Format: Paper

My paper will look back on the history of children’s audiobooks and consider its previous formats to determine what the future of children’s audiobooks will include. I will begin with the benefits of children’s audiobooks and then discuss its evolution over time. Edison’s recording of ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ on a wax cylinder could be considered the first step towards children’s audiobooks, followed by The Bubble Book series of the early 20th century on records. The audiobook kept up with the times, moving towards cassette tape and is now offered in a digital format available on mobile devices. I will touch on each of these new versions of the audiobook, including what features made it different from the previous version and from adult audiobooks. For example, when sounds and music were introduced to books on vinyl records by Disney and the addition of a friend/caregiver in the case of Teddy Ruxpin. Along with the history of children’s audiobooks, I will offer my thoughts on the present version of audiobooks including works that include digital copies of the text. 

I conclude with the argument that children’s audiobooks will continue to gain popularity since we rely heavily on our mobile devices and because of COVID-19. More children were introduced to audiobooks during the pandemic [UK’s National Literacy Trust Report] and retailers like Audible made hundreds of audiobooks (for all ages) free to the public in March. Libraries also had to limit the number of loans in order to meet their patrons’ requests for materials. I think that publishers took note of this trend and will produce more audiobooks. But what new features will they include in production, or will they return to previous versions? In 2017 a new version of Teddy Ruxpin was released, with LED eyes and stories available through an app instead of a cassette tape. Is this the future of children’s audiobooks?

Sources: 

Best, E., Clark, C. and Picton, I. (2020). Children, young people and audiobooks before and during lockdown. London: National Literacy Trust.

Burkey, Mary. Audiobooks for Youth: a Practical Guide to Sound Literature. 1st ed. Chicago: American Library Association, 2013. Print.

Cahill, Moore. “A Sound History: Audiobooks Are Music to Children’s Ears.” Children & libraries 15.1 (2017): 22–. Web.

Carey, Bridget. “The life, death and resurrection of Teddy Ruxpin.” c|net .September 21, 2017. https://www.cnet.com/features/teddy-ruxpin-history-disney-atari-2017-return/

Larson, Lotta C. “E-Books and Audiobooks.” The Reading Teacher., vol. 69, no. 2, International Reading Association,, pp. 169–77, doi:info:doi/.

Rubery, Matthew. The Untold Story of the Talking Book. Cambridge, Massachusetts ;: Harvard University Press, 2017. Print.

**I reached out to NYPL, Brooklyn and Queens Public Libraries for loan statistics, annual reports or just to talk to someone. Will reach out to Amazon/Audible to see if any data on their end is available.

Our group decided to annotate Cane by focusing on pop culture references during that time period as well as some contemporary references. Our choices for annotation platform were Hypothes.is or Manifold, and since we wanted to include media, our first instinct was to use Manifold. While Lisa was researching Manifold, I wanted to collect some resources for my group on music and art created during that decade. I wanted to focus specifically on African American artists of the Harlem Renaissance, since Toomer was an important figure in this movement. I had a very brief introduction to the Harlem Renaissance and knew of some artists like Aaron Douglas, but wanted to expand my knowledge. I found two articles through the GC Library by Barlow and Francis that were helpful to my group. Barlow’s Literary Ethnomusicology and the Soundscape of Jean Toomer’s Cane explores the musical roots in Cane and Francis’ Painting the South with a Northern Eye provides a background of many northern artists who went back “home” to the South to find inspiration and paint everyday life of African Americans. I found several works by Aaron Douglas and was successful in inserting them into Hypothes.is in case we decided to drop Manifold. 

The team moved away from Manifold due to our time limits as well as the difficulty in inserting media. Lisa uploaded Cane to Manifold and while it looked clean and professional, it would have taken too much time to rework our contributions into an accepted format and we would not be able to edit directly on Manfiold. After we decided on Hypothes.is, we discussed using a cleaner version of Cane. I had some experience creating a site on the Academic Commons, so I created one for the group and uploaded Cane to a new page. I shared the link with the group and we began our annotations, each choosing what part spoke to us. 

Re-reading Cane after looking through art and media reinforced the importance of music and spirituals in the text. In our class annotations, I focused more on the text and imagery and what I knew of the South during the early twentieth century. A Portrait in Georgia still stands out to me. I remember commenting on how lyrical some of the text was, but I didn’t realize how much until my group began annotating. I added a few random annotations to other group member’s work, including Becky, but most of the annotations were in Cotton Song and Box Seat. I really wanted to connect the lyrical part of the text to art and actual spirituals. Aaron Douglas was an inspiration for our group, but his pieces from James Weldon Johnson’s work (most notably Judgement Day) had to be included in Cane. The Art Deco style and his reimagining of spirituals align with Toomer’s writing. I also couldn’t help but include Paul Robeson’s rendition of Go Down Moses (let My People Go). I get chills every time I hear it, and encourage others to listen and learn more about Robeson. 

