By Marley Seaman
Two weeks ago, library director Joan Kelleher teamed the library up with the TumbleBook Library. The online library, based in Toronto, features more than 100 ³e-books for e-kids² ‹ animated, narrated versions of stories designed to help young children, who are already comfortable on the computer, to learn to love reading.
³I just thought the children sit in front of computers and television all day long,² said Kelleher. ³They can sit in front of a computer and have a book read to them.² Intrigued by the program, Kelleher contacted the company and quickly signed up her library.
For $399, the TumbleBook Library grants a library branch or school access to all the books in its database. So far there are 85 TumbleBooks and 16 TumbleReadable Children¹s Classics, with famous stories including ³Peter Pan,² ³Anne of Green Gables² and ³The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.² The site also offers games, puzzles, quizzes and tools for teachers. There are titles in English, Spanish, French and Chinese, and a few large-print books for adults. The TumbleBooks are accessible from the library¹s computers, where more than 100 patrons have viewed TumbleBooks, though they can also be viewed at home by going through the library¹s Web site.
After they finish a book, children can print out certificates saying they have read it. There is also a book report option that allows the readers to review and think about what they¹ve read. Older children, or those who want to try stories on their own, can turn off the narration and the book¹s automatic page turner and read at their own pace. Each book also comes with a ³word help² feature to help readers learn to pronounce unfamiliar words.
But it¹s the books themselves that make the program unique. The TumbleBooks come to life in richly detailed Flash Animation. They¹re energetic and fun, but still recognizably books.
The animation lends weight and adds to the humor of ³Can I Have A Stegosaurus, Mom? Can I? Please?² by Lois G. Grambling. In the story, a young boy tries to persuade his mother that despite appearances to the contrary, having a dinosaur around would be a great thing. A stegosaurus materializes next to him, and as the boy lists the benefits of dino ownership, the TumbleBook adds an extra level of humor and personality. The book¹s minor characters give subtle, understated reactions to the dinosaur. They never overwhelm the book and make it into a cartoon, but the extra movement and color might make the TumbleBook especially attractive to an Internet-savvy child.
³This would be a great marriage of the books and the computer to get the kids hooked on the books again,² said Ralph Reissman, president of the West Hempstead Library Board. ³That¹d be a great synthesis.²
West Hempstead Library Director Regina Mascia said the library had no plans to work with TumbleBooks at the present, but Reissman said he would discuss the idea at the next board meeting. The West Hempstead library is planning a new building with a much larger children¹s section, and Reissman said that the TumbleBooks could complement that effort.
³It develops their love of reading,² said Kelleher. ³I think it¹s a great learning tool for our children.²
Malverne Library Web Site: www.nassaulibrary.org. TumbleBooks Web Site: www.tumblebooks.com.
Comments about this story? MSeaman@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 282.
