Children’s stories, instrumental in growing the imaginations of millions, have been around for centuries – first told orally, then in books, and more recently on audio tapes and in animated movies. Now a Cape Town writer is hoping to combine all of these to bring the magic of children’s tales to the technology-driven generation.
Sarah Scott started writing The Miniature Polar Bear children’s story four years ago. It’s about a little boy who discovers and befriends a miniature polar bear, and most of the story is set at a zoo.
Scott says the story is about trusting in, and enjoying your imagination, and is in the process of turning it into a multilingual book App for iPad.
The text of the story will be translated into seven languages, English, Xhosa, Afrikaans, Spanish, Dutch, German and Portuguese. Voice-overs will be done in four languages – English, Xhosa, Spanish and Portuguese.
Along with the text and audio, the story will complemented by animated pictures and music.
It is aimed at children aged five to nine, and depending on their age, they will be able to mix and match the features of the App.
Younger children could opt to only look at the pictures and animations, with the voice-overs. Or users could elect to read the English text and listen to the Xhosa voice over, or just read the text without the audio.
The 29-year-old freelance sub-editor says the App will be ideal for multi-lingual households and is expected to help children learning new languages. “I think reading has gone down worldwide because of movies,” says Scott. But because the App is a combination of animation, audio and text, she says it will go a long way in “encouraging literacy”.
On board with the project is award-winning animator Ric Capecchi. He studied animation in Italy in the late 1970s and opened his first animation studio in South Africa in the mid-1980s.
He has worked with top advertising agencies, and also Walt Disney Studios in Los Angeles. Capecchi has trained with Pixar and Dreamworks animators and won several accolades – including a Clio award, Cannes International Advertising Film Festival award, and a Loerie award.
Scott has always been drawn to books and recalls that when she was a child, her mother read to her often. Among her favourites were the Dr Seuss collection, Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
“My mother read to me a lot. I was lazy to read myself, but that [her mother reading to her] inspired my love of reading,” she says.
Scott still collects children’s books, many of them lesser known stories, and says her favourite genre is science fiction, or any wild stories that set free the imagination.
She is now on a mission to see this project, which will be her first published book, reach children worldwide.
She has to raise $25 000 (R220 000) to fund the project and has until November 6 to do so. Scott says the costliest parts of the project are the artwork and animation, original music and sound effects, the development of the book app, the translations and voice-overs.
Once the prototypes are in place, they may be used again for a different story.
In keeping with the technological nature of the book, Scott started an online funding campaign nearly two weeks ago. The campaign is running on the website Indiegogo, Facebook and Twitter.
Donors can choose from several package options, and depending how much they donate, they could receive the App, a pdf version of the book and audio.
If she reaches the target, the production of the book will be finalised between November and January. The deadline for release has been set for early February.
But not everyone has access to iPads. If enough money is made, Scott says there will be a small print run of the book. These will be given to schools, so that even if children can’t afford the technology, they will still be inspired to read.
“On a personal level, this will absolutely be a dream come true,” she says.
Scott says her experience is mirrored in the story she has written. Of course, she didn’t actually find a polar bear under her bed, but the similarities are there…