8. Do a library research and write a 200-word essay on your favourite work of literature, proving the idea that books can change lives by making people think.

CONVERSATION AND DISCUSSION

THE PLACE OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE ON TODAY'S BOOK MARKET

Before you read

Discuss these questions

1. What is the role of children's literature on today's book market? Is it successful or not? Give your reasons.

2. Who do you consider the most successful children's writer of today?

Reading tasks

A. Understanding the main points Answer these questions

1. What main problems did the children's literature face before 1997?

This was the time when the children's departments of publishing houses appeared to be quiet backwaters.

2. Were Madonna's books for children successful or not?

Yes, Madonna's books for children were successful because they were published on the rise and due to her publisher Nicholas Callaway who paid tribute to J.K Rowling.

3. What celebrities do you know who penned a tale both in Russia and abroad?

They are Prince Charles, Sara Ferguson*, Sir Paul McCartney,Carl Hiaasen, Jeanette Winterson and Elmore Leonard are among long list of writers who have written for both markets.

4. What exactly constitutes the Harry Potter phenomenon? The figures as awesome as the plots are imaginative.

* Sara Ferguson married Prince Andrew 1988, who later separated for her insulting behaviour.

awe — respect combined with fear and reverence awesome — causing awe reverence — deep respect

5. What is the most effective way to bring teenagers into the bookshops?

The children will still buy when they're 12 plus if the same books displayed in both the children's and adult's sections of the shop

Understanding details

Say if these statements are Т (true) or F (false) according to the information in the text.

1. The children's departments of publishing houses have never been quiet backwaters..

2. In the past twenty years the public perception of children's books has changed significantly.

3. Publishers have suggested that they look at music retailing as a better model for how teenagers buy things, grouping together titles alphabetically, rather than by theme.

B. How the text is organized

These phrases summarize the main idea of each paragraph. Match each one with the correct paragraph.

a) There are different opinions about the reasons why celebrities write books.

b) Teachers must have an excellent knowledge of children's literature.

c) The future of children's literature looks optimistic.

d) Children's books attract both kids and adults.

e) Authors like J.K. Rowling helped change the public attitude to children's books.

THE PLACE OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE ON TODAY'S BOOKMARKET

Once upon a time, complains a children's book writer, whenever she went to parties and was asked what she did for a living, she would receive the same response: "When are you going to write a real book?" This was the time when the children's departments of publishing houses appeared to be quiet backwaters. Advances for books were low, marketing budgets were almost non-existent and ambitious editors considered the children's department a stepping stone to success elsewhere in the industry.

That was pre-1997, before the world "phenomenon" was inextricably attached to the magical name of Harry Potter. Without doubt, the launch of the neophyte wizard kick-started the children's book publishing industry turning the quiet backwater into a raging torrent. In the past seven years the public perception of children's books has changed significantly. Thanks in huge measure to authors such as J. K. Rowling and Philip Pullman, who in 2001 became the first children's author to win the Whitbread Book of the Year award. "Children's books are being treated with renewed respect ", says Francesca Simon, creator of Horrid Henry, the primary school antihero.

What exactly constitutes the Harry Potter phenomenon? The figures are as awesome as the plots are imaginative. Number five in the series, Harry Potter and the order of the Phoenix, sold 1.8 million copies in its first 24 hours on the market. An average 220 copies were bought every minute at Tesco supermarkets around the country. Online retailer said the novel had broken internet sales records, with more than 1.3 million advance orders worldwide. The delivery of the book is the largest distribution of any single item in e-commerce history. Publisher Bloomsbury is planning 15 new editions of the Potter books, including ancient Greek and Scottish and Irish Gaelic translations of the first book.

As the children's book market has boomed, an increasing number of celebrities on both sides of the Atlantic have found their muse and penned a tale — with varying degrees of success. When Madonna's first children's book was about to be published, her publisher, Nicholas Callaway paid tribute to J. K. Rowling. "Everyone owes a

great debt to Harry Potter for introducing a new generation worldwide to the magic of children's books", he said. "Internet in children's books is on the rise and thankfully we are part of that trend." "The English Roses" was published simultaneously in more than 100 countries and in 30 languages. More than one million copies hit bookshops around the world, backed by a huge marketing blitz and it went on to become the fastest-selling children's picture book of all time. Madonna's second book for children, "Mr. Peabody's Apples", was launched in November 2003, the third, "Yakov and Seven Thieves" was published in June, 2004 and the fourth "The Adventures of Abdi" — later that year.

