There may be no guarantee that the entry of books into a person's life from childhood and adolescence will lead to an interest and bond between them and books in the future; but it is highly likely that people's distance from books and literature in childhood and adolescence can be the ground for their distance and disconnection from books. Familiarity, reading, and intimacy with books in the days of childhood and adolescence is an important matter in the formation of personality and the intellectual development of children and young adults, which requires planning and effort by the family and society. In this regard, any occasion and pretext that can draw attention and sensitivity to the subject of children's and young adults' books and reading deserves attention and coverage. 18 Tir (June–July), National Children's and Young Adult Literature Day, which has been named in honor of the efforts of the late Mehdi Azar Yazdi, one of the most prominent authors of children's and young adult books, is an important symbol for recalling the importance of children's and young adult literature.
The need to assess the real standing and status of children's and young adult literature in Iran
What is the status of children's and young adults' books and literature in the country? Has this subject category received attention commensurate with the importance it has? What is the standing of children's and young adult books in Iran's publishing industry? How much importance do digital-book platforms give to children's and young adult books? What is the status of children's and young adult books on online book-sales platforms? And what services do the country's public libraries provide in the field of children's and young adult literature? If you are looking for valid and precise answers to the questions above, the account given by the data and the statistics and figures related to the children's and young adult book genre is the best approach and choice. A data-driven examination of the status of children's and young adults' books and literature in Iran, in addition to enumerating and reporting its current status, can also lead to the correction of mistaken presuppositions and notions in this field. In this regard, the present note, with a data-driven approach, has examined and analyzed the status of children's and young adult literature in Iran.
Children's and young adult books; foremost in number of titles and total print run
An examination of book-publishing statistics in the first 105 days of 1404 (2025/26) indicates the continuation of the favorable status of the publishing of children's and young adult books last year. In the aforementioned period, 4,445 book titles were published in the children and young adults field. This is while only books published on the subject of "literature"—with 4,520 titles published—stand slightly above the children and young adults field. Also, a look at the total print run of the country's books by subject category shows that after the subject of "social sciences" with 8,373,019 books, the children and young adults subject, with 5,985,227 books, has the largest number of books published in the country. On the basis of the aforementioned data, it can be said that the publishing of children's and young adult books is in a favorable status and is foremost and leading both in number of titles and in total print run.
High figures for translation and reprint of children's and young adult books
An examination of books published in the children and young adults field on the basis of translation and original work indicates the closeness of the number of translated and original books. On this basis, of the 4,445 books published in the children and young adults field, 2,718 books were original works and 1,727 books were translations. This is while in other subjects the ratio of original work to translation has a gap and the number of original books is greater. In addition to this matter, an examination of the print edition of books published in various subjects also indicates a visible difference between children's and young adult books and other books. So much so that only in the children and young adults subject category is the figure for reprinted books (2,308 books) greater than first-edition books (2,137 books).
Are children's and young adult books expensive or cheap?
The price of cultural goods and services is one of the important indicators in the cultural consumption of Iranian society. An examination of the average price of children's and young adult books in the first 105 days of 1404 (2025/26) indicates the low price of children's and young adult books. The average price of children's and young adult books is 1,129,925 rials and, after religious books with an average price of 1,056,037 rials, it has the lowest price. But are children's and young adult books really cheap? This question takes on meaning when we look at the average number of pages of children's and young adult books; the average number of pages of children's and young adult books is 80 pages. Children and young adults is the only subject whose average number of pages is less than 100 pages. In this regard, it appears that in order to assess the real price of children's and young adult books one must calculate the "average price per page" index. The average price per page of a children's and young adult book is 14,012 rials, which after social-sciences books at 14,223 rials has the highest price. Therefore, if we want to draw a conclusion about the price of children's and young adult books, it can be said that the average price of one book title relative to other subject categories is cheap, but when we take into account the number of pages and the volume of the books, children's and young adult books have a high price and are expensive.
The high share of children's books in the country's public libraries
The number of members of the Public Libraries Institution as of 15 Tir (June–July) 1404 (2025/26) has reached 2,163,843 people, of whom 423,793 are children. In other words, about 21 percent of the members of the country's public libraries are children. On the other hand, the total number of books in the country's public libraries as of the aforementioned date is 44,756,877 volumes, of which 7,178,412 books are children's books. In fact, nearly 16 percent of the books in the country's public libraries belong to children's books. Also, of the 1,905,305 books loaned in the past month, 662,443 loans (about 35 percent of all loans) were to child members. Therefore the field of children's books and literature has a high share of the number of members, the number of books, and the loans of the country's public libraries. In addition, a considerable portion of public-library services has been allocated to children and young adults. Also, alongside children's and young adult books, public libraries provide various services to children and young adults.
The extensive presence of children's and young adult books on digital-book platforms
Children's and young adult books have also been able to find and consolidate their place well on digital-book platforms. For example, an examination of the share of subjects of the number of books on the Fidibo platform shows that 220,565 books specific to children and 62,502 dedicated books on the young-adult subject are available on Fidibo. This is while if we consider children's and young adult literature as one subject category, in total more than 283 thousand children's and young adult books exist on Fidibo.
A look at the number of authors of books on the Fidibo platform by subject classification shows that the works of 3 358 authors in the children's book field have been presented on Fidibo. Authors who are indebted to the legacy of renowned authors and writers of children's and young adult books such as Mehdi Azar Yazdi, Houshang Moradi Kermani, Mostafa Rahmandoost, Samad Behrangi, and other authors and poets of children's and young adult stories and poems. Also, an examination of the translators of books on the Fidibo platform by subject classification indicates the existence of books by 1,005 translators of children's books.
The opportunity to sell children's and young adult books on internet platforms
The Digikala online store, as one of the leading and foremost internet platforms for selling goods and products, has a particular program, track record, and focus on selling cultural goods and products, especially books. An examination of the subject classification of books offered on Digikala shows that 17,372 children's and young adult book titles are available on Digikala, which in terms of frequency ranks third. A look at the number of publishers by subject classification also indicates the presence of 1,154 publishers in the children's and young adult book field on Digikala. Also, the works of 7,226 children's and young adult book authors are available on the Digikala website. All of these statistics and figures indicate a suitable possibility and opportunity that has arisen for selling children's and young adult books on internet platforms.
Final word
Contrary to intuitive and non-data-driven analyses, children's and young adult books and literature have a special place in Iran's publishing industry and book-distribution market and in most statistical and measurable indicators are foremost and leading. As attested by the data, the high number of titles and print run of published children's and young adult books, the prominent share of children's and young adult books of the country's public libraries, the high number of digital children's and young adult books, and the considerable share of children's and young adult books of the books available on internet platforms and stores, speak of the good state of "children's and young adult books and literature" in Iran. This is while a large question is raised in this midst; is the favorable status of children's and young adult literature the product of the policymaking and programs of the bodies in charge of and responsible for this field, or has the regulation and balance of market supply and demand caused the progress and advancement of this field. Of course, the absence of sound research and valid metrics on the behavior of readers and consumers of children's and young adult books can be an important challenge and criticism of the results and findings of the present note. Even so, one can cite and use the logic of "supply and demand" as the principal answer to critical approaches to the data presented.
Machine-translated from Persian by Namafar; the Persian original is authoritative. Read the original in Persian