Judy Bulow, Children’s Buyer at the Tattered Cover Book Store, Speaks to SCBWI

by Audrey LaFerlita

Where would you like to spend the next several months?  Do you want a mountain get away? Why not immerse yourself in the peaks and valleys of Colorado, Wyoming, or Montana? Perhaps you’d prefer to spend some time in a desert setting boning up on the Middle East. There are many readers who would welcome the opportunity to learn more about this part of the world that gains their attention on a daily basis. How about traveling to Asia? Asia has a long history and much of it is unfamiliar to American children and young adults. You may want to put a new twist on an Asian fairy tale.

© Mark Ludy

There is room on the shelves for all these books. These topics are timely, and according to Judy Bulow, Children’s Buyer at the Tattered Cover Book Store, they are areas that deserve your attention. At a recent presentation, Bulow shared knowledge she’s gained over her 20 years as children’s buyer. In addition to offering some advice about what books she would love to see written, Bulow spoke about current trends in the industry.

Consider making a positive impact on local children’s lives by increasing their knowledge about their own Rocky Mountain Region. You can familiarize them with places like Afghanistan and Iraq where some relatives or neighbors may be stationed. You can show them an Asia that breaks stereotypical images.

Bulow offered other ideas. Do you enjoy writing humorous stories? Over the last number of years, there have been many children’s books about more serious topics. It’s true that children face challenges growing up, but as authors and illustrators, we realize that we all love to laugh. It’s not easy to write humor, but children love it.

Do you love researching folk tales? For years, multicultural books primarily featured folk tales, but there haven’t been many Jewish folktales published. Do you love to play around with words and rhythm? Children love books in verse. They’re great for a variety of ages because they’re entertaining. A bonus for children is that there isn’t a whole page of print so it’s easier for them to read. Bulow listed Heartbeat as an example of a novel in free verse.

The current trend toward fantasy books is true for children as well as adults. ”I Love You” books crowd the shelves. Little girls love to read about princesses and mermaids, so they head straight for the pink books! Books about race are also prevalent. Bulow mentioned Skin Again as an example of a book with race as the theme. It was written by the author who wrote Happy to be Nappy.

There is an abundance of good YA books popular with both teens and adults. A trend in that category is that they have become more edgy. Bulow said that there’s room on the shelves for more books for 8- to 12-year-olds.

A growing trend is toward publishing books in series. Often publishers are turning to series primarily because adults like to buy them. They buy one book and know that they can buy more. It makes gift giving easier.

Books sell by word of mouth. As a book seller, Bulow supports local authors. Some of these authors help market their books by arranging to do school visits, for example.

Self-publishing is an option but one that needs to be done with a discerning eye. In some instances, the author isn’t sure what the final product will look like. Another problem is that many of the books are so expensive to produce that the price point becomes prohibitively high. It’s too difficult to sell a paperback for $19.95.

She advised going through the children’s section to see the competition. She noted that there are 4,000 children’s books in various genres published each year. She held up The People Could Fly, Zen Shorts, and Beardream as examples of the many new beautifully illustrated books. She asked why can’t older children read and enjoy illustrated books. It is very important for them to become visually literate. This enjoyment and appreciation shouldn’t be left to the very young.

Leaving Strawberry Farm exemplifies an excellent book dealing with the Depression era of the 1930’s. Historical fiction helps children to learn about important periods of time that have shaped our consciousness. More teachers, parents, and grandparents buy historical fiction, whereas 11-year-old kids choose to read contemporary themes about their own situations. Thunder From the Sea represents one of the excellent nonfiction books that has appeared in the last ten years. These new nonfiction books are rich with illustrations, photos, and documents.

Judy Bulow captured our attention for one hour and when the hour was over, we were much richer for the experience. We want to thank Judy for sharing her expertise with us.

Audrey LaFerlita has taught English as a Second Language and Cross Cultural Studies. Her students have come from many different countries. LaFerlita loves to travel and write about her travels. She is currently working on a novel for 8- to 12-year-olds.