Dynamic EBooks

TumbleBooks are dynamic ebooks for children, which are viewed on either a Windows or Macintosh computer using the free TumbleReader software. The TumbleReader software places the ebooks within a GameBoy-like frame, with large, well-marked buttons. The ebooks themselves are very colorful, animated and accompanied by sound. The user has the option of reading through the ebook on his/her own pace or to turn on the "auto" feature which causes the text to be narrated at a set pace. There are approximately 25 TumbleBook titles available, each costing approximately $4.99. Titles from the popular children's TV program, "Caillou" are forthcoming.

Jack and the Beanstalk
Illustrator: Brandon Steen
Publisher: Tumble Books, Inc.
TumbleTime: 12 minutes
Price: $4.99
Format: TumbleBook

Time Machine 1: Secret of the Knights
Author: Jim Gasperini
Illustrator: Richard Hescox
Publisher: Bantam Books
Price: $3.99
Format: Microsoft Reader
One in a series of history books for children. Plot offers reader option of several paths to choose. Reader must draw on information about the time period to choose the correct path.

"In the 14th century, King Edward III began an order of knights who wore a cloth garter on their sleeves. A secret motto was written on it: "Honi soit qui mal y pense." Why did the knights wear this garter, and what does the motto mean? To find out, you have to travel back in time and become a knight yourself!" (from distributor's website)

Simon & Schuster has begun using multimedia ebooks as trailers for their forthcoming & new titles. For example:

Farther Than Any Man: The Rise and Fall of Captain James Cook
Author: Martin Dugard
Publisher: Pocket Books
Price: $24.95
Trailer Format: Adobe
The free trailer contains a chapter of the book, a 5-minute video featuring a replica of Cook's ship, a Q&A with the author and a timeline of Cook's life. Available from Simon & Schuster website

"James Cook never laid eyes on the sea until he was in his teens. He then began an extraordinary rise from farmboy outsider to the hallowed rank of captain of the Royal Navy, leading three historic journeys that would forever link his name with fearless exploration (and inspire pop-culture heroes like Captain Hook and Captain James T. Kirk). In Farther Than Any Man, noted modern-day adventurer Martin Dugard strips away the myth of Cook and instead portrays a complex, conflicted man of tremendous ambition (at times to a fault), intellect (though Cook was routinely underestimated) and sheer hardheadedness. " (from publisher's website)