There have always been "celebrities" writing books for children, not least members of the royal family. Twenty years ago, Spike Milligan persuaded Prince Charles to write "The Old Man of Lochnagar" which is still in print.

Fifteen years ago Sarah Ferguson* revealed her own literary effort, "Budgie the Little Helicopter", again still in print. In 2003 she published "Little Red", a story about a doll that had enticing merchandising spin-offs. Earlier this year, it was announced that Sir Paul McCartney is penning a children's book, to be published by Faber & Faber. Writers who usually write for adults are turning their hand to children's fiction too: Carl Hiaasen, Jeanette Winterson and Elmore Leonard are among the long list of writers who have written for both markets.

Children's books agent Patricia White says that while some celebrity books are worthwhile, others are less so. "A good many of these books raise the profile of the celebrity and look like a PR exercise", she says. "In fairness, a number of celebrities donate the proceeds to their charities, which clearly is no bad thing. And if anything encourages kids to get pleasure from a book and gets them away from computer games, that must be a bonus". However, publishers are wise to the fact that celebrity authorship is not in itself enough to sell a children's book. "When Penguin published Madonna I think everybody really believed that they had a good book", says one. "The scenario wasn't": 'We've got all these words strung together, but it's by Madonna, so it'll be OK.' The cost of publishing is too expensive to be reckless like that".

A significant indication that the children's book market is hotting up is that literary agents who have never previously handled children's books are now agenting children's authors. It's a business after all. Kids' books now make up 16 per cent of the total book market. Caroline Horn of trade magazine "The Bookseller" says that despite the many different figures published about the market, publishers would agree that the children's books sector overall is very buoyant. "The fiction market for the 8 — to 12 — year — old sector is very strong. That's the core market for publishers, with adventure stories doing very well". It's worth remembering that a quarter of sales in 2003 were of Harry Potter titles. One of the effects of the Harry Potter phenomenon was to give publishers confidence. They realized that they didn't have to stick to the standard. It helped break down the barriers of length — that books didn't have to be only 30 000 words long — and it freed up writers to be more adventurous in their plots. They could deal with literature in a different way. The area that has grown the most recently is for 12 — to 16 — year — olds.

We've developed a fiction market for teenagers that we've not really had before. Publishers are realizing that children will still buy books when they're 12 — plus if the books are slowly coming round to the necessity of changing how they sell books to teenagers. Publishers have suggested that they look at music retailing as a better model for how teenagers buy things, grouping together titles by theme, rather than alphabetically. The way books are still displayed in bookshops — with an adult section, a children's section and a teen section, presented alphabetically, by author — doesn't help bring teenagers into bookshops. And when they get there, they don't really understand what books might work for them. One recent phenomenon you will find in bookshops is the same book displayed in both the children's and adults' section of the shop. Adults can now buy specially jacketed copies of Harry Potter, for instance. Children's fiction has always appealed to adults. "And it's nothing new", points out the children's laureate Michael Morpurgo, who has just reread Kipling's "Just So Stories".

"Part of what I'm doing as a children's laureate is to encourage not only children, but teachers as well", he says. One of the initiatives is to create a course on children's literature as a mandatory part of teacher training. Teachers can end up in schools never having read a

children's book, and as they are probably the single biggest influence on children's reading, they need to be given the tools and knowledge. This could have a big impact — like Harry Potter dropping into the popular cultural mainstream and changing the way kids relate to books.

The buzz around children's book increased when the position was created in 1999, to "recognize and highlight the importance of exceptional children's authors in creating the readers of tomorrow". Before the emergence of Harry Potter, there was a view that future generations would be lured more by increasingly sophisticated computer games than the world of books. The signs are, however, that children's books are alive and kicking, and growing up all the time.

