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| Thursday, 1 April 2004 |
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International Children's Book Day: Writing Children's Books not an easy task by Sumana Saparamadu It is a long time since I visited a bookshop, for I have stopped buying books. With International Children's Book Day (ICBD) round the corner, I was keen to find out what new books had been published for children in the new millennium, now in its fourth year. Hans Christian Anderson's birthday, April 2 has been named ICBD in his honour, to call attention to children's literature and to inspire children to read by bringing books to them. UNESCO's International Book and Copyright Day is April 23, Shakespeare's birthday. While some countries celebrate ICBD on or around April 2 other countries combine their celebration of Children's Book Day with UNESCO's Book Day. An organisation in Sri Lanka has, off and on, celebrated ICBD with children's marches, exhibitions and meetings with authors, but not regularly. There are three well-stocked bookshops in our town Nugegoda. That afternoon when I went on my fact-finding tour, my first stop was at the branch of the oldest bookshop in the island - Gunasena's with which I have a special bond. What a plethora of books - colourful, profusely illustrated, off set printed. And what prices!! I was staggered. The cheapest I could find was priced Rs. 35. The prices ranged, on the average, from Rs. 35 to Rs. 100. There was a 16-page book priced at Rs. 130. Unbelievable. Who buys books at these prices? Can parents whose income is only their monthly salary, pay this much money for their off-springs' leisure-time reading? Unless books are selling at that price, I told myself, printers and publishers would not be bringing out such costly books for kids in Year 1 and 2, 3 and 4. I was interested in books for the 5 to 10 year olds. There were a few old familiar titles like Sybil Wettasinghe's Kuda Hora (Umbrella Thief) now priced at Rs. 35 and her Uda Giya Baba (The Baby that went up in the Air) at Rs. 60. Hubert Dissanayake's Punchi Ali Pancha (The little Elephant) was Rs. 80 and Sri Charles de Silva's Handaya Rs. 60. Kumaratunga's Hath Pana was Rs. 80 while Heen Seraya was Rs. 100, with questions at the end of each chapter making it a "school book" not the story book pure and simple that Kumaratunga Munidasa published in the 1930s. The majority of books were by writers whose names I was not familiar with. There was a spread of books by one writer, and not one was priced below Rs. 50. As many as 60 titles were given on the back cover of her books. Does she own a press? Is she her own printer and publisher, I wondered. There were other books half a dozen to a writer. Writing children's books seems to be a lucrative business but how fast do these books sell and how profitable is their sale? I cannot comment on the contents of any of the books by these new writers as I didn't read them from cover to cover to assess their quality. It was the prices that held my attention. Will the primary schools have the money to buy even 15 or 20 books each year at these prices? "Why are these little books so costly?" I asked a salesman. "Paper is very expensive now" he said and added "The illustrations are in colour and colour printing is very costly. "I agree, but why have so many full-page or half page illustrations in colour? "Children want colour and more pictures. That's what makes the book sell". I didn't want to listen to more of his sales talk. I disagree - totally disagree - that it is full-page illustrations and more of illustrations and less of text that prompts every child to read a story book. This appeal diminishes as the child grows up. I concede that a story book is uninteresting to a child unless accompanied by illustrations. A sea of print puts him off. But one or two colourful illustrations taking up a full page or half a page will not hold his attention and make him want to read the story. A number of well executed back and while drawing will whet his appetite. However much a child's eye may be caught for the moment by a large flush of colour, there is a particular pleasure he derives from spotting and examining details in a picture illustrating an incident in the story. Printers and publishers have gone to town using the advanced technology in printing. But have these new books enlarged the "reading public" in primary school? Has anyone done a survey? Attracting the child is not the goal of publishing books for children. The book by its contents and style of story-telling must inspire the child to read on and read more. My experience is that little is to be gained from two or three full-page illustrations if the rest of the story is left unillustrated. As I was picking up books at random, making a cursory glance through and comparing prices with the number of pages - usually 16, 20, 2u - I was swept off my feet when I saw a reference to me in the blurb to Yasawardana Rodrigo's "Kaputu Hamita Veradunu Tena" (where the crow went wrong) by Sundara Nihatamani de Mel, the Editor of Lakbima. It was an unsolicited compliment, an unexpected tribute, which I was