More than just a storybook

The initial drafts and illustrations of Shilo Shiv Suleman’s soon-to-be-released children’s book, Khoya, look promising. It narrates a tale of two children trying to change their dystopian world. But Khoya is not just a book. It holds its own secrets between the pages. 

If the child has access to a computer, the internet and a webcam, Khoya lets her explore a technology called Augmented Reality. Each page comes with a card that has a riddle and symbol on it.

The child can visit the website listed in the book, switch the webcam on, and put the card in front of it. If she takes out a card shaped like an eye patch, slips it over her eye, and stands in front of the webcam with another card held close to her heart, the screen will identify the cards, while the child sees herself transform into one of the characters on screen. In some cases, the image serves as a clue to where the narrative is headed; in others, the child will suddenly find herself with one of the story’s characters sitting on her shoulder and cawing into the ear.

Technology in fantasy
Suleman, however, wasn’t so ambitious when she first set out to write and illustrate the book. The idea of Khoya came from the song Khoya Khoya Chand from the film Kala Bazaar (1960), a favourite of Suleman’s. That, and a childhood story she believed to be true: if you eat a seed, a tree will grow inside your stomach.

“I wanted to play with the ideas of a lost world where bizarre things happen to people. I wanted the book to be much more interactive than an ordinary book that only makes you imagine inside your head,” she says. At first, Suleman thought a pop-up book would do it, but then her animator friend, Dhruv Nawani, introduced her to Augmented Reality and she discovered how it can change the whole experience of reading a book.

The techie feel of Khoya does not, however, render it any less absorbing for kids who don’t have a computer and webcam. One can read the book as it comes, too.
Till recently, interactivity in children’s books meant encouraging participation by introducing textures, volvelles (paper discs that can be rotated and used for calculations or to solve word games), flaps and pop-outs. But the latest innovations in IT may just change children’s storytelling forever.

Tell me a techie tale
Purvi Shah, mother of three-year-old Krutarth, is witness to this change. Till a week ago, Krutarth would jump into bed at night and ask Purvi to read out his favourite book, Annual Haircut Day, at least thrice. One night, Purvi downloaded the book onto her iPad with the help of the e-reader application, Fliplog. When she showed it to Krutarth, he was fascinated by how you could switch from English to Hindi on any page.

“He loved turning the ‘page’ on the screen, the action accompanied by a swishing sound heard when you turn the page of a book,” recalls Purvi. “But he is yet to learn how to take your favourite character to a blank page and doodle all around it, or even write your own story.”

Two books each, from Pratham Books and Tulika, are up for download in English, Hindi and Tamil on the iPad. Brij Singh, founder and CEO of Apptility, the Bangalore-based software start-up that introduced Fliplog, says it was high time the book did more.

“There’s no limit to what interactive books can do for children. We are in the process of approaching more publishers who’d like to put up their books on the iPad and designing applications that teach grammar to children. Who knows, soon there will be an application where your favourite book can be viewed as an animated series,” says Singh, who believes that the sci-fi genre will benefit the most from the use of technology for children.

The good ol’ book people 
For Radhika Menon, publisher, Tulika, having two books out on the iPad means reaching out to more children, especially Indian children who live abroad. But she has her own reservations too. “We are ‘book people’, we love that feeling of holding a book and letting ourselves go with its flow.” At a workshop held a few months ago, Menon showed a few children how the two Tulika books looked on the iPad. “The kids loved what they saw. But it made me wonder whether one day the technology will mean more than the book itself…” Menon says she is reconciled to the fact that technology is always about losing something and gaining something else.

“Well, there is a dearth of good content in children’s literature. Going the tech way may make us more responsible illustrators, writers and publishers. The competition will ensure only the best content goes out.”

Gautam John, director, new projects at Pratham Books says publishers have always struggled to reach out to certain segments of children — the hearing and visually impaired, for instance. “Licensing models that allow publishers to reach out on a larger scale are a challenge. Amongst so many limitations, here’s something that enables more children to read good literature. Yes, the touch and the feel of the book cannot, and should not, be replaced, but I feel there’s no danger of that happening. A book isn’t something that will disappear — I cannot imagine a book-or-iPad situation in India for a very long time.”

Aparajita Punjabi, mother of six-year-old Aviraj, who is visually impaired, does not own an iPad yet, but is intrigued when told about the application. “Imagine having to recreate the magic of colours and illustrations to a child only by sound. I give it all the time I can, but I cannot, for instance, explain to him the deal behind The Spectacular Spectacle Man by Tara Books. The book comes to life only with the hilarious illustrations of the Chashmuddin, the street spectacle seller. Aviraj misses out on the fun of visual books. The iPad will not help there, but with its language change options, page swishing effects, and so on, it will make the child feel much more involved.”

Amit Vachharajani, who has done illustrations for children’s books like The Puffin Book of Funny Stories, is intrigued by what may be in store for him as an artiste. He was recently approached by a US-based software developer who wanted to put his books on the iPad.

“I told him I had no rights over the illustrations. But I am intrigued by the concept and wouldn’t mind working for a different medium. Books are two-dimensional and if the technology fills some void there, why not.” Vachharajani admits he is all for the “booky” experience — he even cancelled his library membership when the library went online recently. “I love the sight of my six-year-old daughter browsing books, but I wouldn’t want to keep her away from technology when the age is right.”

Purvi, meanwhile, has other things on her mind. She was amused when, the day after Krutarth read Annual Haircut Day on the iPad, she saw him standing clueless in front of the TV. He was watching Shrek 2 which starts off like a fairy tale, with pages turning on the screen accompanied by a voice over. Purvi saw Krutarth searching for a button on the right. “

”Why can’t I turn the page for this story like I did with the storybook on the iPad last night?” he frowned.

Purvi hopes Krutarth doesn’t lose his fascination for books.

“I’d love it if he also experienced the pleasure of browsing through books and choosing what he likes. But I won’t keep him away from technology. Yet I do wonder what he will prefer when it’s time to hear a story…”