What books do children like to read in the era of universal reading
——Research report on book buying behavior of primary and secondary school students
【research report】
Since 2014, "National Reading" has been included in the "Government Work Report" for nine consecutive times.
For children who are in the critical period of establishing knowledge structure and developing interests and hobbies, it is very important to cultivate a strong passion for reading and have good reading ability.
The results of the 19th National National Reading Survey show that in 2021, the reading rate of books for minors aged 0-17 in my country will be 83.9%, an increase of 0.5 percentage points from 2020.
With the attention paid to children's reading, the children's book market has gradually prospered.
Among the children, the largest proportion are primary and secondary school students.
What are the characteristics of their book buying behavior?
What are the preferences of primary and secondary school students of different genders, ages, and learning stages in book buying and reading?
How to create a good environment for their reading and provide a strong impetus?
This research extracts CNONIX standard data exchange data from the "National Publishing and Distribution Information Public Service Platform", focuses on tracking the book purchase data of primary and secondary school students on online platforms and physical bookstores in some provinces and cities, and draws conclusions through in-depth analysis. refer to.
According to the characteristics of book content, this study divides books into two categories: teaching and auxiliary books and general books, of which general books include six categories such as theme publishing, literature, popular science, comics, social sciences, and life.
1. The overall portrait of primary and secondary school students' purchase of books in 2021
Data shows that in 2021, primary and secondary school students in the surveyed provinces and cities will buy 25,513 books throughout the year, of which September and December are the two peak periods for book purchases throughout the year, and the number of book purchases will account for 10.98% and 6.02% of the year, respectively.
September is the start of the new semester, and primary and secondary school students often buy a large number of books according to their learning needs.
And the winter vacation in December is about to start, and many children will also buy books to enrich their holiday life.
In terms of book purchase categories, in 2021, teaching and auxiliary books will account for "half of the books" purchased by primary and secondary school students, accounting for 55.59%.
Among the general books, literature books performed well, accounting for 22.36%; books published on themes such as theory and party history ranked third, accounting for 17.56%.
Other categories accounted for a lower proportion, with 2.19% for comics, 0.96% for popular science, 0.85% for social sciences, and 0.49% for life.
Judging from the teaching and auxiliary books purchased by primary and secondary school students, they are mainly divided into three categories: first, student reference books, such as "Modern Chinese Dictionary" (7th edition), "Xinhua Dictionary" (12th edition, two-color edition) and so on.
The second is synchronous learning, such as full explanation of textbooks and classroom exercises.
The third is asynchronous learning, such as special training, review papers, cultural and educational reading materials, etc.
Judging from the subjects involved in teaching supplementary books, mathematics, English and Chinese are the most on the list.
In addition, because all regions have the right to make independent propositions for the high school entrance examination and college entrance examination, the localization and specialization of teaching supplementary books are obvious.
From the list of general book purchases, it can be seen that literary books account for the largest proportion of the list, mainly composed of domestic and foreign classics, extracurricular recommended readings for primary and secondary school students, and bestsellers.
Such as the classic literary works "Journey to the West", "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Scholarly History"; the foreign literary masterpiece "One Hundred Years of Solitude"; the modern and contemporary literary masterpieces "Hongyan", "History of Entrepreneurship", "Camel Xiangzi", "Ordinary World"; bestsellers On the one hand, Japanese writer Keigo Higashino's "Malicious" and Liu Cixin's "Three-Body Problem" have attracted a large number of young people.
In 2020, the Basic Education Curriculum and Textbook Development Center of the Ministry of Education organized the development and release of the "Reading Guidance Catalog for Primary and Middle School Students (2020 Edition)", "Gu Wen Guan Zhi", "The Red Star Shines in China", "Chao Hua Xi Shi", "Fu Lei's Family Letter" and other selected catalogues.
"Happy Reading" is a special column of the unified primary school Chinese textbook, which aims to stimulate students' interest in reading, let them feel the joy of reading, and acquire basic reading methods.
Times Literature and Art Publishing House, People's Education Publishing House, Zhejiang Education Publishing House, etc. have all launched the "Happy Reading" series of books, which are very popular.
