The Book 2013 Ninth Annual Conference

March 21 – 23, 2013University of Padua – Italy

Children’s Literature,Technology and Imagination.

Research, Problems andPerspectives

The Construction of Meaning in Three Fairy-Tale Enhanced Electronic Picturebooks

Aline FredericoMaster of Arts in Children’s Literature Candidate

The University of British ColumbiaSchool of Library, Archival and Information Studies

Canada

Informed by David Lewis’ ecological approach to picturebooks (2001), this study conductedclose readings of three enhanced e-book versions of The Three Little Pigs, analyzinghow the different semiotic modes that constitute these narratives interanimate each otherand participate in the meaning-making process. After analyzing a wide range of versions ofthe tale in the format of storybook apps for the iPad, three broad categories emerged,which I identify as limited, disconnected, and sophisticated. Respectively belonging to eachof the categories described above, the e-books selected for analysis were the retellings ofThe Three Little Pigs produced by Stepworks Books, by TapTap Kids, and by NosyCrow. The analysis shows that due to the variety of elements that constitute this kind ofnarrative and the different levels of interanimation that may occur between them, eachstorybook app results in a unique narrative, affecting young audiences in significantlydifferent ways. The more the digital features are integrated into the narrative, the morenovel and experimental these enhanced e-books are in comparison to print books, providinga more immersive and enhanced reading experience.

Introduction

Enhanced e-books are not necessarily new; during the 1990s and2000s, they were present in the format of CD-ROMs or DVDs fordesktop computers. Since Apple’s iPad release in April 2010,however, these books–also referred to as storybooks apps–seemto have found their ideal platform on these light, portable,high-resolution touch screen devices. As textuality isentangled in the medium as well as in the message (Bizzocchiand Tanembaum 2011, n. pag.), a new kind of narrative in theformat of enhanced e-book emerges from this specificcombination of picturebook and technology. Due to the noveltyof storybook apps, little research has been published on thisemergent textual form (Al-Yaqout 2011; Chiong et al. 2012;Vaala and Takeuchi 2012). Furthermore, the studies that havebeen made available do not take into account the vastdifferences among storybook apps available. The work presentedin this paper is part of a larger longitudinal study ofchildren’s e-reading that aims to narrow the gaps in theunderstanding of the emerging landscape of storybook apps aschildren’s reading practices in the Digital Age.

Theoretical Framework

This study is informed by David Lewis’ ecological approach topicturebooks. Lewis (2001) proposes the analysis of apicturebook in terms of its “ecology”, as the elements thatconstitute the picturebook are interconnected; a change in oneof its elements constitutes a change in the whole ecosystem.According to Lewis, the combination of words and images inpicturebooks is limitless. Each picturebook is unique becausethe interanimation between certain words and images cannot bereplicated by any other combination. The meanings conveyedfrom this interaction cannot be achieved the same way by anyother combination. Extending the concept of interanimation toenhanced e-books, the inclusion of multimedia and interactiveelements generates a new process of meaning-making. Byapplying the ecological theoretical framework proposed byLewis, this study conducted close readings of three enhancede-book versions of the fairy tale The Three Little Pigs, analyzinghow the different forms of text that constitute these

narratives interanimate each other and participate in themeaning-making process.

Methodology

A brief look at the iTunes App Store reveals that some classictexts have dozens of unique downloadable versions for sale,each produced by a different app developer. Fairy tales inparticular, since the stories are in the public domain, can befound in myriad versions, providing a unique point ofcomparison: the narrative is based on a common text, butinterpreted distinctively by the app developer. The threeversions of The Three Little Pigs employed by this study were chosenfrom the analysis of over 30 options. Although they are allconsidered enhanced e-books and, in this case, they relate thesame plot with minimal variation, I argue that they constituteentirely different books, with different narrative strategiesand objectives.

In analyzing of the range of Three Little Pigs versions, threebroad categories of storybook apps emerged, which I identifyas limited, disconnected, and sophisticated.

Limited: enhanced e-books that explore few of the digitalfeatures and do not expand the possibilities of new textmodalities in comparison with the print book.

Disconnected: these e-books explore a great number ofmultimodal features but do not consistently connect themto the narrative, generating a profusion of disconnectedcodes that do not interanimate to create meaning.

