The Problem with Branding

I know, there are tons and tons of children's books out there. I did my dissertation on the business of children's books, particularly on the topic of branding. Branding is the term used in marketing to create a mark or brand in consumers' minds about certain products. Children's books have become a major commodity in the market of creating brands. This refers to the practice of taking a great book -- The Polar Express, Harry Pottery, The Golden Compass -- and turning it into a movie, and t-shirts, and stationery, and Bandaids, etc etc etc. Soon the book becomes lost in all the other stuff that it created. I just came from our campus bookstore, where I counted no less than 9 books about the recently released (what, 2 weeks ago?) movie Up. There was a sticker book, and a Behind the Movie book, and a junior serialization book, and a picture book, and a book by the dog Dug. Already!!

What this has done is to turn even the act of reading into an act of consumption. Like the book? Buy the sheets, the beach towels, the plush toy -- you get the picture. One of my sources described how the book The Polar Express -- a wonderful fable written and beautifully illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg, one of the best writers of kids' books out there -- was turned into a movie. Then the movie was turned into a BOOK -- the book version of the movie! So kids might not ever even get to read the original book.

There are a lot of branded books out there, which is why I'm interested in reading the original, especially when it is well-written with terrific characters, a believable plot, and a satisfying ending.