Four types of books, including popular science, social science, comics, and life, are the "rising stars" in the primary and secondary school students' book market.
"2021 Farmer's Calendar (Xin Chou Year of the Lunar Calendar)" and "Myopia Prevention and Eye Care Wall Chart" ranked 13th and 27th in the Top 60 list of general book consumption, reflecting students' enthusiasm for mastering the farmer's calendar and their love for eye care Eye health awareness.
Among the social science books on the list are "Thinking, Fast and Slow" and "A Brief History of Today: The Big Issue of Human Destiny".
Among the comic books on the list, "Half-Hour Comic World History 2" was created by Chen Lei and his team. It presents world history in the form of comics, which can help primary and secondary school students quickly understand historical knowledge points.
2. Analysis of the characteristics of students' book buying behavior under the gender dimension
There are differences in the categories of books purchased by boys and girls, with a large proportion of boys buying teaching aids.
The data shows that the number of books purchased by boys is large, and the number of purchases by girls is more.
In the past year, the most purchased books by boys and girls are teaching supplementary books, but the proportion is different. Boys account for 65.03%, which is significantly higher than that of girls 45.57%.
The proportion of boys buying books is ranked as follows: teaching supplementary category (65.03%), theme publishing category (17.19%), literature category (13.35%), social science category (1.62%), comic category (1.50%), life category (0.85%) %), popular science (0.46%).
The proportion of girls buying books is ranked as follows: teaching supplementary category (45.57%), literature category (27.93%), theme publishing category (16.65%), social science category (3.84%), comic category (2.57%), life category (2.18%) %), popular science (1.26%).
Boys prefer thematic publishing, and girls prefer literature.
According to the general book purchase data, the highest proportion of male purchases are themed publishing books, accounting for 49.15%.
Among the purchases of literary books, the number of purchases by girls accounted for 51.32%, far exceeding other categories of general books.
Boys bought the most "Three-Body Problem", followed by "The Scarecrow" and "Red Rock".
The biggest purchases by girls are "Gu Wen Guan Zhi", followed by "Mo Lifeng teaches you to read ancient poems", "Red Star Shines on China", "Yilin Moving Volume" and so on.
The data on the Top 20 list of literature for boys and girls to buy books shows that both boys and girls love to buy novels.
There are 13 novels on the boys' book buying list, and 9 novels on the girls' list.
Among them, boys prefer literary works with strong plot and science fiction, while girls prefer lyrical and reasoning literary works.
3. Analysis of the characteristics of students' book buying behavior under the dimension of school period
(1) Analysis on the characteristics of primary school students' buying behavior
The top three purchase categories for primary school students are teaching aids (44.76%), literature (26.95%), and theme publishing (21.85%).
In general, 26.95% of primary school students’ literary books are purchased. The purchased books involve history, science fiction, suspense, etc., including Chinese and foreign classics, as well as traditional Chinese culture and best-selling books.
The comic book most purchased by elementary school students is the half-hour comic series.
The total circulation of this series exceeds 20 million copies, which proves that popularizing history and culture in the form of comics has great appeal.
In terms of teaching assistance, there is a phenomenon of buying books beyond the academic period.
For example, "Oxford Advanced English-Chinese Dictionary" (9th edition), the content is super elementary school students.
Social science books are more difficult for elementary school students to understand, so they account for a small proportion.
In addition, scientific and technological books such as "Illustrated Artificial Intelligence" related to the field of cutting-edge information technology have also appeared.
(2) Analysis of the characteristics of junior high school students' buying behavior
The top three categories of books purchased by junior high school students are teaching aids (71.02%), literature (17.49%), and theme publishing (9.11%).
In the textbooks, the major purchases of junior high school students are exercise sets and basic knowledge books.
In general, literature books are the most purchased by junior high school students.
The three most popular literature books are: "Gu Wen Guan Zhi", "Three-Body Problem" and "The Red Star Shines in China".
Books on the literature list are rich in subject matter, including traditional literary classics, foreign masterpieces, modern and contemporary prose, fantasy mystery novels, etc.
