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January 13, 2015 by Travis Jonker

Million Dollar Idea: All Books Available in ‘Really Big’ Size

January 13, 2015 by Travis Jonker   3 comments

Many books are available in hardcover and paperback, but today I would like to propose a third option: Really Big Size

I think I was talking with my colleague Niki (Daydream Reader) a while back when we hit upon this idea. It sprang from the fact that kids are drawn to big books. If you work in a library you know this is just a fact. Big books have the aura of importance. Finishing a big book is an accomplishment. There are a number of random books in our collection that I am convinced would be much less popular if they weren’t the same approximate dimensions as a loaves of bread.

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So, how would Really Big Size work? Every book, regardless of length, would be available in a version that’s just huge. I’m talking tons of pages. If the size and weight seem completely unsuitable for children, it’s perfect. “But what about picture books?” you say? Stretch it out. One word per page. Pictures get their own pages. Punctuation marks get pages. Hey, if you need to throw in a few totally blank pages to make it Really Big, that’s what you gotta do.

Just imagine … you’re having a hard time selling a really good, yet slim book to a student. The student is skeptical. Then you bring out the Really Big Size version. Tell me that book isn’t getting checked out?

Previously…

Million Dollar Idea: The Cardigan T-Shirt

Million Dollar Idea: Put a Nosferatu On It

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About Travis Jonker

Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.

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Comments

  1. Jill Moss says

    January 13, 2015 at 12:05 pm

    LOVE this! Some of my kinders and 1st seem to want to check out books that are as big as themselves! And, on a very real level, some of my upper grade kids who read at a low level wouldn’t be embarrassed to take the “baby” books because they’d be freaking huge!

    • Travis Jonker says

      January 13, 2015 at 12:06 pm

      Thanks for the endorsement, Jill. What you say about older readers is very true too.

  2. Mike Lewis says

    January 13, 2015 at 8:37 pm

    And lots of space between lines for that extra page flipping satisfaction.

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