Snack Foods Become Stars of Books for Children
By David D. Kirkpatrick
As the host of the "Bring Your Own Baby" reading group at the Enchanted Forest bookstore in Dallas, Susan Minshall meets plenty of parents anxious to start their toddlers reading - and to make them sit still. So she recommends the newly published "Kellogg's Froot Loops! Counting Fun Book," which invites toddlers to insert the sugary cereal in cut-out holes in its cardboard pages.
"I call this a going-out-to-dinner book - you have your kid sitting in a highchair and it is something to do," she said. "And it is a great way to begin getting them started reading because eating is when they will pay attention."
This fall, parents and teachers can choose from a sudden proliferation of books starring brand-name candies and snacks like Froot Loops, Cheerios, M & M's, Pepperidge Farm Goldfish, Reese's Pieces, Skittles, Hershey's chocolates, Sun-Maid raisins and Oreo cookies.
Introduced six years ago by a Massachusetts nursery school teacher, snack-brand children's books have exploded in the last two years into a genre all their own as Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, and Scholastic have all jumped into the field. Millions of copies have been sold, with a full shelf of new titles on the way. Random House planned its first entry this year - a book based on Taco Bell's fast food and Chihuahua mascot - until Taco Bell pulled the dog from its commercials.
The publishers and authors pay a licensing fee to the food companies, who see a novel opportunity to market to toddlers. "It is a great way to get the Froot Loops brand equity into a different place, where normally you don't get exposure - taking it from the cereal aisle and into another area like learning," said Meghan Parkhurst, a spokeswoman for Kellogg, adding that the company also provides Froot Loops book covers to schools.
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Carl
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