Sophisticated: a small number of e-books explore themultimodality of digital media and integrate audio,animation and interactivity with words and images tosignificantly enhance the reading experience and extendthe depth of interpretation and the meaning-makingpossibilities.

In order to understand deeply these differences and how theyaffect the meaning-making processes, one app from each of thecategories described above was selected, respectively, TheThree Little Pigs apps by Stepworks Books, by TapTap Kids and by

Nosy Crow. None of those apps were based in the originalversion of the tale by Jacobs (2009, original published in1890) or were based on previous printed editions.

Considering that a text is “a gestalt of medium and message”and its close reading may reveal the “poetics of a medium writlarge” (Bizzocchi and Tanembaum 2011, n. pag.), by closereading these three versions of the same story in the formatof enhanced e-books for tablet computers, insights emerge withregard to how the different elements of the these booksinteranimate each other and participate in the construction ofmeaning.

The analysis is divided into three sections, one for eachbook, and thus three contrasting cases of e-book developmentare presented. An ecosystem of story elements is used in theanalysis: text, illustration, animation, narration, audioeffects, soundscape, interactivity, navigations and settings.The “ecosystem” approach suggests that the meaning eachelement alone conveys is not the same as what the experienceof the book as a whole might be. Thus, at the end of eachsection, the book as a whole is considered based on theinteranimations occurring amongst all the elements, pointingout where these relationships are strong or weak, how theyinfluence each other and how the meaning of the book isconveyed.

Findings

Synthesis of the findings

Due to the short length of this paper, it is not possible to present the complete analysis of each element of the e-books presented in this study. To give the reader a brief idea of each of them and the possibility of comparison amongst e-books, I created the table below, which synthetises the findings:

In the following sub-sections, I’ll present an overview of each e-book, considering generally the elements that constitute each narrative and how they interanimate to create meaning at these stories.

The Three Little Pigs by Kidztory

The first e-book analyzed is The Three Little Pigs, created byKidztory, a Hong Kong-based branding and marketingcommunications agency. According to their page on the iTunesAppstore, the intended target age group for this e-book is 4years and up. This e-book constitutes a sample of the limitedcategory: it does not explore the possibilities of digitalmedia in its completeness. Although the verbal text is wellwritten, funny and attractive, the interanimation betweenverbal and visual texts is weak because the images do notextend significantly the information provided by the words.The images are aesthetically pleasant but poor in meaning. Thestrongest interanimation that can be noticed in this e-book isbetween verbal text and narration. These two elements are

already deeply connected because the narration is dependent onthe verbal text — narration is created from the verbal text.To return to the idea of the multiple orientations of enhancede-picturebooks, the recognition of the narration-as-influenced-by-words orientation is immediate. However, the useof a child as a narrator and the dramatization of the verbaltext, stressing its more meaningful words, certainlystrengthen this relationship; the influence the narrationexerts upon the words is noticeable in this e-book, confirmingthe words-as-influenced-by-narration orientation. This e-bookpresents a very verbal-centered perspective of the picturebookand of the digital media, because it prioritizes words andnarration to detriment of its visual, sound and interactiveaspects. The animation, sound effects, interactivity andnavigation are too simple and limited. Though it sustainsitself because of the strong narrative qualities of verbaltext in comparison to other elements, the result is an e-bookthat does not significantly enhance the digital readingexperience in comparison to reading print books.

The Three Little Pigs by TapTap Kids

The second e-book analyzed is The Three Little Pigs, by TapTap Kids,a branch of Genera Interactive, “a mobile entertainmentcompany specializing in multiplatform application developmentand innovative concepts for mobile marketing purposes” (GeneraInteractive, n. pag.). Their focus on entertainment ratherthan literature or education is clear in their e-books. In thedescription of the app in the iTunes Appstore, there are twocontradictory pieces of information with regards to theaudience for this e-book. In the main description it isrecommended for ages 1 and up, which shows unfamiliarity withthe types of books aimed at babies and toddlers. On the otherhand, in the general information showed on the left hand sideof the page, the audience is set a 4 years old and up, whichseems more appropriate for this app.

