With a wide array of options presented by the advancement of technology, the current trends in children’s literature are also as diverse. These trends, however, are seen to affect the way real and tangible books are perceived. The modern ways of procuring and reading books are fast becoming the popular choice. This brings forth arguments that pit conventional books against more modern ebooks. Especially since children are highly visual, more and more people are turning to animated and colorful ebooks for children.
Even teenagers are slowly losing interest in buying real books from bookstores or borrowing them from libraries; of course, the certified hardcore bookworms and bibliophiles are exempt from this. There really is so much you could do with an ebook, right? You could just store it in your mobile phone and bring it with you anywhere you want, read it anytime you want, without the hassle of an extra load in your bag. If teenagers are already experiencing that side of technology, children who are looking for more colorful and attractive pictures have even more to look forward to. For parents, this is a more convenient and more affordable way to get their children to read. The current trends in children’s literature have definitely taken advantage of this demand.
Despite these current trends, however, picture books have still not lost their appeal among children. They continue to be a source of various themes and topics targeted towards children. Picture books with humorous content and educational and informational material are still welcomed by young audiences. Timeless topics inside picture books are still about the basics: colors, letters, fairy tales and adventures. There are more modern themes and topics like the disadvantages of bullying and why it should not be done, survival of heroes from hardships and many antagonists, and stories about nature and moral values. Picture books will always remain as one of the immediate and most effective materials for inculcating values and ethics to children at a very young age.
The themes and subjects gaining popularity among various age brackets are still about animals. Animals have continued to be a hit with younger audiences. Children really love to read stories of the animal’s journey and its success, despite everything that it has encountered. Children have shown much interest in such themes because it is not only attractive and entertaining to see animals in pictures, but also because it is as if the animals are portraying the same scenario of the children’s daily lives.
Intriguing nonfiction, novels in cartoons, kid lit on the screen, stories of war, tough girls, and drawing attention amidst diversity are also current popular themes in children's literature. Most of the time, children want to see themselves in the actors that are playing in the story, and easily associate themselves if these are represented by animals, famous cartoon characters, and girls who know how to fight. Whether in conventional books or ebooks, these themes are sure to entertain kids for hours.
