Property Taste Test

August 21, 2009

A few days ago on Twitter, @debaoki mentioned she liked Animal Academy, an all ages title from Tokyopop, and thought that kids would like it.  She mentioned she thought the books based on properties, like Disney were boring, but ended by saying, she didn’t know, since she wasn’t the target audience.  Well, I have a daughter that’s in the target audience range, and both Animal Academy and Disney’s Kilala Princess.  So, I gave both books to my youngest daughter Krissy and asked her to read them.  When she finished, I asked her questions about the books.

Lori: What did you think of Animal Academy?

Krissy: I liked it a lot!

L: What did you like about Animal Academy?

K: It had lots of animals and slapping.  Kitty slapping!

L: Who was your favorite character?

K: Miiko, the cat.  The one with blue hair on the front.

L: Was there anything you didn’t like about Animal Academy?

K: No.

L: Was Animal Academy boring?

K: No!  It was awesome!

L: What did you think of Kilala Princess?

K: I loved the Disney Princesses!

L: What did you like about Kilala Princess?

K: I like the Princesses, and Kilala.

L: Who was your favorite character?

K: The dwarves, and Snow White.

L: Was there anything you didn’t like about Kilala Princess?

K: I didn’t like the beginning, when they’re talking about Kilala and all.

L: The Real World stuff?

K: Yeah!

L: Was Kilala Princess boring?

K: Only the beginning.

L: Which book did you like better?

K: (after some thought) Animal Academy!

L: How would you score Kilala Princess, 1-5?

K: 4.5

L: How would you score Animal Academy?

K: 5!

Well, there you have it, right from the horse’s mouth.  The original property book did score better with a 10 year old than a book based on a well known property.  And Animal Academy is liked by it’s target audience.

5 Comments

  • Anna August 21, 2009 at 7:04 am

    That’s good to know! I thought Animal Academy would appeal to kids too, but I don’t have a 10 year old of my own to experiment on.

  • Katherine Dacey August 21, 2009 at 7:30 am

    I love this feature, Lori, and I hope you can persuade your girls to do more of them with you–this is incredibly valuable information for teachers, parents, librarians, AND reviewers.

  • Sam Kusek August 21, 2009 at 7:37 am

    Very interesting. I’d love to see more of this as well!

  • Lori Henderson August 21, 2009 at 9:47 am

    Getting them to answer my questions are easier than getting them to read the books! But, yeah, I’m going to try and get my kids to do more of these.

  • Michelle Smith August 21, 2009 at 11:07 am

    Yeah, this was awesome! I like Animal Academy, too. Or, at least, more than I expected to being three times as old as the target audience. It’s good to know it’s actually a hit with kids as well.

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