Q&A: Professor Reflects on Surge of Interest in Children's Literature

Barbara Kiefer, an associate professor in the department of curriculum and teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University, has studied children's books for more than a decade. Ms. Kiefer talked on that subject last week with Assistant Editor Debra Viadero.

Q. Publishers say that sales of children's books are booming. Does that mean more children are reading?

A. I don't know that we have any statistics on it. It's possible that more parents are buying. In the past, big sales of books have always been to libraries and, certainly, there are now many more children's-book...