The Seventeenth International Conference on Books, Publishing & Libraries

Abstract

Indian publishing has changed according to the reading culture and technological developments. Some publishers have focused their work on younger minds. They have thousands of titles suitable for different age groups of children. There are different subject areas covered in the children’s books; are mostly focused on stories; however the stories belong to different genres. National Book Trust, Children Book Trust, Scholastic India, Amar Chitra Katha, and a few more are popular publishers in India for children books. The Trade catalogue of these publishers for the year 2017 is reviewed with the objectives to understand the children literature with respect to ii) the subjects covered in children literature, iii) pattern of authorship, iv) different genres, v) cost, vi) number of pages, viii) binding and ix) activities to promote reading culture amongst the Indian children. Folktales, mythe, horror stories, mysteries, biographies, fantasies, school stories, love stories, picture books, games books are major types found in the literature. Books titles for challenged or special children were rarely found. Most of the books are authored by solo authors. Costing of book ranges from rupees 10/- to rupees 5,000/- that has made books available to children from every social strata. Publishers have online sites, mobile apps and they hold regular exhibitions throughout the year, all over the country. Schools and public libraries are also approached to provide opportunity to the parents and the children to buy books. This is first bibliographic study done on children literature in India.