I actually think the Young Bond novels need to be MORE aggressively marketed to kids. We've seen how this has worked in the UK, now we need a U.S. version. As is, there has been very little promotion, and the books themselves are too understated for U.S. bookstores (IMO). Create bold, colorful, action oriented covers. Play up the "Bond" aspect bigtime (Bond is the advantage here), and make sure they get some exposure on the shelves alongside the Potters, etc. I always find these books shoved somewhere in the Teen Fiction section, not the "series" section.
I'm sure Disney knows how to do this. The combo of Disney marketing and the name James Bond...this should be a no brainer.
Not just more aggressively marketed to kids...but more aggressively marketed to ANYONE! I would never have even known there was a Young Bond series of books if I hadn't been reading sites like these. By comparison, I'm not the least bit interested in Harry Potter but I'm all too aware the seventh and final book is out this summer, and its called Deathly Hallows and something or other. This is the kind of marketing that burrows into your brain just by spending a few minutes in a bookstore here and there.
I agree the word YOUNG on the cover has a bit of stigma about it. I experienced an entirely new mode of slight embarrassment when I asked where I could find a book by Charlie Higson called Blood Fever, only to be led to the teen fiction section. I ALMOST felt I had to say to the lady "Uh, my nephew will be thrilled!"