Classic 'toons invade city

TIRED OF having to watch Cartoon Network endlessly because the kid at home insists? Try giving the kid a new addiction. It was only a few years ago, that children stayed glued to comic books. That was the era before Cartoon Network and cable TV.

Suddenly, when the habit seemed to have disappeared, here are people who are trying to revive the reading habit.

The tale unwinds at the Good Books store this weekend. Toonz Animation will launch its second comic-series, Classic Toonz at the store on July 21 with a story reading session for children by Yamuna of Madras Players.

Remember, Pakka Toonz? That was the comic series on cricket launched by the same folks recently. The same folks are now bringing tales from the Indian folklore to the kids. The first in the series, titled The Clever Barber, hence, hits the stands at Good Books soon after the story reading session.

Promotional activity would happen in the course of the week following the launch. The book store is sending out discount coupons and mailer invitations to children (which means that kids would get copies of the comic book at a discounted price during the week July 21-29).

The comic books creatively combine high-end technology with the Indian contemporary and traditional ethos, is what the makers think could be the USP of the books. The books are more culturally relevant that Cartoon Networks foreign programming and hence would sell, the publishers believe. Even as parents continue to investigate factors responsible for the dwindling frequency of the reading habit among children, marketing experts believe that it's just a matter of getting the right kind of content across to the children and pushing it through the right channels. Getting the children involved enough that they develop an appetite for it.

Going by that, Good Books might have got its game plan right. The store over the last few months has been building a community of children, positioning itself as a resource centre for children and young people. A place not just for buying books but a center for children, and for adults involved with children. To popularise the reading habit, the bookstore has been humming with several reading promotion activities involving story telling, creative writing, drama and art. And by special visits by special people, especially for children.

That children like group activity is one reason that would work for these kind of promotions. But will the ploy to bring back the reading habit among children be a success story or has it already succumbed to the TV watching habit?

Well, you need to wait and watch for that!

By Sudhish Kamath

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