Research in the Community

        When doing the four different research assignments, in a bookstore, in a library, in the media and online, I found a wide array of strategies used to promote children’s books as well as how people advertise for so many other items and activities using the themes, and sometimes the characters, used in children’s books.  The advertisements and commercials I found in the media were very interesting, especially because most of the products being promoted are not for children, yet kid’s stories are being used to describe them.  Online, I found some websites that seemed to be very helpful, especially those geared towards helping teachers to teach about critical literacy to their students, regardless of their age.  And at the library and bookstore, I was able to see how the specific way books are arranged and displayed make a difference, affecting the atmosphere of the space and the accessibility of the books.

         As I stated before, the advertisements that I found were all targeted towards adults but used children’s themes.  By incorporating these juvenile aspects the companies are accomplishing two things: bringing adults back to their happy childhood memories, making them want the product more, and catching the attention of children because they recognize the story and will probably tell their parent/guardian about the product or commercial.  While this is smart marketing, I think it should only be used for certain products.  Having a tampon commercial based on Cinderella is not a commercial I want to see, and not one that children should identify with.  Also, most commercials that use children’s themes in them are targeted at women.  There are some that could be unisex and a few that are for men, but the majority of these advertisements cater to women, using princesses and queens to do so.

         When I went to Barnes & Noble in Bethesda Row I didn’t really know what to expect because I had never walked around a bookstore with a critical eye, looking for specific details.  I was pleasantly surprised by the wide array of books offered and how most were equally accessible, both visually and physically. There were many sections that were specifically for books on certain cultures, each one with a tab stating the group of people/name of the area.  I also saw a lot of tables, with signs in the middles describing the books presented there.  Some of them were standard, such as “New Arrivals” and “School Reading Lists”, but others were different and eye-catching.  At the top of the escalator, there was a Hispanic Heritage table, showcasing books that ranged form children to adults.  There was also a table titled “Thought Provoking” which contained a variety of books, many being about religion and race.  There were also specific areas throughout the entire store that offered books in Spanish, which was really nice to see.  The “Barnes & Noble Jr.” section was great as well.  The area is clearly targeted at younger readers, having bright colors and specified seating areas.  On many of the bookshelves there were books that dealt with real life social issues, placed right alongside of the “normal” kids books.   Each section had a sign with a word or two describing the type of books there, and I saw some that really showed me that this bookstore cared about all of its different customers.  Sections that were only filled with Spanish books still had a lot of the mainstream books kids recognize and know, as well as books about Hispanic heritage.  I could go on and on about the children’s section of Barnes & Noble, evident by the fact that I spent about an hour in that section alone.  I know that I would really feel welcomed and encouraged to read if I were a child walking in their with my parent, and I saw this same feeling in many of the children’s faces and actions when they walked through the little archway into “their” bookstore.