Can story apps and websites make children interested in books?
On September 23rd, Cressida Cowell, author of How To Train Your Dragon, gave a speech at the Bookseller’s Children’s Conference. She stated that children needed to be encouraged to read, or the industry would be ‘dead in the water’ (Wood, 2019). Reading allows children to develop their creativity and intelligence, and as such, there needs to be more support for children’s reading. However, in order for children to read books, they need to be interested in them, which can be difficult in an era overcome by technology, where they have access to hundreds if not thousands of games on phones or tablets. But then, how to make children interested in books?
Story apps and websites can help children be more interested in books, as they use platforms most children are on nowadays. Storyline online for example, is both a website and an app. Run by the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, its motto is ‘where the world’s best storytellers inspire a love of reading in children’. It is funded solely by donations through the foundation (storylineonline.net, 2019) and features videos of known actors such as Chris Pine and Viola Davis reading stories (Foster, 2017).
The running times of the videos are quite short, from 5 to 21 minutes, and they are made so the illustrations move, making the book become a short movie. There is a great variety of illustration and story styles, so every child can find something that interests them.
Each book also has bonus features, such as activity guides, both for teachers and parents, to ‘strengthen comprehension and verbal and written skills’ (Foster, 2017). This allows children to discover new stories as well as analyse them, and can be done in school as well as back home, as a fun activity between parents and children. In some families where parents do not have time to read bedtime stories, storyline online can replace it in some way to nurture the child’s interest in books.
Storyline online is a website which can spark children’s interest, but it is not the only one. Created in 2002, the international children’s digital library, created by the ICDL Foundation, also features children’s books. Although it does not feature videos or activity guides, its search tool is quite unique. It has an advanced search tool, most likely for parents or older children, and a simple search tool. This one allows children to search books depending on their age, but also the book length (short, medium, long), type of character (real/fantasy animals etc.) and book, as well as the cover colours (rainbow, red, orange, yellow, green and blue) (childrenslibrary.org, 2019). The library also offers books in more than 50 languages (Foster, 2017), so children from around the world can use it. This reflects the library’s mission, which is to make children and their families ‘have access to the books of their culture, as well as the majority culture, regardless of where they live.’ (childrenslibrary.org, 2019). Not only are they making books more interesting for children by having a unique search tool and lesser known books, they also promote diversity in reading and equal access to books for all children.
To conclude, it can be said that story apps and websites can be a good way to make children interested in books, as they can be more interactive than printed books, and also offer more easily a greater diversity.
Foster, A. (2017) ’11 Great Places To Find Free Children’s Books Online’, Bookriot, 11 October. Available at: https://bookriot.com/2017/11/10/free-childrens-books-online/ (Accessed 8/10/19)
International children’s digital library, available at: http://en.childrenslibrary.org/ (Accessed 22/10/19)
Storyline online’s website, available at: https://www.storylineonline.net/ (Accessed 22/10/19)
Wood, H. (2019) ‘Cressida Cowell warns industry will become ‘dead in the water’ without school libraries’, the Bookseller, 24 September. Available at: https://www.thebookseller.com/news/cowell-warns-industry-will-become-dead-water-without-support-school-libraries-1086316 (Accessed 8/10/19)