GLOSSARY

quiet backwaters — тихая заводь

to be a stepping stone for something — быть промежуточным этапом

inextricably — запутанность, сложность

neophyte — неофит, новообращённый, новичок

to kick-start — послужить толчком

a raging torrent —- бушующий поток

advance orders — предварительные заказы

Gaelic — галльский язык

to pen a tale — написать сказку

to pay tribute — отдать должное

celebs, celebrities — знаменитости

proceeds — выручка, доход

reckless — безрассудный, опрометчивый

to hot up — процветать

buoyant — оживлённый

break down the barriers — сломать О барьеры

specially jacketed copies — экземпляры книг в специальном переплёте

mandatory — обязательный

be lured more by — отдавать предпочтение

*Sarah Ferguson — informal Fergie (1955) the English woman who became the Duchess of York when she married Prince Andrew in 1986. She was well-known for her informal and lively behaviour, which some people did not think was suitable for a member of the "royal family". She separated from Prince Andrew in 1992, and in 1990's started writing children's books and appearing on US television programmes.

Over to you

1. What do you think made "the ambitious editors" consider the children's department "a stepping stone to success elsewhere in the industry"? Do you share their opinion?

2. What kind of books do you think is more difficult to write: adult or children's ones? Have you ever tried your hand at writing a children's book / a fairy tale ? Would you like to try ? What in your opinion are the easiest / the most difficult genres for writers: fantasy / novels / short stories / poems / detective stories / historical novels / adventure stories / fairy tales? Do you think it is right to compare the genres of literature this way?

3. What is your opinion about the reasons why so many celebrities start writing children's books? Which of the following statements would you support answering this question:

4. "These books just raise the profile of the celebrity and look like a PR exercise".

• "Celebrities try writing books, because they need some additional ways of applying their creativity. A talented person is talented in everything".

Give your reasons.

Consider Philip Pullman's remark about the books written by celebrities: "If a book is any good, it will survive. If not, there's no harm done." Give some arguments for and against this idea.

5. Do you agree that "children's literature is alive and kicking, and growing up all the time"? Is the situation in this country the same as

abroad? What do you think should be done to make children prefer books to computer games? How would you explain the sudden success of Harry Potter in today's world of computers?

Read the text and render it in English.

КАКОЕ НЕБО ГОЛУБОЕ.

Фестиваль детского рисунка "Какое небо голубое" в Московском доме книги на Новом Арбате был приурочен к выходу в свет сказки Булата Шалвовича Окуджавы "Прелестные приключения" с уникальными иллюстрациями автора. Когда Булат Шалвович жил в Ялте он посылал своему сыну письма, в которых описывал фантастические приключения.

Однажды Окуджава показал эти письма поэтессе Белле Ахма-дулиной. "Да это же готовая повесть" — воскликнула она. Так и родились "Прелестные приключения", философская сказка- притча для детей и взрослых, которая давно издана в Чехии, Польше, Грузии, Израиле и даже в Японии, и только теперь очередь дошла до нас. Организатором мероприятия был директор фонда знаменитого барда — Вадим Головня. Детишкам выдали принадлежности для рисования, а на выполнение задания — изобразить путешествие — отвели час. Выбрать лучший рисунок по признанию членов жюри было непросто, так как все очень старались. Авторов шести лучших рисунков наградили подарками, остальным достался подручный материал. Но, как сказал поэт," пряников, кстати, всегда не хватает на всех".

UNIT 2

TEXT

WHO ARE THE BOOK PEOPLE?

Publishing remains an intensely people-orientated business and it always will. It is a business of taste and choice. Trevor Glover, Penguin

What kind of people make good publishers, and in what kind of operation do they best thrive?

A recent survey of the Society of Young Publishers (SYP) showed that 90 per cent of its membership was from professional middle-class families. They were also well educated, 80 per cent having been in higher education. As one publishing course lecturer put it, there are far more enrollments on to publishing courses. Potential publishers tend to be highly articulate, confident and independent. They are also predominantly female.

In Europe too publishing has cachet and attracts well-motivate candidates. In the USA publishers are predominantly white, middle class, educated, and from the East Coast.

Publishers are single-minded about their chosen career. Whereas of the final-year degree students of my acquaintance chose a particular job function (for example, to be an accountant or go into management), few laid down precisely which industry they wanted to work in.

Publishers, it seems here, really are different.

For instance, those who wanted to work as a buyer had to find a firm willing to employ and train them as such. The ease with which it could be achieved depended on the economy and the number of jobs on offer, but if one firm turned them down there were others to be considered.

Application was relatively straightforward: they filled in the relevant form, sent it to the right building, and then hoped for an interview. Sometimes they would try several buildings in a short space of time.

