Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop


"Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment." - American Library Association  

To kick off, Banned Books Week, I am participating in a Giveaway Hop.  Thanks to Jen from I Read Banned Books and Kathy from I am a Reader. Not A Writer for hosting a Banned Books Giveaway Hop. The hop runs from Saturday, September 24th to Saturday, October 1st.

Though I recognize that in the United States, we do not usually have banned books, many amazing books are challenged or restricted on a regular basis.  What also shocks me is that books are frequently challenged by individuals or groups based on what they have heard about the book.  Some committees have even elected to remove a book from a school's librarian when they haven't even read the book in question.  In situations like that, I am always glad that there are librarians, teachers, parents and individuals who speak out on behalf of books.  Often times, loudly, and very passionately. 

Recently, I was in the situation where I was giving a group of people some examples of books that would fit in certain categories.  As I held up a book (Coraline, The Graphic Novel by Neil Gaiman), a woman in the audience exclaimed that the book I was holding was not for children.  I was a bit taken a back and tried to move on by stating that maybe it wasn't for very young children but that it was considered a Middle Grade novel.  The woman in the audience became more adamant that this was not a book for children and automatically assumed that I would agree with her.  While this exchange was happening, I could see several of the children's librarians in the room nearly jump out of their seats to defend this book. I was so proud of those librarians.

I bring this real life situation up because it is one example where an individual, if given the power, would have sought to take away from others their right to determine what book is appropriate for themselves or for their children.  This is really the key for me with Banned Books Week.  No one individual or group of individuals should take away the rights of many to have access to a book or a story just because they feel it has questionable material or a controversial topic.

I do; however, support parents' rights to decide which books their child is ready for or not ready for.  I would hope that even with more than one child at home that the criteria would reflect the individual personality differences of each child (one child at 9 might be ready for a book and another child at 9 is not ready).  Additionally, I would hope that parents respect their child as a reader and talk with their child about different books and decisions to read a book or not read a book at a particular time. 

Finally here are two resources for how you may learn more about Banned Books Week and even see how many challenged books you have already read. 
American Library Association
www.ala.org

Banned Books Week
http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/resources


To kick off Banned Books Week, you have a chance to enter to win a Banned or Challenged book of your choice from Amazon - $15 or less. 

Rules for the Contest:

1. Please do not enter any personal information in the comments section (including your email, website, etc.), you must complete the Entry Form to officially enter the contest.
2.  The Contest runs from 12:00 a.m. Pacific Time on September 24, 2011 to 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on October 1st.
3.  You do not need to be a follower of this blog to enter, but if you like what you see, feel free to subscribe.
4.  You must be 13 or older to participate in this contest.
5.  Comments are not required but always welcome.
6.  If you are selected as a winner, I will notify you by e-mail.  If you do not respond within 48 hours, I will select a new winner.
7.  International participants are welcome to enter the contest.


Ebook App Review: Cinderella

Title: Cinderella
App Developer: Nosy Crow,
Version: 1.0.2 - September 14, 2011
Price: $5.99
Age Level: 3 years old and up
Available on iTunes
Compatible with iPhone, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.2 or later.
Features:  Read and Play * Read to Me * Read by Myself

I have been keeping an eye out for recommended book apps for children and when I saw this come up on a few lists, I had to check it out.  This is a common version of the Cinderella story with no unexpected twists and turns. 

I haven't had a chance to test this one out with a child, but I do look forward to sharing it with a few small friends.

Children have 3 options with this ebook app.

Read to Me-
The read feature provides both a visual and auditory reading experience.  The words are read aloud by the children narrators.  The pages turn automatically.  Children can use the blue arrow to move the story along or pull on a tab which allows them to select a scene.

Read and Play -
By clicking on this choice, the narrators read the story, but children have several places where they may click or interact with the pages.  A blue dot shows up on the center of a character and when you touch this the character has dialogue that s/he speaks.

Read by Myself -
When selecting this option, readers are given one of three choices - short, medium, or long - to indicate how long the text should appear.  However, even in short mode, it was present for a significant amount of time.  Additionally, the little blue dot that appears when a character has words to say is active in this mode. 


What I liked about this ebook app:
Illustrations - The illustrations were fun, bright, and entertaining.

Narrators - The story is narrated by children narrators which I really enjoyed.

Ease of use - Overall, the app was easy to use and figure out.

What I wish I could change about the ebook app:
Highlight text - For younger children having highlighted text is a benefit.  It provides them with a visual as to when the section has been read and can help them from turning the pages too quickly.

Delay at the beginning - There is a long delay from when you click on the app to when the book's main page appears.  During that time, the screen is completely black.  At first, I wasn't sure if it was frozen and I turned it off and then back on.  Since then I realized that I just need to be patient and it will eventually start.

Lack of consistent blue dots - Throughout the story a small blue dot will appear on a character.  If the reader touches it, the character will say a line of dialogue.  However, I found that often there is more dialogue than the blue dots would indicate.  If the blue dot is to be there, then it needs to be consistently present for every dialogue selection.  Also, touching the blue dot could make a character spin around or say a line of dialogue which seemed odd. 

Hints - Though there is a "help" button at the beginning, which gives tips for how to interact with the pages, there wasn't a hint button that directed readers to things that they might have missed.

Would I recommend it:
After playing with this app, I would recommend it.  Children who are already fans of Cinderella will love it.  

