Will Children's Literature Make The Jump Form Print To Ebook Format? - Page 5

Andrew H. · 12-30-2011, 01:16 PM

There are basically two general types of children's books: (1) those for non-readers, or children just learning to read; and (2) those for readers, albeit younger ones. Think "Goodnight Moon" vs. "The Hardy Boys."

For kids reading "The Hardy Boys," an e-book reader makes as much sense for a kid as it does for an adult. For younger kids, I don't think that e-book readers make sense: a lot of the books for kids at that age are are much (or more) of a tactile or visual experience as they are a literary one - think of turning the thick cardboard pages on some of those books, for example.

emellaich · 01-01-2012, 12:08 AM

I assume the question refers to picture books? IMO, books with text are different whether they are targeted at youth or adults. They work fine on ebooks and eventually will mostly be consumed that way. In regard to picture books, perhaps you have see the baby and the iPad?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXV-yaFmQNk

Arguably, poking at a touch screen is easier for a toddler than grabbing and turning pages.

For me, the issue is on the creation side. For example, I believe that picture books are as much about art as story. I'm not just talking about the art of the picture. Each page is designed as a complete thought. The text is carefully placed and aligned to balance the picture. Often, the page turn is a planned part of the story; either it provides transition, or suspense.

I believe that all of this could be achieved for a page designed for my kindle touch. However, it would need to be a custom design that recognizes the black and white nature of the screen and that Amazon forces certain minimum margins on its readers. And what happens if the reader tries to change font size? Now, let's say we have a new reader. It's a ten inch color screen, or a 4.5 inch smartphone. How do we scale? And, one of the special joys is comes from grandparents reading favorite books anew with the next generation. Can the mobi and ePub files that we read to our kids still be read when our grand kids come along? Even without DRM, it can be tough to read twenty-five year old computer files.

The result, I think will be a lot of orphaned works that are popular for a few years and that then fade from memory. Perhaps, each generation will have a handful of books that are kept up to date.

ryntau · 01-05-2012, 10:19 PM

What kind of format is used in creating children's books? Are they just images placed into an EPUB file?

Elfwreck · 01-06-2012, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryntau

What kind of format is used in creating children's books? Are they just images placed into an EPUB file?

Depends on what kinds of children's books. "Children's books" covers everything from plastic infant books with no words to Doctorow's "For The Win"--the target age of 0-17 has a broad range of literature.

Some are images in an epub or mobi file. Some are done as PDFs, or as apps, to make them more interactive. Some don't have pictures; children's classics like the Beverly Cleary books might have a drawing at each chapter, but might not, and in any case, they can be produced in all the standard ebook formats..

HarryT · 01-06-2012, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

For kids reading "The Hardy Boys," an e-book reader makes as much sense for a kid as it does for an adult.

Is "The Hardy Boys" series available in ebook form?

CWatkinsNash · 01-06-2012, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Is "The Hardy Boys" series available in ebook form?

According to a quick Inkmesh search, apparently at least some of them are:

http://inkmesh.com/search/?qs=hardy+...nE=Find+Ebooks

ryntau · 01-06-2012, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

Depends on what kinds of children's books. "Children's books" covers everything from plastic infant books with no words to Doctorow's "For The Win"--the target age of 0-17 has a broad range of literature.

My concern was more directed towards the books that are primarily picture based. Or mostly picture based, with a little text, like Dr. Seuss.

HarryT · 01-06-2012, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

According to a quick Inkmesh search, apparently at least some of them are:

http://inkmesh.com/search/?qs=hardy+...nE=Find+Ebooks

Excellent - thanks! Never even occured to me that they would be.

kiwipippa · 01-06-2012, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Excellent - thanks! Never even occured to me that they would be.

And so are some of the Enid Blyton books.

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12-30-2011, 01:16 PM	#61
Andrew H. Grand Master of Flowers Posts: 2,201 Karma: 8389072 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Naptown Device: Kindle PW, Kindle 3 (aka Keyboard), iPhone, iPad 3 (not for reading)	There are basically two general types of children's books: (1) those for non-readers, or children just learning to read; and (2) those for readers, albeit younger ones. Think "Goodnight Moon" vs. "The Hardy Boys." For kids reading "The Hardy Boys," an e-book reader makes as much sense for a kid as it does for an adult. For younger kids, I don't think that e-book readers make sense: a lot of the books for kids at that age are are much (or more) of a tactile or visual experience as they are a literary one - think of turning the thick cardboard pages on some of those books, for example.

01-01-2012, 12:08 AM	#62
emellaich Wizard Posts: 1,101 Karma: 4388403 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Palm>Ebookman>IPaq>Axim>Cybook>Kndl2>IPAD>Kndl3SO>Voyager>Oasis	I assume the question refers to picture books? IMO, books with text are different whether they are targeted at youth or adults. They work fine on ebooks and eventually will mostly be consumed that way. In regard to picture books, perhaps you have see the baby and the iPad? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXV-yaFmQNk Arguably, poking at a touch screen is easier for a toddler than grabbing and turning pages. For me, the issue is on the creation side. For example, I believe that picture books are as much about art as story. I'm not just talking about the art of the picture. Each page is designed as a complete thought. The text is carefully placed and aligned to balance the picture. Often, the page turn is a planned part of the story; either it provides transition, or suspense. I believe that all of this could be achieved for a page designed for my kindle touch. However, it would need to be a custom design that recognizes the black and white nature of the screen and that Amazon forces certain minimum margins on its readers. And what happens if the reader tries to change font size? Now, let's say we have a new reader. It's a ten inch color screen, or a 4.5 inch smartphone. How do we scale? And, one of the special joys is comes from grandparents reading favorite books anew with the next generation. Can the mobi and ePub files that we read to our kids still be read when our grand kids come along? Even without DRM, it can be tough to read twenty-five year old computer files. The result, I think will be a lot of orphaned works that are popular for a few years and that then fade from memory. Perhaps, each generation will have a handful of books that are kept up to date.

01-05-2012, 10:19 PM	#63
ryntau Member Posts: 10 Karma: 43516 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: none	What kind of format is used in creating children's books? Are they just images placed into an EPUB file?