Bringing Books To Life

     Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of etexts out there for kids.

     A six-year-old is not going to find much excitement in Plato's Republic.

    Fortunately, there are Living Books.

    Living Books is a Random House/Broderbund Company production which brings some of the best-loved children's books to the computer screen. A wide selection of these CD-ROM based multimedia products are available in a variety of packages, from single selections to the Living Books Library series, which can include up to four CD-ROM books in one package.

    The Living Books Library 1, for example, contains Stellaluna, the touching tale of a baby fruit bat suddenly alone in the African jungle, Mercer Mayer's Little Monster at School, Aesop's The Tortoise and the Hare and Eli Noyes' Ruff's Bone.

    Other authors from the Living Books series include Stan and Jan Berenstain, Mark Schlichting, Kevin Henkes, children's poet Jack Prelutsky and of course, Dr. Seuss.

    The Living Books all generally follow the same format, yet each book offers something unique. They all have an easy-to-use interface, allowing children ages three to eight year's old to quickly get wrapped up in the colorful interactive stories.

    Once the program is launched, a child is given the option of having the story read to them, or "playing" inside the story. When the "Read to me" option is selected, a narrator reads the story and the colorful pictures found in the original book come to life, with characters speaking their parts, and jumping, running, hiding, skulking or any other action described by the narrative. And as the narrator and characters speak the sentences of the text of the book, each word is highlighted, helping a child build reading skills.

    Playing inside a story unleashes he full interactivity of Living Books. Click on a bird and it flutters from a tree to grab a worm. Click on the same bird again and it trills a sweet song. There are hundreds of ways to play in Living Books as the child travels through the story at their own pace.

    And on top of all this, some of the selections include a host of other games and activities. In Kevin Henkes's Sheila Rae, the Brave, for example, there's a fun map game. In Janell Cannon's Stellaluna there is a Bat Quiz, where children can test their knowledge of bats.

    My . . . uh,  I mean my six-year-old son's favorite Living Book, The Cat in the Hat, by Dr. Seuss, has a host of things to do, ranging from bouncing a ball into a wastebasket basketball style, to a drawing board, to a potato head game, to a puzzle. Oh yeah, and the story is cool too.

     And best of all, besides the CD-ROM, some of the packages come with the actual book. Imagine that, a compu-crazed kid actually sitting down long enough to look through a book.

    Living Books have already made their mark in the software industry, winning more than 80 awards including the Seal of Approval from the National Parenting Centre, and the 1996 and 1997 Editors Choice Award from Newsweek.

    So if you're looking for something cool (and educational, but don't tell them)  for your cyberkinder this Christmas, consider the world of Living Books.