Musings about some of my favorite fantasy literature for young readers, comics old and new, the peculiar publishing industry, the future of books, kids today, and the writing process.
The Cybils Award shortlists for 2011 have been announced, representing blogging volunteers’ judgments of what children’s books offer the best combination of quality and kid appeal.
There’s a new category this year of Book Apps. Nominees include three brand names established for decades (Harold and the Purple Crayon, Pat the Bunny, and The Monster at the End of This Book) and what look like four originals:
J. L. BELL is a writer and reader of fantasy literature for children. His favorite authors include L. Frank Baum, Diana Wynne Jones, and Susan Cooper. He is an Assistant Regional Advisor in the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators, and was the editor of Oziana, creative magazine of the International Wizard of Oz Club, from 2004 to 2010.
Living in Massachusetts, Bell also writes about the American Revolution at Boston 1775.
2 comments:
All right, call me antediluvian, but I don't see how a reader or a child can feel the softness of the bunny (originally, cotton fluff) or the scratchiness of the daddy's face (originally, sandpaper) on a smooth, smooth computer screen. Or are you saying this is not _Pat the Bunny_, it's kind of -like_ Pat the Bunny a little bit but not really? I am unsure whether to grumble and await your comment.
It might be best to think of this app as not a digital version of Pat the Bunny, but as an effort to stretch its brand into a different set of interactive experiences for very young readers.
The original Pat the Bunny provided tactile sensations that standard smooth white paper couldn't. That book wasn't immune to technology, however, undergoing some changes because of WW2 rationing and technology.
This digital version isn't so tactile since those sensations can't be replicated with current consumer technology. But it appears to provide other sorts of interaction, including sounds, that the original couldn't (especially after it lost its squeaker).
Perhaps Pat is the wrong word for this version since there's nothing soft or furry to pat. Maybe Poke the Bunny?
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