Two new products will delight both readers and writers

There's nothing more satisfying than hearing a favorite story read aloud over and over again. Unfortunately, for many children this opportunity isn't always available. However, there are two wonderful online programs that offer children not only the opportunity to listen to or read picture books, but to also become a published author themselves. ONE MORE STORY www.onemorestory.com Grades PreS-4 Cost Subscriptions for school libraries cost $1.10 per student per year with a minimum cost of $110 The Big Picture One More Story was started in August of 1999 by Rona Roth, a kindergarten teacher, and Carl Teitelbaum, a Sesame Street producer. In development for nearly six years, the site was finally launched in April of 2005 with 12 books. Now with 50 books currently available from 13 different publishing houses, One More Story is in use in over 220 school districts and 100 public libraries. In addition, One More Story provides its program free-of-charge to hospitals. As a relatively new program to most school libraries, One More Story provides students, parents, teachers, and librarians with an online library that can be read to, by, or with a child. Children can easily browse the bookshelves to select award-winning titles such as Ezra Jack Keats's A Snowy Day or elementary favorites such as The Emperor's Egg by Martin Jenkins. Once the book is selected, a lovable green bookworm named Benjamin D. Bookworm ("Bendy" for short) appears and provides easy-to-follow directions for using the program. Children can click on Bendy to have the book pages turn automatically throughout or click the green arrow button to manually move through the pages. Users will be captivated as each book's narrator creates an auditory world that perfectly represents the illustrations. Eager readers will be excited as they see each word of text highlighted in red as it is spoken. Through musical backgrounds that enhance the story's flow and the exquisite narration by outstanding readers, students and adults will quickly become excited by the program's ability to capture and re-create the essence of a wonderful storytime experience. Users will find at least two or more favorite books on each virtual shelf. Look & Feel For those familiar with Shelfari or LibraryThing, there's absolutely no way to visit One More Story without saying, "Ah-h-h!" when you see this cute, virtual bookshelf filled with children's favorites. One More Story provides younger bibliophiles the opportunity to select and read or listen to several of their favorites with or without adult assistance. Book lovers, regardless of their age, will eagerly browse to find favorite titles sure to inspire through their wonderful illustrations and text as well as the magnificent readers who narrate the stories just like our parents—or perhaps our favorite librarians—once did when we were younger. Additional resources include information for parents on topics such as separation anxiety, bullying, and school anxiety. The program offers ways to use children's literature to explain or handle difficult situations as children begin their first years in day care or elementary school. Finally, a blog for One More Story lets uers share their experiences with the program. How It Works Users select titles from three bookshelves (with three additional shelves forthcoming) by selecting a colored tab at the top of the shelf. Each bookshelf contains books on different reading levels (although there is no specific reading level listed on the initial bookshelf screen, parents, teachers, and librarians can access the "parents' page" of the program to locate information about the reading levels of each book). These levels are determined by the same formula used for the Accelerated Reader™ program. However, One More Story's philosophy is to allow all readers the opportunity to select a book of their interest and choice to enjoy, rather than restricting them to specific reading or grade level books. Once a book is selected, the student may turn the pages themselves or have the program automatically turn pages. Throughout the story, each word of text being read is highlighted in red, so students can see and hear the words. However the narration can be turned off. Still, even when reading independently, students can get assistance with more difficult words by clicking on them to hear them read aloud. This provides young readers with additional independence and confidence. Students can quit the book by clicking the red "stop sign" and selecting another volume. With over 50 titles (and approximately 60 additional titles to be added to complete the program's content), One More Story offers readers of all levels and abilities the opportunity to enjoy literature. For Students and Teachers Parents, teachers, and librarians will love One More Story not only because of its ease of use, but also because of the choice of literature provided. Each bookshelf contains classic and contemporary childhood favorites with updates added regularly, and email notifications for new additions give students the option to select new titles while enjoying their favorite(s). Through high-caliber narration, students can hear the tone and inflection of the words, which boosts both interest and excitement. This program provides a great listening station for both the library and the classroom. It's likely that students will find some of their favorite books, and perhaps borrow those same titles during their next library visit. Parents and child-care workers will appreciate this program