unaware of and would have been even now had I not gone to the bookshop that day afternoon to look at the latest children's books. Thank you Mr. De Mel. Reading your tribute I was at once thrown decades back to the days I was writing and publishing books for children. How well I remember the day I took my first story to Gunasena's. Mr. Sirisena, nephew of the proprietor and manager of the bookshops, glanced through the manuscript, looked at the illustrations, said he would print and publish it and gave me Rs. 250. (I cannot remember signing any document, but I must have done it - selling the copyright). I was thrilled I would soon have a book in print. Rs. 250 is peanuts today but was quite a sum then. Back at Lake House in high spirits, I rang my friend Carmel de Fonseka (now Raaffel, domiciled in Sydney) at the Central Bank and invited her for lunch." Why this sudden invitation?" she asked. "I've had a windfall. I'll tell you over lunch". We had lunch at the Pagoda, ordering the best on the menu but I don't think it cost even half of what I had been paid. The 16 page book Ran Etanage Podi Duwa. Ran Etana's little daughter, with black and white illustrations on every page was priced at 50 cents. Ran Etana was soon followed by another and another. When I took my third or fourth story, Mr. Sirisena, as per usual, with only a fleeting glance through at the text and illustrations asked one of his assistants to bring a form (to sign away the copyright) and offered me Rs. 250 which he took from his drawer. "No" I said firmly, "I will not sell the copyright for a "Sochchama" - (mere trifle). You must pay me more". Mr. Sirisena had lots to say about children's books not selling fast enough and that this story had nothing special etc. Offended and annoyed I said "There are other publishers" and taking my manuscript I walked out. I had barely stepped on the pavement when a salesman said from behind "Sir wants to speak to you! I went back to Mr. Sirisena's desk. He gave me Rs. 750 and I signed away my copyright and we made our peace. Dear old Sirisena, he has launched so many writers on their careers including Gunadasa Amarasekera, paying a then unknown young writer, Rs. 500 for his book of short stories Rathu Rosa Mala - The Red Rose. That was way back in 1950. My third or was it the fourth was also a 16-page book priced at 50 cents. My friends, especially those on the staff of Visakha Vidyalaya, then young mothers with children just beginning school, were my best customers. When my friend Dilsiri gave this book to her son who by then was in Standard II he had asked her very condescendingly", Is she still writing only 50 cent books?" Encouraged by the sale of three or four books I ventured to be my own publisher, partly to avoid the hassal of bargaining with Mr. Sirisena. My "Rathu Bisikalaya". The Red Bicycle deviated from the usual format for children's books made popular by the Nava Maga Supplementary Readers viz. Kuda Hora and Otuwagay Molliya (The Camel's Hump). It was smaller in size (8 x 10) for I considered this more appropriate for little hands. Two or three months ago I was told by some friends and a Lake House staffer, that at a TV panel discussion Rathu Bisikalaya was mentioned as a "good book" for children, and wanted to know where they could buy a copy. 'Nowhere', I said, "It has long been out of print". Why don't you print it again", they suggested. At the launch of Dr. Wimala de Silva's memoirs - Those Phoenix Days - on the first Saturday of March, the daughter of an old school-mate, introducing herself, told me how much she enjoyed reading 'Rathu Bisikalaya'. "I want to buy it for my son. It is not available anywhere", she said. All this is very encouraging, but I haven't a single copy and I cannot find even the manuscript. If anyone has a copy however tattered or faded or dirty I will buy it. Moving house from time to time, I have lost or misplaced so many of my papers. Even Collettes illustrations for the book are lost. All my books were illustrated by artists on the Lake House staff, the first by Talangama Jayasingha, and others by B. L. A. Mendis and Sonia Alagoda. My second publication Vikata Anduma based on a true incident at a fancy dress competition at the Visakha Primary was also illustrated by Collette, the premier cartoonist of the day, and Kusala, daughter of Sybil Wettasinghe paid me the supreme compliment, when as a child she told her mother, 'Vikata Anduma' is my favourite book". Then as now, Sybil was at the very top, far, far, above all writers of children's stories. I was only an "also ran". I was sad not to find any of my books on the shelves at Gunasena's, my publisher. So, I was not surprised not to find them among the children's books in the other two bookshops in Nugegoda. Are my books outdated? I honestly don't think so. Jataka tales like those I have re-told for children have been told and re-told, read and re-read for generations and they have a perennial appeal. Perhaps, like everything else, books too, however popular at one time have to make way for the new and the topical. The old order changeth - yielding place to new. |
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