Disney Digital Books is a subscription website with an interactive library where parents and children can read over 600 new and classic Disney books online from Cinderella and Pinocchio to new favorites like Finding Nemo and High School Musical. Kids can read their favorite Disney stories, earn points and rewards and even add their creative touch to the books. Children use the character carousel to find books featuring their favorite Disney characters or click Find Books to search by keyword or reading level. As they read, children use the Magic Pen to click on any word to hear it read aloud, and the dictionary feature defines the words they don’t know. Books are added to a child’s personal bookshelf, and points are awarded as a child answers trivia within each book. As children gain points, they celebrate reaching new reader leagues with reader rewards and badges displayed in their online personal place. In the child’s personal place (My Place), they can choose a theme, build and display Story-Builder storybooks, and read notes others have left for them on their message board. Children can even safely interact with each other by choosing pre-selected messages and sharing book suggestions. A parent can also use their own User Name and password to view your child’s activity and send messages of encouragement.
Technology In addition to being able to read books alone or with a parent, kids can listen to some of the collection of the read along books of their youth, and even creatively manipulate some others by adding pictures and words. At first glance, you may think that this service is most appropriate for the preschool and Kindergarten set who love Playhouse Disney and the classics. In fact, the Disney Digital Books collection has a wide range of titles including more sophisticated chapter books appropriate for the middle school crowd who love the drama of Hannah Montana and the adventure of Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean. Additional features on the site include a point-based reward system, a customizable virtual room, quizzes and a built-in dictionary. In addition, for the best screen resolution for viewing Disney Digital Book is 1024 x 768 or higher. However, Disney does recommend 1400 x 900.
Innovation The “Look and Listen” book collection lets children immerse themselves in stories with voices and sound effects. On the homepage, click on the headphones icon on the bookshelf, or, go to Find Books and click on the button Look and Listen.
Children can also earn points by engaging in a variety of different activities on the site, such as reading books to the end and correctly answering trivia questions throughout, adding books to his/her bookshelf, and recommending books to friends.
The more points your child collects, the further they will advance into new reader leagues. As each league level is reached, a printable certificate and a virtual badge are awarded,