Here is the trailer for Cinderella:

Ebook Review: Pat the Bunny

Title: Pat the Bunny
Author: Dorothy Kunhardt
App Developer: Random House Digital, Inc.
Version: 1.1 - April 21, 2011
Price: $3.99
Age Level: Toddler, Pre-kindergarten
Available on iTunes
Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 4.0 or later.
Features:  Read * Paint
Settings: Music - On/Off Button; Narrator - On/Off Button; Record My Voice


When I first heard that Pat The Bunny had an ebook app, I wasn't sure how to react.  Hasn't everyone played with the actual book sometime as a toddler?  How can you take that sensory experience and turn it into an ebook app?  Would it lose something in the move to digital formatting? 

Though the original tactile features of touch are lost with this version, I will give credit to the app developers for maintaining the essence of the story and creating alternate pages that really work. Also, if you remember the original "mirror" in the book, you will love the ebook version.  Definitely one of my favorite pages in this version.

I haven't had a chance to test this one out with a toddler, but I do look forward to sharing it with a few small friends.  I will say that my 10 year old niece discovered this app during a recent car ride, and though she is not the targeted audience for the book, I noticed that she appeared to be enjoying the app. 

Children have 2 options with this ebook app.

Read - The read feature provides both a visual and auditory reading experience.  The words are highlighted as the narrator reads the text.  The written text prompts the reader to interact with the page. 

Paint - By clicking on the paint palette, the reader is taken to a black-line drawing of each page of the story and by just rubbing a figure across the picture, the color appears.  The reader is praised for "coloring the page". 


What I liked about this ebook app:
Simiplicity - Just the right amount of interactive items on each page.

Highlighted Words - Words go from a brown color to aqua color.

Ease of use - There was never a question as to what to do on each page or even how to turn the page.

Pacing and Prompts - As the child moves to to the next page, the line is read with a prompt as to what to do.  If the child does nothing, there is a verbal prompt as to what to do.  The page does not turn automatically allowing for children to go at their own pace.

Settings Buttons - There is an on/off switch for music and the narrator.  An additional feature allows you to record the story in your own voice.


What I wish I could change about the ebook app:
I really don't have much that I would want to change on this one.  The only possible suggestion - and I'm not sure I am convinced that I would want this - is having a paint palette to use for the paint section.  Given the age range of child for this ebook, the current format may just be right.


Would I recommend it:
Most definitely. This one makes my current top 5 list for Toddlers and Preschoolers.

Here is the trailer for Pat the Bunny:

Interview with Adam Jay Epstein & Andrew Jacobson, authors of The Familiars

In celebration of the release of The Familiars: Secrets of the Crown, authors Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson answer a few of questions by big fan, Zoe - age 9. 

What gave you the idea for writing The Familiars 1 & 2? 

Back in 2008, when we hatched the idea for The Familiars, it all started with Adam asking Andrew, “Do you know what a familiar is?” Andrew said he didn’t. Adam explained, “A familiar is the animal companion to a witch or wizard, like Hedwig in ‘Harry Potter.’” Andrew immediately took to the idea. We loved that familiars were always in the background, doing very little. What if we told a story where the familiars were front and center? And they were the ones going on the adventure. And Adam’s simple question quickly led to the creation of Vastia and all the magical animals inhabiting it. Our three main characters are an orphan alley cat named Aldwyn who is mistaken for being a young boy wizard’s familiar; Skylar, a know-it-all blue jay with the ability to cast magical illusions; and Gilbert, a bumbling tree frog who can see visions of the past, present, and future in puddles of water… sometimes. We didn’t have to look very far for our inspiration for Aldwyn. In fact, he was right in Adam’s backyard. There was a stray black-and-white alley cat named Ben, missing a chunk of his left ear, who visited there every day. The rest seemed to just flow effortlessly. The Familiars and The Familiars: Secrets of the Crown are targeted at middle readers, ages 8-12, but we really believe it will appeal to anyone who loves animals, magic, or fantasy. They take inspiration from “Harry Potter” and “Lord of the Rings” and hopefully put their own unique spin on the classic hero’s journey.

How do you guys communicate (when writing together)?

One of the unique things about The Familiars and its sequel is that we co-authored them. The two of us literally sat in the same room for months and months (we pretty much put in banker’s hours, 9-5 Monday through Friday) writing every word, sentence, and paragraph together. Andrew is the typist (because he’s frankly a much faster typer), while Adam sits beside him, or across from him in a nice, comfy chair, or sometimes paces around. After our initial conversation about the idea, we loosely outlined the first few chapters and just dove in. Then after writing about 45 pages, we meticulously plotted out the rest of the story. Of course we discovered many details along the way, but we had a basic sense of the major plot points and where the books would end. Neither one of us were English majors in college or had any book writing experience previously, but we’ve both read a lot, watched a lot, and lived inside our imaginations since we were little kids.

Where do you come up with all the names and mythical creatures?

Honestly we just make them up! We chose Aldwyn because it had an English flavor and we always imagined him as a little bit of an Artful Dodger/Oliver Twist type character. Skylar took inspiration from the prefix Sky which is of course what birds do. And Gilbert has the word Gil in his name, which frogs have! This is one of the most fun parts of our job. Especially all the fantastical creatures and places.

Did you always want to be authors?

Adam actually thought he might become a video game developer. He absolutely loves video games. Andrew's dad was a lawyer so he thought he'd be good at that. But he was also writing stories as early as in the second grade.

Which are your favorite characters?

Adam would say Gilbert because he has such a fun voice to write. Something unexpected always seems to come out of his mouth, even for us while writing it. Andrew loves Grimslade and his villainous ways!

How did you meet each other?

Adam grew up in Great Neck, New York, while Andrew spent his childhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but we actually met in a parking garage out in Los Angeles.  True story.

For more information about The Familiars Books 1 & 2, check out their website:
http://thefamiliars.com/

You can follow them on twitter: @the_familiars

Or on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefamiliars

Here is a video that the authors made to prepare you for book 2: