Get hooked on books

Wonder of wonders! Books are very much there. There is no need to panic at all. This bit of positive feedback comes from the readers and the reading joints in the city. Today in each bookshop there is a section exclusively for the young and rarely is it empty. Tiny tots from the age group of four onwards are seen rummaging through books and howling when they are kept away by well-meaning parents. From the age of six begins the reader friendly group which knows what it wants. Shayny, Naseem and Ramesh, in-charge of the children’s section of popular book stores say that there has been a significant rise in the sale of books for the young, unlike the general observation that reading has taken a backseat.

For the little ones, there is a vast array of fairy tales ranging from Anderson’s fairy tales to Grimm’s going on to Enid Blyton’s books dealing with fairies and elves and little children like themselves. Parents are the moving force behind these purchases. It is they who are responsible for arousing interest in the child to read by reading to them or inculcating an interest in the pictures. Audio cassettes accompanying story books are also in vogue for this age like the Karadi tales and the Once Upon a Time series.

For children of the age group six to eight, the tendency is towards Enid Blyton. By the time the child is 10 he/she includes Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys in the book-shelf along with the Famous Five and the Five Find Outers and the Secret Seven. The Sweet Valley Twins is another popular series for the growing girl in the age group eight to 14. The boys of this group tend to pick up stories related to horror as in R L Stein’s works and the series on Shivers. Parents have a leaning towards the classics and most of the time it is the parent who has his/her way and the child is richer by it. Comics, as usual, has a big fan following and leading the way is the Archie digests.

Though Tintin seems out of reach with the heavy price tag, parents do give in occasionally to this treat. Amar chitra katha has remained on the top of the list of all age groups for decades. By the time the youngster is 14-15 years, they move on to mature books. There is a huge collection of reference books for youngsters on various subjects to choose from.

Four year old Priyom goes berserk in the book store and his parents have a tough time convincing him to choose one on each trip. His mother feels that because she has been reading to him since he was one, his language development is more compared to children of his age group.

Ten year old Sheroo Padamjee reads Nancy Drews and Hardy Boys now that she has finished with Enid Blytons. Twelve year old Karishma prefers the Sweet Valley Twins series. Arif who is 14 sticks to books dealing with sports and General Knowledge, 13-year-old Minnie loves classics and the Famous Five series besides Tintin and Asterix. Siddharth, 14, prefers books on Science and Mechanics other than comics like Archies. Nine-year-old Abhi also loves to browse through books on space and physics. His favourite comics are the Chacha Chaudhary series.

The best part of books today is that they are available to each and every strata of society. The hardbound books, the paperback editions, the foreign publications and the Indian publishing houses, all these give ample scope to the buyer. Books have also gained popularity in the form of gifts. Such is the popularity of books that stores have now come out with gift coupons to relieve the buyer of the confusion when buying books as a gift. The increasing number of book exhibitions can only point out the fact that books are a rage as they always were. They are still the best friend to the growing child who needs continuous answers to strange queries and someone to turn on when their elders fail them.