As opposed to the first app by Kidzstory, this one byTapTapKids explores a great diversity of features, whichresults in a profusion of movement, with various visual andsound elements. The verbal text is long and not interesting;its focus is on the communication of the moral. There is no

preoccupation with style, such as the use humour, rhymes, orrepetition, in order to make the text captivating. The imagesin general are attractive and rich in detail, but, in somecases, they are not related to the verbal text, showing adisconnect between what the words stress as importantinformation and what the images display. It is important tomake clear that contradiction does not necessarily meanblocking the narrative or generating confusion. As DeniseAgosto (1999) suggests, contradiction can be a narrativestrategy in a picturebook, creating irony, humour anddisclosure. This, however, is not the case here; this appseems to be an interaction-centered e-book, which impairs thenarrative in the process of creating a 'lesson' and aninteractive menagerie. In some cases all the other elementsseem to be on the page with the intention of permittingmultiple interactions, but not of telling the story.Interactions, soundscape, sound effects and multipleanimations deviate the focus from the narrative and lead todistraction from the story. The interanimation between theelements is weak; the different texts seem to converge towardsinteractivity, blocking or losing other possible orientations.The medium seems to have more importance than the message.Although a variety of features are explored–and individuallythey make sense–this e-book does not necessarily enhance thereading experience, because the narrative and the readingprocess seem to be an excuse for creating an interactive app.

The Three Little Pigs by Nosy Crow

Nosy Crow is a UK based publishing house that “[makes]innovative, multimedia, highly interactive apps for tablets,smart phones and other touchscreen devices. These apps are notexisting books squashed onto phones, but instead are speciallycreated to take advantage of the devices to tell stories andprovide information to children in new and engaging ways”(Nosy Crow, n. pag.). In comparison to the majority ofenhanced e-books for tablets, NosyCrow creates novel andinventive apps. This specific book was awarded the 2011Editor’s Choice Award by the Children’s Technology Review magazineand selected as one of the Top 10 “Best Children’s Books onthe iPad” by the New York Times. According to the publisher,

the core audience for this e-book are children from 4 to 6years old.

This book, differently from the first two, balances thesemiotic modes, exploring them with the objective ofincreasing narrative depth and generating multiple layers ofinterpretation. As in the first e-book analyzed, the narrationand words interanimate one another in very meaningful ways.Text, illustrations and soundscape are sophisticated,attractive and well executed; they are also complementary, onefilling the gaps of the other and generating meaning by thedifferences in their nature. The interanimation of these threeelements is essential for the narrative. Animations and soundeffects are integrated in the story without disturbing theother elements. Interactivity is used to reinforce theparticipation of the reader in the creation and interpretationof the narrative. The activities, or the hide-and-seek gameinside the story, remain as secondary elements, enhancing theplayfulness of the e-book without provoking distraction. Therandomness of some features withstands repeated use.Navigation and settings are easy to use and can be customizedby the reader. In sum, all the elements contribute to tell thestory in a pleasant and humorous way, definitely enhancing thereading experience.

Conclusion

After analyzing three very different e-books retelling thestory of The Three Little Pigs, it is possible to visualize thecomplexity and variety of such narratives and how theinteranimation of the various semiotic modes add new layers ofinterpretation to the words. Also, due to the different natureof each of the elements analyzed, the level of interanimationamongst them varies. As exemplified, the relationship betweennarration and words is very intimate, but the same may not besaid of the narration and interactivity, for example. A goodsoundscape, which reflects the changes in the narrative justas words and images do, should equally interanimate with thoseelements, extending their meanings similarly. Likewise, soundeffects and animations must interanimate one another to createa more immersive and genuine narrative. In terms of

interanimation, the strongest bond connecting animation iswith illustration. In animated movies, they are actuallyconsidered as one single mode. In e-books, since the animationis usually limited, they are considered separately, but justas the narration enhances the dramatization of the verbaltext, the animation enhances the dramatization of the images.Also, the animation adds narrative qualities to theillustrations, qualities that the images alone do notnecessarily have. Finally, the navigation possibilities canexpand or limit relationships inside the enhanced e-book.Though the elements inside a scene remain the same, reading ina different order may produce different connections,rearranging the processes of interanimation in the narrativeas a whole.