By contrast, the first task of those interested in a career in publishing was to carry out detailed planning as to where the most appropriate buildings were. Then they progressed in charting who they already knew inside them, and circumnavigated them to find the back door, the fire escape or any ladders left casually lying about. Formal application forms for specific job opportunities were rare. There were few company brochures to read about relevant products; it was a question of picking a few names you had heard of and scanning the shelves of the local bookshop for more information about the kind of books produced. Applicants had to be enthusiastic, enterprising, optimistic and determined.

Above all, anyone decided on a career in publishing had to leave their options open until the last minute. Most publishing vacancies are only advertised a month or more before the successful candidate is needed to start, so there are few future publishers with a pre-exam job offer Careers advisers tell me that the general job application market has, of late, moved in a similar way to publishing.

Moving to London and taking a secretarial course, or dusting the warehouse shelves during your university holidays, has always been an accepted way to make contracts, acquire industry

knowledge and then get into publishing. Today there is much more emphasis on the indirect approach in other professions too, on the "added value" that individual applicants are able to give to their curriculum vitae through related •work experience and the acquisition of relevant skills.

Those offering professional career advice now include the "indirect" or "speculative approach" in their general guidance. For example, most of the graduates in the UK in 1992 who entered the Diplomatic Service had done something "additional" first; few entered straight from university. And this emphasis on self-organized, pre-job training is the way employment market has operated in continental Europe and the USA for some time.

Why publishing?

The SYP survey showed that nearly all the 3000 members quoted had joined publishing because of a "love of books" and, despite the "appallingly low" wages, 92 per cent were planning to stay. Ivor Powell of West Herts College commented on the relish with which most potential publishers long to be part of the "book-producing company", creating a quality product that matters. Many had family connections. And once they have found a niche within publishing, few move outside the industry. It's a more common c'areer path to work for a few firms and then set up on your own that to change the industry.

Almost all the people in charge of the large British companies are from the publishing world. We are not businessmen or women who happen to be in publishing. We are publishers who have learned about business.

And it seems that the same goes throughout Europe and the USA. Publishing is a congenial place to work and it is hard to get started. It follows that those who make it are motivated and determined.

GLOSSARY

1. to thrive благоденствовать, преуспевать,

процветать

2. enrollment прием, регистрация

3. articulate ясный, отчетливый;

четко сформулированный,

4. predominantly особенно, преимущественно

5. split трещина, раскол

6. cachet отличительный признак

7. whereas вводит уступительные

и противопоставительные предложения; несмотря на то, что......

8. precisely точно, именно, строго,

пунктуально

9. straightforward честно, прямо, открыто,

без утайки, без обиняков

10. relevant релевантный; значимый;

существенный; важный

11. to circumnavigate плавать вокруг

12. enterprising предприимчивый; активный,

деятельный, инициативный

13. determined решительный, твердый;

непреклонный; недрогнувший

14. starring выдающийся; замечательный,

известный

15. emphasis акцент, ударение

16. curriculum vitae СV множественное число — curricula

vitae резюме (сведения

об образовании

и профессиональном опыте)

17. appallingly ужасающе, потрясающе,

отвратительно, чудовищно

18. relish удовольствие, вкус, смак

19. to long очень хотеть, страстно желать

(чего-л.), испытывать потребность (в чём-л.), стремиться (to, for — к чему-л.)

20. congenial приятный, благоприятный

COMMENTARY

1. SYP, Society of Young Publishers — It is an organization, established to connect young people in the publishing field with information, contacts, jobs and training. It includes newsletter, FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions), lists of resources including training programs.

SPEECH PATTERNS

1. As one publishing course lecturer put it, there are far more enrollments on to publishing courses..

As an expert put it, this was a very successful advertising campaign.

As the manager put it, there is still much to do to improve our sales.

2. Potential publishers tend to be confident and independent. Kate tends to be the leader in any company. Fortunately, the economic situation tended to get better

3. Those who wanted to work as a buyer had to find a firm willing to employ and train them as such.

Are you willing to help in organizing the holiday?

He was not willing to take part in the distribution of the leaflets.

4. It was a question of picking a few names you had heard of and scanning the shelves of the local bookshop for more information.

The novel will be translated; it is only the question of time.

There are hundreds of contemporary romantic novels these days, but the question of the quality leaves much to be desired.

PHRASES AND WORD COMBINATIONS

1. to make good publishers становится хорошими издателями

2. recent survey недавние (последние)

исследования

3. to attract candidates привлекать мотивированных

кандидатов

4. to be single-minded быть прямым, искренним

5. to achieve smth. with ease делать что-либо с лёгкостью

6. by contrast with smth по контрасту с чём-л.

