A 20% increase in sales in the children's division helped lift total revenue at Simon & Schuster for the first quarter ended March 31. Sales in the adult division were flat.
The children's gain was led by Good Night, Sweet Butterflies and SpongeBob's Backpack, the newest title in the SpongeBob SquarePants series. The adult group received a boost from Jarhead and had a surprise hit with The Power of Full Engagement. New books from established authors Suze Orman and Mary Higgins Clark also did well.
S&S CEO Jack Romanos said he was "very happy to be able to say revenue was up in what is clearly a difficult market." Bad weather, the Iraqi war and a soft retail market have all contributed to a weak book marketplace, Romanos said. Despite a rise in children's book sales before Easter, Romanos said he sees no signs that sales of adult titles will show marked improvement any time soon.
