Posted by Prue Eckett on October 26, 2006 at 22:58:50 from 219.89.102.200 user PrueEckett.
In Reply to: Taking another tack (was Contemporary Appeal) posted by Andrew Craig-Bennett on October 26, 2006 at 12:10:21:
Andrew - that is the problem. Few have access to boats such as they are, and while I disagree that 'plastic' small yachts have much mroe luxury than the old style, sailing is not a universal sport, even in NZ where the coast is less than 100km from anywhere in the country.
In addition, much more is available for children and books such as AR's, once one of the few written directly to children, now must compete with sci-fi where even quiet geeks can be heros and there is no Susan telling them to wash/sleep/be quiet etc.
Many schools do a great job introducing children to books their parents may be unaware of in the market(I gave Goodnight Mr Tom to one of my neices - brilliant fiction for adults too)but in the end its the child that chooses, and not enough are choosing AR.