Book have traditionally been how children develop both learning and imagination. Reading to children has traditionally been a bonding experience between parents and children. Sadly, screen time is replacing it.
Rethink is helping Penguin Random House Canada to reinvigorate children’s love for books by using smart home technology to add experiential features. The app, Living Stories, connects a parent’s voice to smart lights and sound effects as they read. Living Stories is completely free.
“I’ve witnessed firsthand the startling drop in children’s capabilities in reading books and how parents felt powerless towards that issue. I see the direct impact on kids’ abilities to decode words, the richness of their vocabulary, the depth of their imagination, and even their mathematical skills,” stated Sarah Labbé, a special education teacher with nearly 10 years of experience in the field. “This initiative is an innovative and easy way for parents to help their little ones develop those essential skills for their development and spend precious moments with them using technology they grew up with.”
Children are facing declines in their abilities in reading. A 2023 study in the US unveiled that only 14% of students say they read for fun every day. A study from the OECD shows that reading scores across the globe dropped critically by 10 points from 2018 to 2022, which equates to losing over half a year of learning.
For the launch of Living Stories, Penguin Random House Canada collaborated with creators, Ben Clanton; Chris Hadfield and the Fan Brothers; Sharon Hampson, Lois Lilienstein, and Bram Morrison with Randi Hampson and Qin Leng; and Eija Sumner and Nici Gregory, to bring five children’s books to the app’s library: Bubbles; Blankie; The Darkest Dark; Sharon, Lois and Bram’s Skinnamarink; and The Good Little Mermaid’s Guide to Bedtime. When these books are read aloud, certain sentences and words trigger lights to change colour and sounds to punctuate certain moments, to captivate children and bring their stories alive.
“We are excited to launch Living Stories to bring a fun and interactive element to the cherished bedtime story experience kids love so much,” sstated Beth Lockley, vice-president, marketing and communications at Penguin Random House Canada. “Reading is so important for learning and to build empathy and awareness about the world around us—any way we can get kids reading and engaging with stories, especially by such beloved children’s authors and illustrators, is absolutely essential.”
The current beta version of Living Stories has been developed through Philips open source software and is only accessible with a Philips Hue Bridge (main hub to control your light) and a compatible smart light bulb. To make reading a magical moment for kids, everyone is invited to visit penguinlivingstories.com. Penguin Random House hopes to make Living Stories a fully-integrated app. Organisations interested in participating in the next chapters ofLiving Stories can reach out at info@penguinlivingstories.com.
