BP9_2010013_Web 2.0 Tool 3

Sona & Jacob. (Illustrators). (N.D). Six Red Apples. Screen shot retrieved January 24, 2010 from

http://www.sillybooks.net/books/6_Red_Apples/SixRedApples.html

After seeing some other blogger posts on Storybird, I went ahead and got my own account. I was extremely impressed with the level of artistry with the illustrations. The ease of creating your own story and collaborating with others was also very attractive. It truly is like seeing your own book published online. I did not, however, find a way to incorporate music into the stories. So, I did a search for song stories. I am familiar with the Raffi songs and books, and I was hopeful that someone has moved the idea to the digital online world.

I found a couple sites that had some nicely animated story songs. Sillybooks.net and Mightybook.com both have a small list of already animated story songs that are free for use without a subscription. A large list of story songs is available at Mightybook.com with a paid subscription priced for individual, classroom, and library use. Both sites also have a great selection of interactive games and puzzle geared for elementary aged students. I did not find a place for creation or collaboration on Mightybook.com, but Sillybooks.net, however, accepts submissions of stories by email for publishing and also has regular story contests.

I will continue to look for a site that combines the creative and collaborative tools on Storybird with the musical possibilities on Sillybooks and Mightybook. Perhaps creating both the music and story is too ambitious to be done with elementary students. I am looking for a tool that may have some musical templates into which story lyrics can be added. The addition of still artwork or animation would further increase the time but also the creativity explored through such a site. Perhaps someday I’ll have both the skills and inspiration to do my own.