1) Jean, first of all, tell us about who you are, what you do and your involvement in Recorded Books.

I'm the marketing manager for the school operation at Recorded Books, so I spend my time thinking about kids and reading, and about teachers who find ways to make kids successful readers. I think adding audio support to instruction makes all the difference for some students who struggle to read or who haven't yet discovered the pleasures of reading.

2) In this hurried stress filled society, it would seem that recorded books would be an alternative for many students. How widespread are recorded books?

Good point. We certainly know that adults have embraced the alternative of listening to books, particularly during drive-time. We're told that audiobooks are the largest-circulating item in public libraries. In schools, we don't want to see children listening INSTEAD of reading, unless they are already proficient readers. In that case, a recorded version of a book just extends the opportunities for getting access to books, including those times when it's inconvenient to actually run eyes across text, or when a shared reading experience is wanted. But the real beauty of audio in education is that it can serve as a scaffold for a child who is not yet reading print at grade-level—and it can work miracles in motivating young people to enjoy reading and to want to read. Recorded Books are in nearly half the schools in America.

3) I understand that there are several high school librarians that support recorded books. Can you tell us about them?

School librarians are in the power seat when it comes to reading at the secondary level. They are repositories of expertise—who not only develop the school's collection of books and media resources, but serve as advisors and participants on literacy teams. Hillary Wolfe is a vibrant activist for reading from her media center at Northview High School in Covina, California. Check out her tips for snagging teen readers in the spring Recorded Books K-12 Catalog—Special Issue for School Librarians. Hillary is also about to launch a demonstration lesson on Paul Fleischman's "Joyful Noise--Poems for Two Voices" incorporating the use of audio at www.recordedbooks.wordpress.This is a real opportunity for teachers and school librarians—who may download the audio as well as printable teaching support material for free.

4) How can parents, teachers and librarians instill a love of reading? Or a culture of reading?

You can be a model for reading by taking time to read yourself, by talking about books with young people, by sharing techniques and strategies that you use yourself when coping with text ("That chapter was full of words I didn't know—every time I came across one, I had to stop and make a guess about what the word meant, then I read on to see if my guess made sense in the story.") Let kids make their own choices of reading material. And remember that reading can enrich lives in ways that have nothing to do with literature and English class—show a boy or girl how to read a box score in the newspaper or on line, for example—you do something powerful for that young person in terms of being at home in the world and knowing how to get information he wants and needs.

5) I am a low tech guy in a high tech world--what is this Playaway thing- can you brief me and our readers on this gizmo?

Low tech guys are the ones Playaway was invented for, because the Recorded Book on Playaway plays itself. Period. It's that simple. Push the "on" button and listen. Stop when you want to and start again at the same place. You do not need a computer or an iPod or a CD player or a tape player. You can't do anything else with your Recorded Book on Playaway, such as listen to the radio or download a song, or record something over the original story. It's the low tech guy's version of heaven. (Playaway is a hand-held listening device that comes preloaded with one digital audiobook. The Playaway device itself is always the same—the audio content varies from publisher to publisher. Recorded Books on Playaway boast the same great narrations that have made Recorded Books a byword in the audiobook world, and the unparalleled depth of the Recorded Books K-12 collection.)

6) What seem to be the most popular books among kids nowadays?

There's a very cool series for teens by Scott Westerfeld called Uglies with four titles so far—Uglies, Pretties, Specials, and Extras—about a future world where compulsory surgery makes everyone pretty—well, almost everyone. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by new author Jeff Kinney gives us a taste of the humor of middle school boys—and, yes, it really is selling very well despite that. I like The Hoopster, Hip-Hop High School, and Homeboyz, by California Teacher of The Year Alan Lawrence Sitomer because of their unique perspective. When he looked for novels that resonated with the lives of his East LA students, Sitomer came up empty and ended up writing these realistic and uplifting novels himself.

7) What is this " Plugged Into Reading Thing " all about ?

Plugged-in to Reading is a unique reading program for teens that is based on reading real books. It is written by teen literacy authority Dr. Janet Allen. The newest element is Dr. Janet Allen's Plugged-in to Nonfiction, the only non-textbook, authentic literature-based nonfiction reading program.

8) How can teachers best pair recorded books with print books?

Couldn't be easier. All Recorded Books are unabridged, so they always match the print book word for word. As advocates of multisensory reading support, Recorded Books does not deviate from this policy.

9) What important question have I neglected to ask ?

These are the right questions. What's the future? We think it will be digital—but not for a while yet.

Published April 23, 2008