It would go almost unnoticed among the ornate publications and youth phenomena. However, during the Youth Book and Press Fair (SLPJ), which was held in Montreuil from November 27 to December 2, the documentary book did not deflate. Large formats, beautiful boxes, flap content… The segment showed itself in its best light to win back an audience now captured by social networks, these 2.0 prescribers
It must be said that, since the beginning of Wikipedia’s reign, editors have been struggling. In 2024, the segment continues to slide downhill, with a 3% drop in turnover compared to last year. And up to -9.6% when it targets a readership over 10 years old. To combat the phenomenon, book professionals are no longer spoiled for choice. While some now opt to narrow their offering, others prefer to think outside the box, with unexpected formats or new themes.
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The reference effect
Some edutainment heavyweights can, however, still afford to rely on well-identified public collections. This is the case of the “doc novels” from Bayard Jeunesse, a docu-fiction collection which continues to sell 160,000 copies each year. In the same way, “Mes p’tits docs” from Milan, the first collection of documentaries on the market, has won the loyalty of thousands of teachers and is enjoying a second wind on the house’s Story Cube.
Coming especially for the Sequano-Dionysian event, the British house Usborne, which is celebrating its 40 years of presence in France, presented a myriad of works as colorful as its stand. “Non-fiction is the heart of our business,” sharing Laura Clearyresponsible for commercial operations. With nearly 150 documentary books, the house supports young people in their learning about the world, like the “My first questions” collection, which addresses sometimes difficult themes such as the loss of a loved one, from the age of three. .
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Another educational reference in the sector, Nathan Jeunesse celebrated the 25th anniversary of the “Kididoc” collection with around twenty reissues and new publications, including an animated biography of Leonardo da Vinci. “We still sell a lot of encyclopedias, let it be known Valério Rio, general manager of the house. Parents like to give them, they are a reassuring alternative to the Internet and help bring the whole family together. » Addressing nearly 300 questions around space, the Earth, the living world, history, science and even the human body, The great illustrated encyclopedia was, for example, reissued last October.
“Youth documentaries are a tradition at Casterman and the house does not hesitate to tackle current, progressive subjects linked to the evolution of society”, explained the bookseller at the stand in Montreuil, Étienne Couratte-Arnaudeoverly solicited by schoolchildren from the four corners of 93. In addition to rather classic publications on professions (“In the skin of”), dinosaurs (A dinosaur a day), or in different countries, the house has therefore also put its know-how at the service of contemporary issues.
At the crossroads of genres
To combat preconceived ideas and racism, the writer and historian Jean-Michel Billioud signed When we arrive in France, with the collaboration of the National Immigration Museum, but also Together against school bullying et Act for the planet. Riding on the triumph of documentary comics, including The endless world made himself the figurehead, Casterman also imagined the “Tout en BD” collection, with History of Feminine Art, published last September as a worthy successor toHistory of France in women’s terms, sold nearly 32,000 copies.
On its counters, among the richest in documentaries, the house also gave pride of place to the series Encyclopedium, including the majestic albums penciled by Katie Scott sometimes borrow their graphic composition from that of herbaria. “As the purchase of documentaries is less commonplace, the cost increases and the quality of the object must follow. It becomes a gift,” explains Céline Dehaine, editorial director of Flammarion Jeunesse, who focused on the heritage character of the catalog with the Castor Doc.
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Between its beautiful reissues of the saga Harry Potter and its essentials Little Beasts, Gallimard Jeunesse also allocated a section to documentary albums, first and foremost The Earth explained to children, with Erik Orsena of the French Academy, and the geologist Pierrick Graviou. A particularly effective researcher-artist duo that the publisher is not the only one to favor.
After having multiplied collaborations with Hélium, Marabout or Les Grandes Personnes, the National Museum of Natural History recently launched into the independent publishing of albums for young people with Meeting the living, fruit of the work of artists Helene Rajcak et Damien Laverduntwith the establishment’s team of zoologists. “The illustrated has a privileged place in the work. For us, it’s a new way of making knowledge accessible to young audiences,” detailed Cécile Martinresponsible for general public editions.
The young guard
As for the independents, located largely on the second floor of the Show, launching into children’s documentaries can also be a way to stand out, by rushing into gaps that have not yet been explored. The La Ville Brûle house tried this fifteen years ago, with a committed positioning. Her historic collection “Never too early” saw, in the early 2010s, an avant-garde feminist manifesto for young readers, reissued in a single volume in 2015 under the title Neither dolls nor superheroes! Just as pioneering, the title ofÉlise Thiébaut, The rules… What an adventure! (2017) benefited from an update in 2024, while the house plans for January 2025 the publication of Michel and Monique Pinçonillustrated by Étienne Lécroart, Why are the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer?
Integrated into the Fontaine O Livres network, Fadjong editions recently saw the light of day with documentaries for “to make young readers better aware of current Chinese society and culture, different from the idealized vision of imperial China or that described by the media today”, specifies their founder, Stephanie Ollivier. In the same way, Cépages éditions, the “historic grape harvester”, has just launched with a beautiful book in a new format (19×36 cm), entitled World tours. Between two dedications, its author, Aude Le Pichonexplain : “By highlighting an extraordinary, record-breaking dimension, we better capture children’s attention, while evoking scientific and political issues. »