In 1895 Charles Post began adding gadgets, pamphlets and gizmo’s to “entice” buyers to purchase his cereal. His “add-ins” would promise that Grape Nuts could cure appendicitis, make your blood redder and raise your IQ. By 1903 Post was getting $1 million in sales. Why? Because people want to get more for their money. They want to think that the money they spending is getting them more than cardboard, oats and grain. With the addition of Post’s “incentives” people felt better about spending the money they did not have on the this new idea cereal because they were getting a cure or an advantage, or something they could use after the product was gone.

Today, in 2009, we want the same thing. But who of us would buy a cereal that promised a cure for appendicitis or would raise our IQ; probably not most of us. We still want our money to go further and in this economic hardship if we can do that it’s exceptional.

The same idea is still used and is accepted in most things. However, the Publisher that’s responsible for the Harry Potter series is getting slack for selling the books as well as Harry Potter book toys through Scholastic Book Club, the club that is sold through your child classrooms. They argue that they are bribing kids to read. Scholastic’s Judy Newman says ”We’re losing kids’ interest [in reading]. We have to keep them engaged,” when speaking about selling items other than books to kids.  

The idea behind the argument is kids are being desensitized to the world around them. Books are not just enough, they need to come with a toy, games, kit, doll, etc. If you have not noticed it before everything marketed to kids comes with something or has a cartoon, tv show or doll right along with it. Even kids toilet paper has a cartoon friend to remind them when enough is enough.

So is enough enough? Do we really need to give a “prize” to out kids to get them to do what they need to do to succeed? eBooks are all book. They have animation and sounds, but a doll doesn’t come with the finishing of the story. There is a sense of satisfaction that comes from finish the book, then reading the book without the sound. The child is challenged and entertained while doing something that will encourage them to read again.

Children have been reading through Scholastic for over 87 years. They give opportnites for learning by working with schools, teachers and classrooms to bring books into the hands of children. In addition to their in classroom marketing they are now offering online e-books, that work along side of BookFlix. This new resource pairs a fictional video storybook with a non-fiction ebook, to teach and entertain at the same time. With options to read along and cross refrence the non-fiction e-book. 

This new media is booming, the e-book industry is a “35 billion dollar” (cbc.ca) machine. Until recently childrens e-books have not been the majority of the market, it was advertized to adults and college students for a less expensive text choice. However, marketing to children through electronic media is becoming a unsurprising use of resources. With the majority of toys, games and televison shows having a onine counterpart the option for online learning though classic and neo-classic books is not an unwelcome resource.

Suzanne Murphy with Scholastic says:

‘I’d be hard pressed to say there won’t be a time when bedtime reading is with an electronic device.’

Some might be turned away by this fact, and argue that reading to children is one of the most memorable and rewarding parent/child experiences. I agree. I am not trying to say that e-books should replace those moments all togeather, but give another way to experience learning. Just as one uses online resoreces to learn and educate. E-books are another fomat that can inhance reading, learning and bring something different to the way a child recieves the information. 

“We’re so lucky to live in an era when kids can have books in multiple formats. Each format offers something that the other doesn’t,” said Francie Alexander, Scholastic’s chief academic officer.