Overall I enjoyed my introduction to Cane and Hypothes.is. Hypothes.is was very easy to learn and use, especially considering our time constraints and that we are remote learning. It was very easy to embed an image, video, or link and I like the addition of Public Note. That is a great way to share recommended readings and other information to your private group or the public.

[I apologize, I thought I posted this last week.]

Thinking back on my early years in Catholic school, a few things have stuck with me. I remember how itchy the uniform was as well as some of the bizarre rules we had to follow. One of the rules was that each fall, we had to write our name in our textbook under “Owner” and then look through the books we received and check the covers and title page for any markings made by the children who had it the year before. We had to continue this practice during the year, letting the teacher know of any random scribbles and underlining, or risk demerits. Fast forward to my work in archives, where myself and researchers become almost giddy when finding annotations in books, but only “serious” annotations. Reading Lerer’s article Devotion and Defacement: Reading Children’s Marginalia reminded me of my textbooks and left me self reflecting as a librarian on how I view children’s marginalia and its future. 

I agree with Lerer that many in my profession value the “pristine copy” (p. 128) of a book and will devalue a book filled with scribble or damaged in another way. He argues that librarianship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries “decried the child who messed with books, whether they were on loan or bought” (p. 128) and suppressed children’s imaginations while detaching the book as a personal object. Lerer supports these arguments with numerous examples, including the exhibition Marginalia and Other Crimes, the librarian in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and the (in)famous Anne Carroll Moore of NYPL. For those who don’t know about children’s librarian Anne Carroll Moore, she was extremely influential at NYPL. For instance, she did not like the book Goodnight Moon so it wasn’t part of the library’s holdings until 1972, almost 30 years after its release. 

As a librarian, I do not condone anyone defacing library books because they do belong to the library and we are borrowing the library’s property. I do support the more recent library programs that center activities around books as a way to connect to the book and its lessons without damaging it. But I had to circle back the “Owner” label in my textbooks. If I am listed as the owner, why can’t I underline, circle, or even write in my book? This could explain why I was so hesitant towards annotation until college, even when I owned the book.

Lerer placed heavy emphasis on what the book is for a child and by marking or annotating it, the child is sharing their private thoughts while changing the book forever. Their marginalia is a mix of “devotion and defacement” (p 146), and a place of magic. Quite literally in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

I do think that children’s marginalia is not something that should be written off or discouraged (unless it is in a library copy), but I am curious as to how children of this digital age will continue marking up their books. During this pandemic, I know that many parents borrowed/purchased digital books for their children and themselves. Print books are not disappearing anytime soon, but how will scholars in the future study children’s marginalia if more people are buying digital resources for their children?

I served as an editor on the Ginger Nuts audiobook project of Bartleby, The Scrivener, although that is not what I originally thought I would be doing. During our first meeting, we discussed what our roles would be and opened the floor to any initial ideas. We did decide on an abridged version, but were still finalizing how we would present the audiobook. I think we were all immediately in agreement with Matt reading, but were unsure if the rest of us wanted to. I thought I would be a reader, as I had no experience with production or editing sound. The idea I liked in the beginning was the Zoom meet. It would require all of us to perform, and would feature video. I thought it would be great for each character to have their own unique background, but Bartleby would turn off the video, as he would “prefer” not to be seen. Zoom has been an integral part of office life in 2020, and I was excited to use that. But when the 2020 sound theme was brought up, it worked best for all of us. Whether the theme would be Zoom or 2020, I knew that we would have to edit the text and break it up like a script to make it easier for readers to deliver their lines as none of us are professionals. I began by editing out some of the Lawyer’s text, mainly overlong descriptions of characters like Turkey and Nippers. It was important to keep some description of the characters, but information about Turkey’s coat could be cut. I condensed most of the scenes, but made sure to keep all dialogue from interactions between Bartleby and the other characters. I made sure to also keep text relevant to the theme of the work, passive resistance. 

After editing the text, I formatted it to look like a script so it would be easier to distinguish who is speaking and how they are speaking. I labelled and color-coded each character, and in brackets kept any description of how he delivered the line. For example, the Lawyer exclaimed or Turkey cried. I wanted to keep this to assist the reader(s) so they would have an idea of how to deliver the lines. I also put any of the Lawyer’s monologues in italics to separate it from dialogue. These edits made me realize how much of a performance an audiobook reading is (or should be). Readers have to be aware of these descriptions to accurately deliver a line, or risk producing a flat performance. I submitted my draft to the team, explaining my process and what I left out, for further edits. 

The team were happy with the abridged version and added a few pieces including where some sound should be played. Matt did a fantastic job as Reader and Martin and Lola found amusing yet relevant sounds to include. Once Martin finished editing the audio, he shared it with us and asked for feedback. Conn then presented our work and did a great job despite technical difficulties! 

I admit that I approached this project with some trepidation, as I have no experience with audio production and overall did not enjoy reading Bartleby. I am glad to say Ginger Nut’s audiobook version changed my mind. Thank you to Matt, Martin, Lola, and Conn for this experience!