Comics are also a favorite book category for junior high school students.
The three most purchased comic books are: "The Complete Works of Father and Son 3. I am a Monopoly", "The Complete Works of Father and Son 1. Happy Life", and "Smart Pet Car Brain Challenge Big Maze: Happy Paradise".
Although most of the buyers and readers are junior high school students, some of the comic book readers are positioned as "children", such as "Ade Children: Youth Edition Classic Book Library · Celebrity Biography" "Children's 100 Questions and 100 Answers 37 Amazing Science Events, etc.
(3) Analysis of the characteristics of high school students' buying behavior
The top three purchase categories of high school students are teaching aids (44.85%), literature (42.46%), and comics (3.86%).
In the teaching aids, the top 5 purchases are all tool books, and the most purchased is the "Preliminary Reference Book Set for the First Year of High School".
Judging from the types of teaching and auxiliary books in the top of the purchase volume, the teaching and auxiliary books and reference books of textbook interpretation have a high proportion.
In general, high school students prefer literature books.
Among the top 50 general book purchases, 78% are listed in the literature category, including ancient and modern Chinese and foreign classics, modern bestsellers, etc.
The top 5 purchases of literary books are: "Malicious", "Four Great Classics in Large Characters: Journey to the West (First, Middle and Second)", "Chao Hua Xi Shi", "The Great Gatsby", and "Fantastic Journey of Shepherd Boys".
Comic books and social science books have a certain proportion of readers, and their consumption is similar.
The proportion of high school students buying other types of books is also relatively high, which shows that as they get older, their choices are more diverse.
4. Analysis of Influencing Factors of Primary and Middle School Students' Book-purchasing Behavior
The factors that affect the book buying behavior of primary and secondary school students are:
learning needs.
Due to the needs of academic study, both from the perspective of gender and from the perspective of school stage, the number of primary and secondary school students' purchase of supplementary books accounts for the largest proportion.
In 2021, after the implementation of the "double reduction" policy for compulsory education, the homework burden of primary and secondary school students will be greatly reduced, and the spare time will be relatively abundant. In order to improve the quality of learning and cultivate self-learning ability, the demand for high-quality teaching and supplementary books is still considerable.
cognitive characteristics.
Children's physical and psychological characteristics have distinct characteristics, and their cognitive ability and understanding ability are still developing, which is an important factor in determining the orientation of buying books.
For example, reading text content requires readers to have a certain level of awareness and logical thinking. For primary and secondary school students in the growth stage, vivid cartoons are more attractive, can stimulate their desire to read, and guide them into colorful story spaces.
Comics can also develop children's imagination and exercise their image thinking.
Classic charm.
Literary books have always had a broad readership.
From the statistical data, the literary book consumption of primary and middle school students is mainly concentrated in Chinese and foreign classic literary masterpieces, such as the Four Great Classics, "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea", etc., as well as hot bestsellers in recent years, such as "Three-Body Problem", "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and "White Night" line" etc.
In the era of social media, readers can link to book resources through more diverse channels, but classics are never out of date, they have inspired generations of teenagers and have long-lasting vitality.
Policy Guidance.
In recent years, themed publishing books have been widely welcomed, and have also driven the related consumption of primary and secondary school students.
2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. Party and government organs and schools at all levels have launched party history learning and education.
A variety of red activities have been carried out one after another, and the atmosphere of learning the party history and celebrating the centenary of the founding of the party has been warm and enthusiastic from all walks of life. It has formed a positive orientation for the beliefs, aspirations and personality pursuits of young people, and directly promoted the purchase of books on the theme of the party history and other topics published by young people. enthusiasm.
interest preference.
There are some niche books in the list of primary and secondary school students, such as "Common sense and performance of Guqin", "Flower and bird fine brushwork", etc., involving music, art and other aspects. It can be seen that the reading tastes of primary and secondary school students are diverse, changeable and subdivided. .
The Internet and social media have provided more convenient channels for primary and secondary school students to purchase books, and also built a platform for communication and sharing, so that the individual needs of each student can be met to the greatest extent.
