Reading With Disney Digital Books
Today, Heather recommends Disney Digital Books for budding and experienced readers. Read on for Heather's review, as well as to learn how to win a Disney Digital Books subscription + gift pack.
"If your child loves Disney, is reading or learning to read, and enjoys using a computer, I recommend trying out Disney Digital Books, which I recently had the opportunity to test out with my daughter Emma. DDB is an online library of over 500 new and classic Disney children's books through which readers (from beginners to advanced readers who can read chapter books) can choose stories about their favorite Disney friends, then click to read independently, hear words aloud, see definitions, turn pages on screen, and more.
DDB is a web-based service (no pesky download required!) and the interface is loaded with lots of great features. Kids can create a My Books section where they can see all the books they have read or want to read, and if they love a particular character, it's easy to select a category (e.g., Little Mermaid) and view all the relevant titles. Kids also can select books to be narrated and words are highlighted as they are narrated to help kids follow along. For budding readers, the dictionary is one of my favorite features; kids can use the "magic pen" to click on any word to hear the pronunciation and definition.
For advanced readers, DDB also encourages reading comprehension via pop up trivia boxes that ask multiple-choice questions about the book being read. Kids earn reward points for questions answered correctly, as well as for completing books, adding books to their bookshelves, and recommending books to friends. Kids can then use reward points to unlock features on the site. They also can build their own story via the Story Builder function that includes tools to create a book cover and print. There are other interactive features, such as emailing and connecting with other readers online, but I wasn't ready to explore that territory with my 6-year-old so we didn't go there.
In short, I still favor reading paper books with my kids, but feel that Disney Digital Books are a great supplement. Since the stories (obviously) all are based on Disney productions, a subscription would be best suited for kids who love the characters. The cost is $8.95 for a monthly family subscription (or $79.95/year), which includes a parent account (through which you can monitor your child's activity, suggest books, and send motivational messages to your kids) and profiles for up to three children in the same household. And if you want to explore before taking the plunge, the site offers a free (limited access) seven-day trial."
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED
Congrats to winner Molly!
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Now, want win a Disney Digital Books subscription + gift pack? Here's how:
*One lucky winner (drawn using Random.org) will receive a Disney Digital Books subscription + a gift pack including a variety of Disney books ($160 value).
Comments
I'd love to see your thoughtful critique of Disney some day, Christine! From what this site shows, there must be conflicts between your philosophies re gender, national, and ethnic roles/identities and those represented by Disney. I also know that the mouse employs folks in your old profession to figure out how to get kids more hooked on their products. I'm sure you could be quite enlightening on this topic.
Posted by: jen | March 25, 2010 1:31 PM | Reply to this comment
nice prize
Posted by: terence henry | March 28, 2010 6:57 PM | Reply to this comment
I would love to win this Thank You for this great giveaway fancyfeet45@earthlink.net
Posted by: Frances Watson | March 30, 2010 12:10 PM | Reply to this comment
Would love to win !!
Posted by: hazel hunt | March 30, 2010 9:23 PM | Reply to this comment
I think the kids would enjoy Jungle richard
Posted by: R Hicks | March 30, 2010 10:08 PM | Reply to this comment
Dear Jen,
Thanks for your thoughtful comment.
FYI, I delegated this product evaluation to one of my writers because my daughter is pretty much out of the Disney princess obsession + we do very little digital with her. So, it wasn't relevant for me to evaluate with Laurel.
But yes, when Laurel was in uber princess mode (which was completely peer motivated...we did nothing to encourage it), we did struggle with issues such as mom identity (e.g., nasty stepmothers), projected body image (e.g., Barbie doll figures), concept that all you needed to be happy is to have a prince rescue you, etc. We talked (and still talk) about these issues a lot with Laurel. She clearly gets it (based on what I've heard her tell her friends re: why I will never buy a Barbie doll for her).
RE: medium -- though in all cases I prefer cuddling up with my kiddo with real books (as does Heather), I have found that digital media (such as the Leapfrog system, which I reviewed a while back) can enhance the learning process, while not replacing the one on one. Heather felt that the Disney digital books were similarly educational and engaging; hence review (if she didn't, we never would have posted about it).
RE: psychologists, I would venture to guess that a lot of companies employ psychologists to figure out how to appeal to kids and develop brand loyalty, similar to the way that engineering psychologists are brought in to tackle user interface/experiences. I'm not defending Disney here, I'm just saying that it's probably par for the course for many in the juvenile products industry. Again, not defending the industry as a whole.
In general, our approach with Laurel is to steer away from branded items (and since Laurel is so heavily into crafts, that makes part of the job really easy), and in the cases where she is exposed to characters and brands and related media, we continue to make her aware of where fantasy is, in fact, just that. And when there are related sensitive issues (re: gender, body image, empowerment, etc.), the poor girl does get an earful on it!
-Christine
Posted by: Christine Koh - Editor replied to comment from jen | April 3, 2010 11:20 PM | Reply to this comment