Lewis explains that readers have a central role in themeaning-making process, since reading and interpreting themulti-oriented text of the picturebook depend on each reader’sbackground and active participation. Interactivity, then,strengthens the bridge between readers and the elements of anarrative, giving readers direct participation in the storyand intervening in all kinds of relationships inside an e-book. Interactivity is also responsible for the enhancement ofthe e-books’ playful characteristics. As observed by HaroldInnis, “Each medium privileges certain types of communication”(quoted in Bizzocchi & Tanembaum, n. pag.). The enhanced e-book available in tablets and other touch-screen devices seemsto privilege interaction. However, Bizzocchi & Tanembaumremind us that the narrative aspect is still present in newmedia, though not necessarily manifesting literally. Thus,interactivity needs to support the narrative aspect of newmedia in enhanced e-books to make sense, and not to assume thefocus of communication without a clear interweave with theadditional modes.

It is necessary that all elements in enhanced picturebooks beinterwoven at the content level to produce original andcoherent meaning. There cannot be symmetry amongst differentelements in picturebooks (Lewis 2001, 38). That is, due to thedifferent qualities of words, images, audio, interactivity,these elements cannot present exactly the same kind ofinformation. On the other hand, if the interanimation occursexclusively by these distinct intrinsic characteristics of

each mode but does not occur on the content level, therelationship amongst all the elements is weak and does notsustain the narrative as a whole. The analysis of these e-books shows that due to the variety of elements thatconstitute this kind of narrative and the different levels ofinteranimation that may occur between them, each storybook appresults in a unique narrative that may privilege differentaspects, some being clearly focused on the reading experiencewhile others aim mostly for entertainment. The more thedigital features are integrated into the narrative, the morenovel and experimental these enhanced e-books are incomparison to print books, providing a more immersive andenhanced reading experience.

This study provides an important foundation for the literaryanalysis of electronic children’s texts, as well as anecessary first step in understanding the literary functionsof enhanced books in youth reading practices. A shortcoming ofprior e-book studies with children is failing to acknowledgethe incredible diversity of approaches to multimediaauthoring, and how this diversity may affect the meaningconstruction of early readers. Through close readings ofenhanced texts and the development of an adapted framework forpicturebook analysis in the digital realm, this work opens newpossibilities for the study of children’s narratives.

References

“About and Contact.” Nosy Crow. Nosy Crow, 2010. Web. Retrieved on 4 Dec.2012. “About us.” Genera Interactive. Genera Mobile Solutions, 2012. Web. Retrievedon 4 Dec. 2012.“Apps.” Nosy Crow. Nosy Crow, 2010. Web. Retrieved on 4 Dec. 2012.Agosto, D. (1999) One and Inseparable: Interdependent Storytelling inPicture Storybooks. Children's Literature in Education 30, 267-280.Al-Yaqout, G. (2011). “From slate to slate: What does the future hold forthe picturebook series?” New Review of Children's Literature and Librarianship 17 (1):57-77. Bizzocchi, J, and Tanenbaum, J. (2011). “Well read: Applying close readingtechniques to gameplay experiences.” Well Played 3.0: Video Games, Value andMeaning. Drew Davidson et al. ETC Press, n. pag. Web. Retrieved on 4 Dec.2012.Chiong, C., Ree, J., Takeuchi, L. & Erickson, I. (2012). Print books vs. e-books:Comparing parent-child co-reading on print, basic, and enhanced e-book platforms. New York:The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop.

Gastalver, P. (Nov 08. 2012). The Three Little Pigs. TapTap Kids. iPhone BookApp. Jacobs, Joseph. (2009). “The Story of the Three Little Pigs.” In Folk & FairyTales, edited by Martin Hallett, and Barbara Karasek, 289-291. Peterborough,Ont: Broadview Press. Kidztory - animated children’s story book apps for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. (4 Dec. 2012).Stepworks, n.d. Web.Kidztory. (Sep 13. 2011). The Three Little Pigs. Kidztory. iPhone Book App.Lewis, D. (2001). Reading contemporary picturebooks: Picturing text. New York:Routledge Falmer.Nosy Crow. (Jun 21. 2012). The Three Little Pigs. Nosy Crow. iPhone Book App. TapTap Kids. Genera Interactive, 2011. Web. Retrieved on 4 Dec. 2012.Vaala, S., and Takeuchi, L. (2012). Co-reading with children on iPads: Parents’ perceptions and practices. New York: The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. Available at: http://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/Reports-36.html

Statement of Originality

This statement certifies that the paper above is based upon original research undertaken by the author and that the paper was conceived and written by the author(s) alone and has not been published elsewhere. All information and ideas from others is referenced.