This assignment was a little difficult for me, as I do not like audiobooks. I prefer to read, especially if it is fiction. While thinking about possible choices, I remembered that I do own an audiobook, or rather my mother does. My parents record collection contains a small subcollection of audiobooks and sing-alongs from the 1960s and 1970s. Looking through the collection, I saw Disney’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle from 1969. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is, as Rubery describes, a twice-heard tale for me. I grew up with the record (and movies) but did not read Irving’s work until college. I decided to use this record and look at how the audio compares to the text version and what I overall prefer.

Considering the year it was made, the production quality is high but I am not surprised since Disney is known for its attention to detail. The narrator is famous voice actor Billy Bletcher, who worked with Disney on multiple projects. He is most known as the voice of Pete. As a professional, Bletcher’s narration blends seamlessly with the two songs included and the sound effects. He is also the only narrator, but does not sing the songs. Bletcher does not change his voice at all, but changes his tempo during the infamous chase scene. 

The recording is abridged, frankly much shorter than the time it took to read the actual text. The total time was approximately 15 minutes including the 2 songs. I was not completely surprised with the cuts, as Disney’s target audience is children and a lot of what was removed would not appeal to them. Looking at the cut text, it was over-long descriptions of the town, food, and what was on Van Tassel’s farm. All of the text mentioning “negroes” was removed, which I approved of. A lot of the original text was kept and even used in the lyrics for the two songs, “Ichabod Crane” and “Headless Horseman.” Songs are very popular with children, and a smart choice on Disney’s part. What changed the most was the chase scene. The Horseman on the record was given a sword and had a pumpkin head. In the text, there was no sword and a pumpkin was found on the ground the next day. I loved this version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Rubery wrote about sound technology creating a “private acoustic space,” and I did appreciate that with this story. The eerie sounds of the trees swaying and the wind whistling kept me engaged and made this version more enjoyable than the text. I still have “Headless Horseman” in my head, and I am okay with that.

Since this recording was meant for children and different from the text, I wanted to see if I would feel the same with an unabridged version. I found a recording on LibriVox of the complete text. The narrator, Chip, had a pleasant voice, and the entire recording (with LibriVox introduction) was 1:23:23. The production was fine, and the complete text was read aloud. There were times when Chip seemed out of breath in the middle of a sentence and had to take a deep breath, but I will blame Irving’s long, detailed sentences. Chip’s voice did not change throughout, but did quicken a little during the chase scene and there were no sound effects.

Overall, I don’t think my mind has changed on audiobooks. I enjoyed the Disney version and Chip was a great narrator, but I prefer reading over listening. You have more control with text than with sound, and I need that. It was difficult for me to sit there listening to another dull description, when I can easily scan ahead with text. I will admit that it was easier to re-read sections in the text than with the audio I first chose. I couldn’t simply “re-wind” my record, but even the digital audio was difficult to navigate. Maybe it is possible to bookmark sections in Audible or other paid apps. I am willing to try audiobooks again, but with something in the horror or thriller genres.

I have been a consumer of books from an early age, which is just one of the reasons I became a librarian. I love to, as Price writes, “curl up alone with a novel” but then talk to people about it. My younger years were spent listening to my aunts and grandmother discuss the books they were reading and favorite authors. In high school, “racy” YA books were shared with classmates, covertly making the rounds in an all girls private school and discussed at the lunch table. Even at work, I was eager to recommend books to patrons and hear their thoughts during their next visit. I even started a book club with my friends, although many of our meetings centered around food and wine.

With the pandemic, that all changed. There were no more interactions with patrons and friends were not interested in reading for pleasure because of the uncertainties they faced with their jobs and concerns about their family’s health. I tried to find the bright side of the shutdown, thinking that with this unexpected free time I would put a dent in my ‘To Read’ list, but eventually found myself uninterested in picking up a book. I, like many people, turned to streaming services and TikTok for entertainment.

I enjoyed the TikTok dances and challenges, but one day stumbled on what is called BookTok. A 15 second video showed a girl’s wall to wall book collection and I was intrigued. Clicking on her other videos, I saw book recommendations, summaries, and book related challenges. I scrolled through the comment section, and saw others agreeing with the girl’s recommendations or offering titles they believed were better. There were debates happening in the comments, usually respectful and with other creators mentioned. Soon my ‘For You’ Page featured creators showcasing their color coded libraries, acting out their favorite passages, or highlighting the artwork of classic and new books. I even saw authors talking about their own works and supporting up and coming authors. It was amazing to me how 15 second videos could generate so much interaction between actual strangers.

My passion for reading was reignited, and I realized it was because of this digital community I was now a part of. There is nothing like reading a good book for me. But, sharing that book and connecting with others is what drives my love of reading. I love conversing with others about my current favorite or trying to decide what the hell an author was thinking with the ending they wrote. And I could once again do that, but now in a digital space.

As a librarian, I recognize the importance of a community of readers. I think I just underestimated the usefulness of digital tools in creating that community. I focused more on the traditional ideas of how the community should meet, rather than the community itself.