Donde estan los e-books ?
Friday, February 3, 2012
by: Francisco Vargas

Section: La Opinion


February Issue

Francisco Vargas is currently the Youth Services Officer at the Long Beach Public Library

Pete and the Secret of Flying

 Recently our library purchased the Official Youth Services iPad 2.  Soon after it was out of the box we had several Kirkus recommended Apps downloaded all of which were very fun and age appropriate but all in English.  Our first iPad Storytime went smoothly without a hitch, we projected the e-book on to the screen and had computer speakers projecting all the great sound effects.
For mere $1.99 I was able to purchase a great interactive book for storytime in English but I was hoping there was one available in Spanish.

Parents loved the experienced and afterwards they began to tell me about all the other wonderful Apps their kids enjoy. One parent told me about an App that records your voice.  Technically you can read the book in advance and have your child listen to you re-tell it over and over.  A librarian (also a parent) told me about the Mo Willem's Pigeon App she was obvioulsy a fan of the books but this App went a step further. For one it allows you to create several unique stories using a fun template, your own Pigeon Art, and your voice.  Wow the cloud it's the limit! 

This is all so exiting, developers have been busy thinking about kids!  The thought that has been given to all the applications is incredible, and the best part is that they are kid oriented and age appropriate!  Truly the integration of technology and early literacy has really paid off for us techies.

However something should be bothering us. Where are all the Spanish e-books?  And I don't mean the boring PDF, E-Pub, or Audio e-books we can get so readily from Overdrive.  I mean the App/iTunes/Market books, the Nook Color, Kindle Fire-Interactive type.  For a mere $1.99 I was able to purchase a great interactive book for storytime; but all along I was hoping there was one available in Spanish (with some spice!)  Although some of the titles had a bilingual and multi-lingual aspects/features they were cheesy and stereotypical at best.

Maybe the market will fix it self shortly when Latinos will begin to demand for  more choices by our favorite authors like Xavier Garza, Yuyi Morales, Duncan Tonatiuh, and Monica Brown (just to name a few). 

In the mean while check out Don't Let the Pigeon Run This App, Pete and the Secret of Flying, and A Present for Milo.  In addition to these books you can find several classic titles from Dr. Seuss, Disney, and many other popular series.
  
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