing article about the Bologna Children's Bookfair over at The Economist.

Here's a taste of the bitter pill:

THE children's book fair in Bologna this week was full of the bubble and squeak that such events elicit. But a serious sub-theme lurked: how to revive picture books, those lavishly illustrated creations that teach children to love books long before they can read them....

I don't actually read The Economist, so thanks to Achukablog for the link. The article talks about the prohibitive cost of picture books, and how in the current market that's making them a very hard sell. It's a bit of a heartbreaker.