as a supplemental resource for quiet times or winding-down after a busy day. Report Card One More Story is relatively new and offers only a few titles at this time. But several of these works are childhood favorites and will be instantly familiar to many children. As this site continues to develop and additional content is added, it is certain that it will become a premiere program for many preschool and elementary programs, as well as school and public libraries. Without question, One More Story is a program that was definitely worth the wait. For teachers, parents, librarians, and childcare workers looking to supplement reading activities, word recognition, and storytime experiences, One More Story should be considered as an addition to the collection. For creating a wonderfully beautiful program that engages readers of all ages, One More Story deserves an A+. BIG UNIVERSE www.biguniverse.com Grades K-6+ Cost Free at this time; premium subscriptions will soon be available with additional content. The Big Picture If you've been compiling those wonderful stories written by your fabulously talented students throughout the year to create an anthology, then you know the amount of time and work (not to mention sweat and tears) that is involved. In fact, you may have already given up this project…but maybe this year you should go digital instead. On his blog, Moving at the Speed of Creativity (www.speedofcreativity.org), Wesley Fryer shared his excitement in finding Big Universe and the enthusiasm it generates when students become "published authors" on the Internet. After seeing the program, I have to agree. The idea of writing a book for the world to read can be exhilarating, but this site is also easy to use with the capacity for students to create multiple books throughout the year. While Big Universe provides free access to multimedia/ebook versions of picture books (and the ability for adults to purchase the printed books), it is its ability to create multimedia books and publish them online that will excite most teachers and librarians. Because the interface is entirely Web-based, you don't need to download and install a client-side application. Look & Feel Big Universe is easy to navigate, logical to understand, and uses vibrant colors with bold-faced fonts that provide quick directions. Users can browse the content available on the first page or use the navigation guides to locate books based on age or interests. Because the program is free, users can quickly create their own accounts and begin building virtual bookshelves filled with titles already available within the collection or begin writing and illustrating their own materials by clicking "create" on the navigation banner at the top of the page. In addition, parents, teachers, and grandparents can purchase the books from publishers such as Weekly Reader, Saddleback Educational Publishing, and Tanglewood Press. Educators looking for resources in other languages will find materials in 12 different tongues including Spanish, French, and even Russian. By selecting the specific language, users will find additional titles available for reading online for purchase. How It Works As mentioned, the unique aspect of the program is the ability to create books. Utilizing the program's graphic images library or using their own digital photos, students can easily create a book within minutes. After clicking "create" in the navigation bar, a pop-up window appears that allows the user to import photos, change background colors for pages, and add text to each picture book. When the student is finished making changes, he or she can select "preview" to see an "Advanced Reader" edition of his work. If the book is considered finished, the student can click "publish" and the book will be sent to the administrative moderator for approval (which provides for quality assurance that the materials are appropriate for the site). After approval, the book is published to the Web site and can be easily found by clicking "my account" at the top of the page and then "books I've created." Books designed by students are accessible for others to read, view, and even comment on (or review). An embed code is also available to add the book to the classroom or library Web site. For Students and Teachers For many teachers and librarians looking to encourage reading and promote higher-level thinking skills through creative writing, Big Universe provides the opportunity to not only read multimedia versions of books, but also to publish and share works. Because the administrators oversee the production of the materials, the content is guaranteed to be appropriate and easily accessible through most schools' content filters, allowing educators to integrate 2.0 tools in a positive and productive manner. Report Card For many educators, the integration of technology is a problem far too complicated to even consider. However, Big Universe provides a myriad of opportunities. After the program has been used once, it is almost certain that students will return to add new stories to their virtual bookshelves. By providing kids with the opportunity to not only read but to create their own materials for others to read, making the goals of writing and publishing a reality for many would-be writers in the elementary classroom, Big Universe deserves an A+.

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Author Information

Shonda Brisco, MLIS, is assistant professor/curriculum materials librarian, Mary L. Williams Curriculum Materials Library, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater.