My daughters have a pair of expensive bookends they were gifted that are shaped like beautiful sandcastles and encrusted with real sand. They are quite heavy and quite exquisite…and I HATE THEM. They do a lousy job at holding up even a few books, and my daughters have hundreds. So almost daily, the bookends inevitably fall over, go crashing into the dresser, and dozens upon dozens of Disney storybooks, from The Lion King to The Jungle Book 2 spill across the room (along with a scattering of real sand), like the end of a game of gritty dominoes.
However, starting next week, Disney is going to cure my bookend woes. The company is launching DisneyDigitalBooks.com, a subscription based website that will essentially function as an online library of virtually every Disney storybook ever published. For $79.95 per year, families can subscribe and reach not only the classic stories, but read aloud features for younger fans and chapter book services for teens.
The company says that they have worked hard to ensure the safety of kids on their site, building in safety controls so that young readers cannot venture out into cyberspace unprotected. In addition, the site hopes to expand to provide mobile services.
In the past, I have not been a huge fan of technology based toys and books for my kids. Why sit them down with a V-Tech book that reads to them, instead of taking the time to sit down and read to them myself? But today, I tried desperately to entertain my 2 year old with my iPhone as we waited for almost an hour at the doctor’s office, playing “Banana Phone” for the 483rd time. It is a “phone with appeal,” you know. In no time at all, though, thanks to Disney, I’ll potentially be able to read my kids their favorite stories via iPhone on days just like today, and I’ll be able to clear up some room on their bookshelves.
Now if I can just find a good home for those blasted bookends.
