Reading the Future

When you're the world's largest childern's publisher and you sell more than 750 million books and magazines in 85 countries and 75 different languages each year, what could you possibly do next? Take your library online, of course! With Disney Digital Books (Disney Digital books.com), Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW) has turned the page on traditional story time by introducing a new, cutting-edge way for childern to experience the joy of reading.
"It's an industry-defining product," Russell Hampton, president, DPW, says. "No one has come out with a product that is as engaging and attractive, but more importantly with the breadth of content". Launching with more than 500 online books and content from more than 25 different franchises including Disney Princess and Mickey Mouse, kids can dive into stories and adventures with their favorite characters. Additional, DPW is looking to add content from thousands of books no longer in print."Unlike some publishers, who fear the digital revolution is changing their business, we are embracing the opportunity to reach our consumers directly", Jeanne Mosure, senior vice president, Group Publisher, DPW, observes.
Embracing it is exactly what the team did. The idea for Disney Digital Books was initially conceived within DPW by Joksan Acala, Bryan Martinez and Adam Nuccio, who are all part of DPW's Technical Advancement Group.
The team took the challenge of combining technologies that had never been integrated before. And for kids,accessing Disney Digital Books is as easy as visiting a Web site. All you need is a computer and an Internet connection.
" We're not looking to replace traditional reading, but instead give you additional ways to enjoy our content", Russell says. " When we look at our business, we look at trends- and kids have been reading less because they have more options on how to spend their time. Technology impacts their choices. I see it as something that will make our business grow. And at heart, it's a fun, interactive way to read a book".
The Disney Digital Books library is divided into three separate reading levels. Level one offers picture books and stories intended for shared reading with a parent or guardian; level two includes readers and storybooks suitable for childern who are ready to read on their own; and level three contains chapter books and junior novels for more advanced readers.
" What we saw from research is that parents love the idea of a new way to entice their kids to read more", Yves Saada, vice president, Digital Media, Global Books, they can monitor their progress and e-mail a congratulatory,note when they've finished a book". Yves has three daughters at home who have enjoyed testing the new product. " They're at two different reading levels, but while my 6-year old is focused on reading the stories, the younger ones like to watch and hear the stories. For them, playtime is about reading".


DR LEE