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Thursday, January 19, 2012

Start small / Evolution of the electronic storybook


Snow White is one of the first books I remember reading by myself.
Now, children learn to read on iPads.


I attended a workshop last summer at Boulder Digital Works (BDW) called "Making Digital Work". It was about adapting new workflows and mindsets for a world that increasingly relies on digital creative.

Many of the ideas were actually very basic, and could be applied to all threads of work and entrepreneurism.

One of the ideas was "Start small." With that idea, I'm circling back to one of the first questions I asked when considering thesis:

How do we feel about babies growing up without books?

How will it feel to tell our grandchildren, "Once upon a time, people made books out of TREES!"

Books, to our grandchildren, will be what they absorb in a digital reader. Already babies use games on their parents iPhones as much as plastic toys and wooden blocks.

I am interested in the evolution of the electronic storybook.

Picture books will inevitably employ elements of motion; electronic children's stories already incorporate interactivity as babies swipe their tiny fingers to "turn a page."

How can motion be incorporated effectively to a storybook to enhance the experience, promote imagination, learning, and entertainment? Can motion in storybooks add value instead of dumbing down storytelling? When does it cease to be a book and become a movie instead?

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