Barron's has introduced Making the Grade, a seven-book series geared to helping parents help their children meet new government education standards. Frederick Glasser, director for school and library sales, said the impetus for the new line was recent educational trends that emphasize more standards yet provide less funding to meet those standards.
The new line features combination manuals/advice books for parents with students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Each title is about 380 pages and contains a similar format that includes lesson plans as well as ways to make learning more accessible. Barron's will be selling the series through all its marketing channels but is making a special effort to reach the homeschooling market, Glasser said. In addition to direct mail efforts, Barron's will be backing the line with ads in trade magazines including Home Schooling Today, School Library Journal and PW.
Making the Grade is the first product released under Barron's new Guides for Schooling Basics imprint. Glasser said the company hopes the series will become "a backlist staple" and that Barron's may look to do more supplementary products in the k—6 market.
