Artwork by Sarah Massini
We’re very excited to announce a brand new reading initiative today: Nosy Crow Stories Aloud.
Stories Aloud is a new way of bundling together digital content with our print books: from January, every one of our paperback picture books (and existing picture book titles, as they come up for re-print) will come with a FREE audio reading using children’s voices, complete with sound effects and original music. To activate the audio reading, all you have to do is scan a QR code on the inside cover of the book, and the audio will be streamed from the web (over 3G or WiFi).
We think that this is something that will work well for booksellers looking for ways to bundle together digital and print content, for parents who don’t always have the time to read with their children (or want to keep them occupied) and for children, especially those who don’t quite have the skills to read independently yet.
Kate says:
“My own children loved listening to audio recordings of their favourite picture books. Years before they could read for themselves, audio recordings meant that they were able to listen to stories wherever they wanted to. It was a really empowering thing for them that helped to build their understanding of books and their literacy skills.
“We’ve been looking for ways to invite all booksellers, not just those who deal in ebooks, into the world of digital content, and this seems like a really great way to do it: every bookseller who stocks one of our picture book paperbacks will be offering their customer free digital content when they sell a copy of a book.
“Our innovative idea brings together digital listening and reading print books in a way that uses today’s technology and that works for booksellers, for parents and for children, so now families can listen to a story, wherever and whenever they want: just pick up the book, pick up a device, scan the code and hear the story.”
Stories Aloud books will be on sale from January, and we’re launching with seven titles:
★ The Princess and the Peas by Caryl Hart and Sarah Warburton
★ Pip and Posy: The Super Scooter by Axel Scheffler
★ Pip and Posy: The Little Puddle by Axel Scheffler
★ Goldilocks and Just the One Bear by Leigh Hodgkinson
★ Hubble Bubble, Granny Trouble! by Tracey Corderory and Joe Berger
★ Whizz Pop, Granny Stop! by Tracey Corderory and Joe Berger
★ Dinosaur Dig! by Penny Dale
You can read more about Stories Aloud (along with full instructions on how it works, and a demonstration QR code) here, and find our press release here.
