Story Time’s Jungle Book Tops Charts For Second Year Running

Santa seems to have arrived early for Story Time Publications - the company that has been releasing top-class storybooks for children for a couple of years now. In a ‘2015-Year In Review’ press meet, the company reported record sales, with the best-seller crown being taken by ‘The Jungle Book’. It was the most favourite among buyers last year too.

Elaborating a bit over the success of Story Time, the head of the publication house in Kolkata drew attention to the kid-friendly approach in which each of the storybooks are designed and illustrated. The story narration is engaging, and the matching pictures and lively colour schemes add to the charm of these books (an opinion with which most of the attending parents agreed). At a time when interest in reading is waning across the world, Story Time Publications is indeed doing its best to revive the passion for books among the little ones.

Every quarter, Story Time releases new storybooks for children - and this year also witnessed the launch of quite a few popular titles from the publication house. Apart from the classic tales revamped into a more child-friendly manner, the Kolkata-based publishers released several original shorts, along with a ‘Book Of Manners’ in the third quarter of the year. Story Time currently has more than 50 storybooks in all - and the number is expected to at least double by next year.

Returning to this year’s sales reports, a well-placed source from the company said that ‘The Jungle Book’ only just edged out ‘Aladdin’ to become the bestselling Story Time offering in 2015. ‘Peter Pan’, ‘Simon In Space’, ‘Alibaba & The Forty Thieves’ and ‘Puss In Boots’ also showed robust sales right through the year. The response to the new books launched by Story Time has been overwhelming too, reported the source.

The ease with which parents can buy storybooks online has also been a critical factor in boosting the popularity of the Story Time books. The books published by this agency can be purchased from all popular online shopping portals - right from eBay and Flipkart, to Shopclues, Amazon and Paytm. In this context, the Story Time team informed that several of its books got sold out from the Flipkart store this year. ‘The Jungle Book’, in fact, was out of stock thrice - the second time within 30 minutes of being listed (300 units). Now, that’s some impressive performance!

The CEO of Story Time singled out the marketing department of Story Time Publications for particular praise, for the effort it pitched in with this year. More than 150 schools all across India were approached by the team, and at most places (after initial reviews and feedback) the school authorities decided to place bulk orders for the kids’ storybooks for inclusion in their libraries. The company head also thanked the 70-odd schools that had arranged for interactive digital storytelling sessions and mini book fairs. The latter resulted in considerable spot sales of Story Time books.

An encouraging trend in the sales of the Story Time books was revealed by a senior graphic designer associated with the publishing company. He cited figures that clearly indicated that parents are purchasing storybooks online for children from Story Time in bulk - and the interest was not limited to ‘The Jungle Book’ or any other particular title. On eBay India, the ‘Complete Story Time Set of Books’ registered maximum sales in October and November.

Not one to rest on past laurels, the head of Story Time has started planning to expand the reach of the children’s books further. The company is all set to enter the overseas markets next year, and talks are already on with over 10 leading international book publishing houses for a possible tie-up. Many new books are also in the pipeline, and the company will launch them in the first quarter of 2016.

‘The Jungle Book’ might have been the winner among the Story Time set of books this year - but as per reports, all the titles released to date by the company are selling well. Awareness about the publication house in Kolkata is growing amongst parents across the country, reports and feedback have been uniformly positive - and this is one storybook publishing company that seems destined for greater, sustained popularity in future.

To know more about Story Time Publications, visit http://www.storytimeforkids.info/bookstore/. For corporate partnerships or any other queries, dial 91-33-40649087. The publishers can also be contacted via email, to support@storytimeforkids.info. Story Time has already positioned itself among the top children’s storybook sellers in India - and there is a lot of buzz over its upcoming books too.