Disney Tries to Pull the Storybook Ritual Onto the Web

The Walt Disney Company hopes an ambitious new digital service it plans to unveil on Tuesday will transform how children read its storybooks. In what it bills as an industry-defining moment — though rivals are sure to be skeptical about that — Disney Publishing plans to introduce a new subscription-based Web site. For $79.95 a year, families can access electronic replicas of hundreds of Disney books. DisneyDigitalBooks, which is aimed at children ages 3 to 12, is organized by reading level. In the "look and listen" section for beginning readers, the books will be read aloud by voice actors to accompanying music (with each word highlighted on the screen as it is spoken). Another area is dedicated to children who read on their own. Find an unfamiliar word? Click on it and a voice says it aloud. Chapter books for teenagers and trivia features round out the service. The company tested a version of the site with 1,000 children and families earlier this year. Children spent an average of three hours using the product over five days. After completing the trial, 76 percent of parents said they would subscribe. Some children who tried the site had trouble navigating between reading levels, however.