Books are the latest digital trend. From the Kindle to downloadable PDF novels, it’s increasingly possible to read just about everything online. Disney Publishing Worldwide is one of the latest companies to jump on the bandwagon, launching the new Disney Digital Books website.
After logging on to the site, kids can access hundreds of books based on familiar Disney characters. They can also create a customizable profile, entering their age and listing their favorite books. Stories at all reading levels are provided. For example, beginner books feature Winnie the Pooh or the Little Mermaid. Meanwhile, more advanced readers may choose books about High School Musical or Pirates of the Caribbean.
But the site has more than just stories. It’s designed to educate as well as entertain, with a variety of interactive features and games. Kids can highlight and click on words they don’t understand and either hear a pronunciation of the word or receive a definition. Certain books dubbed “Look and Listen” are played aloud.
All of the books also contain a “trivia game,” which pops up during the story to pose reading comprehension questions. A certain number of points are awarded for a correct answer, and for the amount of tries it took to select the right answer. Readers are rewarded at the end of the story with a final tally, colorful fireworks graphics, and fanfare.
Disney Publishing draws upon its litany of stories already in print to provide the selections for the site, and it shows. I was skeptical when first logging on, unsure about the quality of stories provided on a website just launched at the end of September. I shouldn’t have worried; the stories are well written, and I found one of the titles I perused, “Jack Sparrow: The Coming Storm,” unexpectedly engrossing.
Yet the site is not without its glitches. The pronunciation guide is slow to load and younger children might become impatient and click it again, causing the word to play several times. In exploring the site myself, even I couldn’t figure out a few of the puzzle-related games.
However, the question I’m left wondering the most, is what effect websites like Disney Digital Books will have on young readers. It is certainly a wonderful supplemental tool to keep kids interested in reading because it looks like a video game. Though, beyond the initial sign-up, little parent interaction is needed. That could be seen as a downfall. Some of my most important memories and experiences from childhood revolve around family library trips and story times. I just hope that in the future Disney Digital Books don’t replace parent-child reading time.
An annual subscription to Disney Digital Books can be purchased for $79.95 or a monthly fee of $8.95. A free trial is also available on the website.
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