Rick Riordan, author of the popular kids series Percy Jackson & the Olympians, is authoring the first in a new series titled 39 Clues. This new series, by Scholastic, is scheduled to release a book every 2 to 3 months. The books contain clues which are linked to an online game and to a set of 350 playing cards. Maybe I am just a stick in the mud (or old-fashioned because I just used the term stick in the mud), but I don't really like this cross-marketing. We spend a lot of time as librarians trying to get kids into the habit of reading, and hoping it will replace some of their online time. Also, it is yet another thing for parents to spend money on. Now I know there are plenty of games, web sites, and merchandise connected to other books, Harry Potter, for example, but the books came first. All of the "stuff" came as a result of the popularity of the series. Just my opinion--I'd like to know what you think. If you would like to read more about the series there is an article about it in the New York Times book section.
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Well, in my opinion, this is a good marketing strategy because it makes readers more loyal to the series. If there's a reminder that the series is out there, through online game or collectible cards, they'll remember the books.
ReplyDeleteMerchandise means popularity, and some people like to think that they like what the mass likes.
Again, this is just my opinion.
I think it makes the whole series more interesting. It makes kids feel like the stories in the books are actually part of their lives, and I think that's what a lot of kids are looking for in their books. That's one reason why Harry Potter is so alluring - it COULD be them.
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