Dutch Children’s Book Week sets new sales and print-run records

The Netherlands’ annual Children’s Book Week set new sales and print-run records this year, with about 200,000 more children’s books sold during the event than in a typical week, according to the book industry organisation CPNB. The increase was 1 per cent above last year’s record, it said.

The 12-day event ran from 30 September to 11 October. More than 360,000 copies of *Terug naar de Schoenenboom* (Back to the Shoe Tree), this year’s free gift book by Milouska Meulens, were sold. Shoppers spending at least €13.50 on children’s books during the week received a copy.

The picture book for the event, *Herrie in de tent* (Ruckus in the Tent) by Harmen van Straaten, had a print run of more than 47,000 copies, also a record, CPNB said. The organisation described this year’s results as the best in a decade.

CPNB suggested that concern about children’s reading skills may have contributed to the rise. A spokesperson said parents, carers, schools and grandparents felt a greater urgency to celebrate reading with children, adding that booksellers had reported similar interest. The organisation cited concerns about Dutch young people’s reading skills in international PISA research.

CPNB said it hoped attention to reading and literacy would continue after the event ended.