7. to scan the shelves пристально разглядывать,

изучать полки

8. to leave the options open оставлять в качестве варианта

9. careers adviser консультант по профессии,

карьерному росту

10. an accepted way приемлемый вариант

11. added value налог на добавленную стоимость

12. work experience опыт работы

13. relevant skills значимые, существенные

умения, навыки

14. straight from university сразу по окончанию

университета

15. quality product качественная продукция

ESSENTIAL VOCABULARY

enquiry noun

(another spelling is "inquiry")

1. a question intended to get information about someone or something:

There have already been over 300 inquiries from people interested.

2. make inquiries (= ask questions):

Police are making inquiries in the neighbourhood.

3. an official examination of a crime, accident, problem etc, in order to get information or the truth:

inquiry into: The public is demanding an inquiry into the incident.

acquire verb

1. to get something, for example by buying it or being given it: We acquired the shares for F 1.75 each.

newly acquired:

He boasts about his newly acquired BMW.

acquire something from someone:

The business was acquired from Orion four years ago.

2. to get a new skill or new knowledge by learning it: How can such a large quantity of knowledge be acquired?

3. to get a particular reputation, position, or name:

These are educational institutions that have recently acquired university status.

4. to gradually develop or learn something: I've never really acquired a taste for this author.

5. acquire the habit (of doing something) =start to do something regularly, without thinking about why:

We want people to acquire the habit of using public transport instead of their cars.

account noun

1. an arrangement in which a bank looks after your money.

You can deposit (=pay in) or withdraw (=take out) money when you need to: there was only F 50 in his bank account. open an account: How do I open an account with your bank?

2. a detailed record that a business keeps of the money it receives and spends in a particular period of time:

The accounts showed a loss of F 498 million.

3. an arrangement you have with a shop or other business that allows you to pay for goods or services later:

I have an account with Marks and Spencer.

4. a company that regularly buys goods or services from another company:

We now have over 30 major accounts.

5. an arrangement you have with a company or Internet provider to use a service they provide:

Do you have an email account?

6. a written or spoken report about something that has happened: account of: a brief account of the meeting

give an account of something:

He was too shocked to give a clear account of events.

accountant noun

someone whose job is to prepare financial records for a company or person

account for phrasal verb

1) account for something to be the reason why something exists or happens:

A number of factors account for the differences between the two scores.

2) account for someone/something to form, use, or produce a particular amount or part of something:

Repeat purchases account for 73% of our sales.

3) account for something to give an explanation for something bad that has happened, especially something you are responsible for:

You will be brought before the disciplinary panel to account for your behaviour.

4) account for someone if someone is accounted for, you know where they are and so do not worry that they are not where they should be:

One small child was still not accounted for.

guidance noun

1. advice about what you should do or how you should behave:

Many people have given us advice and guidance about the baby.

guidance on:

I need some guidance on which university course I should choose.

2. advice from an official organization on how to deal with particular situations:

The government is issuing new guidance on inspections in the supermarkets.

guide noun

1. a book about a city, country, or area: They publish a range of city guides. travel guide:

It is worth buying a good travel guide.

2. a book about a particular subject or type of activity: Get the booklet: A Guide for Married Couples.

3. step-by-step guide:

See our step-by-step guide on page 17.

4. pocket guide:

Lots of publishers produce pocket guides to various hobbies.

5. someone whose job is to look after a group of people who are visiting a place and give them information about it:

Your guide will explain what the different machines were used for. tour guide: There is a tour guide on every coach.

quote verb

1. to say or write words that someone else has said or written: Can I quote you on that (^repeat exactly what someone has said

about something)?

2. quote from:

She claimed to be quoting from an official report.

3. to give something as an example to support what you are saying: He quoted the example of a forty-year-old authors who has been

waiting nearly two years for the publication.

4. to tell someone what price you would charge them to do a particular piece of work:

How much did they quote for the job?

quote.~unquote (spoken)

if someone says 'quote' before a word or phrase, they are showing that they are repeating someone's words exactly, and they often say 'unquote' at the end

Quotation noun a group of words taken from a book, play, speech etc, and repeated by someone who is not the original author: a quotation from Shakespeare/ Quotation marks ="__"

ACTIVITIES