A stand at the Bologna fair, last week, with various children's books in different formats. Bologna Children's and Youth Literature Fair
Humanity has always narrated fables to its little ones.
Before, they used to talk about knights and princesses.
Today, luckily, they too carry out deeds and they need to be saved.
There is, however, one tale that has hardly changed in centuries of children's literature: that of the old paper king.
He lived happily, adored by his young readers.
Until, one day, state-of-the-art screens appeared and heralded the digital revolution.
They started calling him old, dirty, useless.
The sovereign scratched his beard.
He worried.
There were even those who said that he should leave the crown.
But the years passed and he kept his scepter.
And not only: as confirmed by eight publishers at the recent Bologna children's and youth literature fair, the most important in the sector, he keeps it with an increasingly firm and applauded pulse.
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Children's books dare to miss the word
A walk through the appointment offered empirical clues.
It is true that there were conferences on artificial intelligence, posters that evoked famous cartoons and, among the guests, there were mobile programmers.
On the shelves, however, technological traces were in short supply.
Nor did the echoes of so many alarms resound about the addictive power of mobile phones, tablets or televisions for children or their potential rivalry with reading.
On the contrary, defenses of the strength of the illustrated album were heard, its invitation to share and socialize and, if anything, its difficult adaptation to a screen.
Perhaps the most futuristic at the fair would be
pop-up
castles or spaceships that protruded from a printed page.
Or huge atlases from which an entire continent is displayed.
I mean, more paper.
A book with 'pop-ups', at the Bologna fair last week.
Because, when talking about books for first readers, it is not necessary to clarify the support: it is still understood.
Even in decisive conversations: those that move money.
“So far nothing has changed.
They have proposed to me the digitization of several books, but we have not considered it necessary.
There is still a long way to go before it becomes the majority”, says Enric Pujol, editor of Tramuntana.
“Of course I have the digital version of each work, but I almost never end up showing it to my interlocutor.
It is usually included in the trade agreement just in case.
But nobody gets their sales from there”, clarifies Paula Prats, head of foreign rights at the Penguin Random House group.
It refers to the meetings that take place in Bologna between publishers, who come together to buy and sell their titles to other countries and hunt down the latest phenomenon or the new
Harry Potter.
All the previous work, of course, is carried out on the internet: emails, messages, photos, appointment time, what will be discussed.
It is essential, therefore, that each one have screens.
They hardly appear, however, as soon as they sit down to negotiate face to face.
“We are trying more and more to distance ourselves from them,” says Mireia Trius, editor and co-founder of Zahorí Books.
And, in her smile, a more general trend is summed up: the children's book prides itself on its resistance.
The World Health Organization itself, after all, asks to avoid screens until the age of two and not use them for more than an hour a day until the age of four.
And consider "reading" instead as one of the recommended sedentary activities.
Another thing is what is seen on the street or in each home.
But the WHO does offer another reason for the interviewed editors to brag about paper, even though they stress that you can "live" with digital.
In fact, they do not stop throwing some quibble at their alleged "ally".
"More and more studies affirm that screens reduce concentration, while reading in print helps it," says Eva Jiménez Tubau, manager and co-founder of Flamboyant.
“We live in a cult of the instant associated with the type of content that predominates.
The feeling is that the multiplication and almost permanent exposure to the screens makes a dent in the most reflective and leisurely reading”, points out Fernando García, director of Libros del Zorro Rojo.
And precisely the latter, on the other hand, is what so many labels like his champion.
Promotional image of 'The Big Bad Wolf Goes on Vacation to the Beach', by Jean Leroy and Laurent Simon, edited by Edelvives.
It was 2008 when, at the key fair in the publishing world, that of Frankfurt, the disappearance of the traditional medium was prophesied in a decade.
It didn't happen, but in adult literature, at least, the e-book did eat and keep a piece of the pie.
In the youth scene, the magnetism of the screens and their influence on published stories are also more noticeable.
For the little ones, on the other hand, almost the opposite has happened: faced with such an attractive alternative, paper has displayed all its power of seduction.
And its unique and irreplaceable charms, for now: the eight interviewed editors agreed that the number of drawings capable of sprouting from the page, the large formats —apparently they are stabilizing, also due to space in the houses— and, in general, everything that only a printed book has.
Who knows how many families have given life with their hand to the protagonist doll of
The Big Bad Wolf Goes on Vacation to the Beach
(Edelvives).
Or how many laughs the swollen belly of the already famous
Pollo Pepe has caused
(YE).
“They are paper experiences”, summarizes Noemí Mercadé Capellades, editorial director of Casals, while a chicken rises from the pages that are passing.
Screens are likely to evolve.
And Pujol stresses that you cannot fight against modernization, even if it is only “for an ecological issue”.
For now, however, the children's book is making an effort to make it difficult for digital.
"The illustrated album, due to its format and characteristics, cannot be adapted to a tablet", Eva Jiménez Tubau puts in.
Much less, today, to a pocket format black and white electronic book reader.
Double page with a 'pop-up' of 'El Pollo Pepe'.
Nor, yes, children's literature has covered its ears before the song of modern sirens.
“Digitalization is getting better and better.
And almost all of the publishers have included some element related to this medium”, explains Marta Gallas Martínez, SM's copyright manager.
The most frequent option, it seems, is a QR code that allows you to watch a video, listen to a song or access a related activity.
That is, ideas to complement or promote reading, not to replace it.
And that, even so, raise nuances and objections: they are only used for select books, which are provided for their theme, link with a series or author.
And then there are the more practical reasons for Mireia Trius: “QRs are ugly”.
The company size also conditions the vision.
“There are very powerful labels that probe the market to take advantage of digital elements.
And another current, independent, more directed towards exploration and artistic risk”, reflects García.
And Pilar Lafuente Bergós, responsible for foreign rights in the Planeta group, does not disagree, although she uses other words: "The big publishers are more aware of what can become a global phenomenon."
In its catalogue, for example, there are more works adapted from a series or, vice versa, that jump to the screen;
titles signed by youtubers;
or famous licenses that move through all formats at the same time.
And Paula Prats, from the other colossus, Penguin Random House, adds a novel phenomenon: "Children's comics are doing very well, among other reasons because they contain a lot of movement in the images."
It may just be a matter of time.
Although, for now, the fable of the printed format resists.
The old paper king has been listening to everything for decades.
In the end, however, he always ends up eating all the partridges.
Attendees at the Bologna fair share a children's book with 'pop-ups'. Bologna Children's and Youth Literature Fair
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