5. Multi-party work together to create an environment to improve graded reading ability
There is a positive correlation between good reading needs and healthy physical and mental growth.
Today, it is necessary to correctly guide primary and secondary school students to buy books and read behaviors, improve their ability to discriminate, and make them grow up healthily under the nourishment of "open books is beneficial".
Parents: Guide children to make friends with good books and encourage them to expand their knowledge reserves.
Parents are the "gatekeepers" of their children's book purchases, and they should teach children in accordance with their aptitude and provide guidance for their book buying behavior.
When choosing books for children, the content quality and ideological tendencies of the books should be considered, and at the same time, suitable books should be selected according to their reading level, hobbies, etc.
The survey found that many primary school students have begun to read books on social science or intelligent technology, such as "A Brief History of Today: The Big Issue of Human Destiny".
Even the popular popular science version for teenagers involves a lot of professional knowledge and is difficult to read.
From the perspective of expanding knowledge reserves, parents can encourage their children to buy and read such books, and accompany their children to read to help them understand the content of the books.
Education authorities: Improve the graded reading system and purify the online reading environment.
It is possible to consider establishing a special working committee to formulate detailed standards and corresponding solutions for the current situation and existing problems of graded reading among young people in my country.
Graded reading needs to establish comprehensive indicators. In addition to the three important considerations of aesthetics, knowledge, and popular science, it is also necessary to continuously iteratively upgrade the evolution of knowledge needs caused by primary and secondary school students’ hobbies and social changes, and formulate graded reading that conforms to my country’s national conditions. Standard, evaluation system, evaluation system.
At the same time, we should increase the guidance and supervision of graded reading for young people, combine multi-agent forces to guide young people to grade reading, and formulate corresponding standards to ensure the long-term effectiveness of graded reading.
Also, be mindful of the new changes in the digital reading era, and develop your strategy with the latest trends in mind and focus on the crux of the matter.
For example, while the current digital reading has greatly broadened the horizons of young people, it has also caused the uncontrollability and disorder of reading content to a certain extent.
Education authorities should focus on improving the function of filtering bad information and purifying the online reading environment; at the same time, actively improve the layering of online book sales and recommendation systems, and supervise and hold relevant platforms accountable to ensure the effectiveness of their implementation.
School: Graded reading is integrated into the classroom, and students are taught in accordance with their aptitude.
While grasping the textbook teaching, schools should develop and design targeted reading courses, develop reading materials at different levels related to the syllabus texts, and guide students at different reading levels.
It can cooperate with experts in the fields of pedagogy, psychology, literature and other fields to integrate the reading teaching of graded books into the classroom, guide students' book buying behavior, and achieve a more refined and individualized education effect while completing the teaching goals.
The school can also set up reading rooms or book corners for different grades, and carry out rich activities such as book recitations, performances, and interesting knowledge contests according to grades, so as to attract more young people to participate independently and experience the fun of reading.
Publishing institutions: Pay attention to the reading needs of primary and secondary school students, and create rich graded reading texts.
It is necessary to deeply study the physical and mental characteristics and reading needs of adolescents at different stages, accurately plan topics, and launch graded reading texts.
For example, the People's Education Publishing House and South Korea's "Smile Peanut" directly managed kindergarten developed the "People's Education · I Love Reading Children's Graded Reading Book System", which aims to help 3-6 year old children easily literate in parent-child reading and smoothly transition to primary school stage of independent reading; CITIC Children’s Books launched key new book products for different ages, and also launched “Family Age-Based Reading Library” for readers. Provides reading guidance and practical assistance for the individual needs of parents.
In a word, only when education authorities, schools, families, publishing houses, libraries, etc. form a joint force to jointly promote the development of book classification, can book education be systematized and scientific, and effectively build a growth ladder for children.
(Author: Key Laboratory of Big Data Analysis and Application of User Behavior in Publishing Industry, Beijing Normal University, which is a key laboratory of the State Press and Publication Administration. Research team: Qin Yanhua, Zheng Wei, Fu Zhenyu, Wang Xixian, Dong Hui, Zhang Shiyue, Yang Xixian, Cao Renjie, Li Gang, etc.)