Minneapolis, Minn.—based ABDO Publishing Co. publishes a wide range of nonfiction children's titles primarily for the library market, but its current events series has been particularly strong, outselling the rest of its titles in the past 18 months.
In February 2002, less than six months after the attacks of September 11, ABDO published a new series for the fourth—eighth grade market entitled War on Terrorism. The 12-book series includes such titles as September 11: The Day That Changed America, Behind the Terror and Heroes of the Day, as well as biographies of George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden. Sales of the series, said ABDO founder and president Jill Hansen, have extended beyond the library market, and the line has become a top seller for the 18-year-old publishing house. Each title in the series had an initial printing of 3,000 to 4,000, and all books have gone back to press several times, several of them already updated. "In 20 years of publishing, I've never seen a series sell as well or as quickly," Hansen said.
Traditionally, only about 15% of ABDO's sales go to the trade market, but since the release of War on Terrorism, "there has been a significant surge in sales to the trade. Approximately 25% of our sales through Ingram and Baker & Taylor in the past 18 months have been in the trade category," Hansen told PW. The trade sales of the series have complemented ABD's traditional sales to schools, and Hansen said that despite funding cutbacks, sales to schools have remained strong.
ABDO publishes 120 titles annually and has 1,600 titles in print. The press has four imprints: Sandcastle (grades pre-k—2), Buddy Books (grade 2), Checkerboard (grades 2—4), and ABDO & Daughters (grades 4—8). Hansen said the ABDO & Daughters imprint will continue to publish "instant history" books on current events. "Everything is sped up in today's world. War takes less than a month. Reports from the battlefield are broadcast live. Parents want their kids to understand what they are watching on television," Hansen said. "With our team of writers and editors, we don't have to follow a regular timetable for publishing our books. We can meet this insatiable demand for books on current events almost as soon as they occur."
ABDO will publish two more "history in the making" series this fall—War in Iraq and World in Conflict: The Middle East. The 12-book War in Iraq series will focus on the events of this past year, with such titles as Allied Forces, America's Military and When Diplomacy Fails. The World in Conflict series, also consisting of 12 titles, will provide a historical and cultural context for young readers trying to make sense of what is going on in that volatile region and includes such titles as Afghanistan's Struggles, Weapons of Mass Destruction and Women of the Middle East. Each title in both series will have a first printing of about 5,000.
"Young people know that history is happening now, like no other time before, and that they are part of it," Hansen noted. "We hope our series will help them read books about history as it's made every day."
