Children books big draw at book fair

Parragon, one of the largest publisher of children's illustrated books in India has brought to life fairytales from the lands of Snow White, Cinderella and Mulan.

Books featuring the 'Frozen' princesses Elsa and Anna and the daring Moana who set sail to fulfill her ancestors' unfinished quest, besides a treasure trove of bedtime stories and nursery rhymes are drawing huge number of visitors at their stall.

"Dora was quite popular last year but Frozen has been a big hit this time. The sales and popularity of cartoon characters is largely affected by the success of the movies made on them. If the movie gets popular, the book automatically becomes a success," says Gayatri, editorial and design head at Parragon.

14-year-old Gracy, bought an assortment of books based on her favourite Disney characters.

"Although I am grown up now but my love for these coloured fairy tales doesn't seems to die. Everytime I come to the book fair, I pick up some of these in addition to my curriculum books," she says.

Colourful pop-up books of folklores, DVDs of bedtime stories and unique interactive devices for quick learning are are also popular.

Grolier, a US-based publishing house has a range of 'Talking story books', which focus on developing speaking and writing skills in children.

"The products available here are really useful to boost our children's reading capabilities as well as speaking skills in a really fun way. After the demo I realised it is a in-home learning expert for my children which is very interactive," says Vinod Sharma, who came with his 3-years old son Ayaan.

'Talking Pen', an interactive audio support device is among the most popular products at the stall.

The book shelves at Hachette India's stall are stocked with different editions of Enid Blyton books. 'Star Wars' and 'Harry Potter' have takers across age groups. Michael O'Mara's adult colouring books are also a big hit.

Non-fiction books are particularly popular with parents who want their children to read "educational" content.

"Indian parents love non-fictional books for their children since they are educational. 'The Gita: For Children' by Roop Rai is one of the bestselling titles here," says Sonali, Senior Product Executive at Hachette.

Children classics like 'The Wimpy Kid' series, Tom Gates and Geronimo Stilton continue to remain the all time favourites.

Scholastic India which is celebrating it's 20th anniversary has come up with a research report that sheds light on the reading preferences and habits of children.

"We always concentrate on the fact that reading and book fairs should be a community experience with children and parents coming together," says Shantanu Dutta Gupta, Marketing Head at Scholastic India.

All time popular Hindi classics like 'Amar Chitra Katha', 'Vikram-Betal', 'Chacha Chaudhary', 'Akbar-Birbal' and 'Panchtantra' were also picked by visitors.

International bestsellers such as 'Beauty and the Beast', 'Mickey Mouse', musical books and graphics are available at throwaway prices of Rs 50 and Rs 100 at several canopies.

The fair underway at Pragati Maidan here, comes to a close on January 15.