“Do we need new ways of evaluating [digital] texts?” This question is posed by Margaret Walsh (2013, p. 182) as she reflects on the continuum between traditional books and new digital forms. Her exploration of traditional picture books has already established the multimodal nature of the picture book, stating that meaning is constructed through the exploration of the verbal and visual texts with particular focus on the way readers are invited to participate in the narrative. Digital platforms provide additional elements which Walsh analyses using the concept of the “synergy between digital features and literary elements”. Al-Yaqout and Nikolajva (2015) take this further, suggesting that new terminology is needed to effectively describe digital texts, including terms such as materiality (you cannot ‘hold’ an app) and performance modes.
Debate around how best to evaluate digital literature is further confounded by the rapidly changing digital world and the lack of agreement as to what constitutes digital literature (Sargeant, 2015, p. 461). In reviewing the storyapp Weirdwood Manor (2015), I was unsure whether this digital text could really be considered literature given the strong focus on animation and gaming, making the text seem like subtitles in a movie at some stages. Reflecting that I am not the target demographic for this product was helpful, as was understanding that children are now growing up as digital natives and are more immersed in this type of technology and connection (McVicker, 2019). What I see as games can be what Turrion (2014) classes as real participation, a chance for the reader to be part of the story through its interactivity – a co-creator in the literary experience.
Al-Yaqout and Nikolajeva (2015) point out the importance of page layout, picture and text placement and the variation of framed and non-framed pictures in picture book storytelling. Recreating the intent of these features is difficult and does not happen well in many simple e-book versions of a printed text, including When I Am Big by Maria Dek. This book is delightful in its printed format and the reader does not gain the same experience in using the digital version due to the awkward pagination and restrictions on the use of images. Al-Yaqout and Nikolajeva suggest a number of ways in which creators can mimic the picture book effects, including sliding pictures to replicate large images and the ability to view images in portrait and landscape. In The Waterhole by Graeme Base some additional features, including the well-matched soundtrack, animal sound effects and tapping experiences work to increase the enjoyment of the text, despite some losses including the images not being full screen. This enhanced picture book encourages exploration and appeals to our other senses, drawing us into the experience. We are less concerned with the platform and more able to participate in the story.
The Waterhole could form the basis for an exploration of the role of sound effects and music as part of a school holiday program for primary aged children. This text could be the springboard for adding sounds and music to other images, perhaps through the use of google drawings which allows multiple links to be embedded into a single image. Students could record themselves playing a variety of instruments and explore how the use of these effects added or distracted from the text and images that they had created.
In evaluating digital texts I am mindful that this is a growing and evolving area, and that there are plenty of printed texts which I have not considered to be of a good quality. In Weirdwood Manor it was interesting to see the subtle changes that took place over the six instalments, with Book Six including a first-person perspective to the games which the previous books had lacked. Children’s literature, especially picture books, can appear simple to the reader who has not understood the thought that has gone in to the synergy between the images and the text, let alone the many other features which lead to a quality reading experience. Digital texts are still evolving and while it may be that some books should remain in print only, the additional features available to digital storytellers will continue to add value in this new form of storytelling.
Al-Yaqout, G. and Nikolajeva, M. (2015). Re-conceptualising picture book theory in the digital age. Nordic Journal of ChildLit Aesthetics, 6(1), DOI:10.3402/blft.v6.26971
All play, No Work Inc. (2015). Weirdwood Manor. (Version1.7.4) [Mobile App]. Retrieved from http://itunes.apple.com
Base, G. (2020). The Graeme Base Collection [Mobile App] https://www.sutherlandshire.nsw.gov.au/Community/Library/Services/Kids-amp-Parents/Online-Fun/Animalia-the-Graeme-Base-Collection
Dek, M. (2018). When I Am Big. [Electronic Version] Accessed via Borrowbox.
McVicker, C.J. (2019). Plugged and Unplugged Reading: Studying the Preferences of Readers. The Reading Teacher, 72(6), 731– 740. https://doi-org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/10.1002/trtr.1791
Sergeant, B. (2015). What is an ebook? What is a Book App? And Why Should We Care? An Analysis of Contemporary Digital Picture Books, Children’s Literature in Education (2015) 46:454–466 DOI 10.1007/s10583-015-9243-5
Turrión, C. (2014). Multimedia book apps in a contemporary culture: Commerce and innovation, continuity and rupture. Nordic Journal of ChildLit Aesthetics, 5(1), doi:10.3402/blft.v5.24426
Walsh, M. (2013). Literature in a digital environment. Ch. 13). In L. McDonald (Ed.), A literature companion for teachers. Marrickville, NSW: Primary English Teaching Association Australia (PETAA).
Yokota, J. & Teale, W. H. (2014). Picture books and the digital world: educators making informed choices. The Reading Teacher, 34(6). Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/3886534/Picture_Books_and_the_Digital_World_Educators_ Making_Informed_Choices