How many sizes of books does one need?

[ThunderAeroI]

Seriously, how many different sizes of books are needed?

I was sorting through my childerns library today removing old books and plaing in some new ones, and I counted no less than 12 different book sizes. That does not include the books that are the same size, but are opened a different direction.

Even in our adult library, there are more than five different sizes of books. Some of those are hard cover vs soft cover, but even on soft cover and hard cover there is a vast difference in the size of the book.

Is there some computer program that calculates how long a book should be and then finds how wide the page needs to be in order to fit the text?

How do they figure out how big a book should be and why can't they use a uniform book size code which keeps books more akin to each other.

 

[kythe]

I've never had an issue with sizes of children's books. I like that they come in different sizes, especially for picture books geared toward preschoolers. Sometimes it can be hard for small children to sit still long enough to have interest in a story.

Making books in different sizes, material (board books, plastic, regular paper, etc), and various styles of illustration help keep an interesting assortment for children to choose from. Uniformity may help adults organize better, but diversity in style catches childrens' attention.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I have a lot of different book sizes in my library, especially since I buy a lot of Small Press books. I like how the variety looks on a shelf (or in a pile ). It's comfortably chaotic.