I had a local friend recently ask me why Madison Public Library didn’t have Tonies for check out - if you’re unfamiliar they are small plastic figures that pair with an integrated system for audio stories - and I knew all of the answers. New systems are expensive to start on a large scale, and our collections management team thinks really critically about system wide implementation before investing in a new product…. But as a parent? I have all kinds of other thoughts. With two little kids at home, we have a LOT of STUFF floating around. Including - many small plastic figures that look a lot like Tonies. I’m terrified they will get lost, chewed on, end up at the bottom of the duplo bucket during a rapid clean up session and never heard from again. One other reason? Madison Public Library has an incredible collection of Audio-enabled picture books.
My oldest child is 4, so he’s not reading by himself yet, but he has recently discovered the absolute joy of a book he can hold in his hands, see the incredible pictures, and have an audible cue of when to turn the page. These books go to bed with him, and he can quote the stories at this point. He feels independent and in his own world, and I am excited about the book literacies he is still developing - connecting text with visual images, seeing the words on the page to make sound and letter recognition, and practicing turning pages. I know his experience is richer with these experiences than just hearing the story alone. And what’s more, it’s an experience we can share - deciding if we want to read the book together, or listen to it on his own. I encourage you to explore this amazing collection at your local Madison Public Library today!
If you'd like to browse the collection online, a search in LINKcat of "audio-enabled book" will generate a nice list.
Here are a couple of our current favorites!
Yoshi’s Big Swim
Mary Copp
Yoshi’s story is an animal rescue sure to capture the hearts of any creature lover in your house. A loggerhead turtle from the coast of Australian, Yoshi’s shell is injured by a fishing net. Rescued by a fisherman, she travels far from home and ends up rehabilitated in an aquarium in Capetown South Africa, but the journey of this brave little turtle is just beginning. After 20 years in the aquarium, Yoshi gets into swimming shape with the help of her human friends and is set free into the ocean with a digital tracker on her shell. Much to everyone’s surprise, rather than staying in the loggerhead turtle community of Africa, she sets off across the Indian ocean, swimming all the way back to the beach where she was born to lay her own eggs. The page turning cue of this book is the sound of waves on the sand, and the lyrical rhythm of the text comes to life with the voice of the reader. It’s one you’ll want to hear again and again!
Fire Trucks
Mary Lindeen
One of many nonfiction audio-enabled picture book offerings, the page turning cue of this book is, of course!, a low key siren. It will have young youngest reader giggling with joy at every turn. This informative book introduces readers to the full anatomy of a fire truck, naming and showing each of the parts and featuring key vocabulary in bold text - hoses, ladder, tools, axe - as another visual cue for the beginning reader. If your little one loves trucks - rest assured, there are more titles to love! Monster trucks, Dump trucks, Dinotrucks?! Oh my!