Words, let me read them to you

December 12, 2008 4:48 PM

I'm thinking of reading a couple books onto tape for some young (<1 to <3) distant-relatives. What makes it worth it, and how can I not feel weird?

My parents bought a bunch of baby books of the cardboard-page variety for the youngest example, but I was considering going all the way up to Dr. Seuss. I have every reason to believe that these young parents will be supporting their children in reading anyways, but there's not really much else I can (or would, normally) get for them.

There are several sizes of effort I can put in:
1) Read onto tape/CD
2) Read onto DVD
3) Read onto DVD and add production value

So mostly for current parents, would you imagine this being useful? [I've heard stories about kids wanting to hear stories over and over again, but I attribute that 50/50 to attachment to parents/book itself]. Would you see declining usefulness starting with the DVD's, simply because most reading happens at night and away from the TV? With the amount of time I have for this project, I am leaning away from video [of course, I will be sending the real book with the tape/disc].

Also, how do you read to your kids? With voice-characters and long pauses [there are tons of advice lists online. Do you have favorite mp3 links?]. Do you have any advice for this project?

posted by gensubuser to media & arts (10 comments total)

Since you are going to be putting in some effort to the project, perhaps take your show on the road before committing it to media. That is, find some local kids to test out your performance on.

If it were me, I'd say both DVD and CD. They will get a kick out of uncle gensubuser on TV and the CD version can go with them where there isn't a tv (imagine!) around.

Yes, do different voices and make them as distinctive as you can. Make faces and be silly. The more fun you have, the more fun the kids will have.
posted by trinity8-director at 5:20 PM on December 12, 2008

FYI, just make the CD from the audio track of the DVD.
posted by trinity8-director at 5:21 PM on December 12, 2008

There's no reason you shouldn't enjoy the process of doing this. That's all the advice I have.

Except have plenty of drinking water handy when you go to record. And warming up your voice will probably make your performance more energetic.
posted by amtho at 5:27 PM on December 12, 2008

I think it's a great idea. Since you're sending the book along with the tape, be sure to pause and tell the kids when to turn the page so they can learn to read along. Also, it would be really cool if you added a brief introduction to each tape, telling them why you chose the book and what you like about it.

As far as the actual reading, yes definitely give voices to the characters, and be theatrical while you read (but not so over-the-top that you detract from the flow).

Good luck and have fun!
posted by amyms at 5:47 PM on December 12, 2008

My nephews recently moved far away from me. For Christmas I'm doing this! I'm going to be reading several of their favorite books as well as several different books I think they'll enjoy. This way they get to hear books they like and they get to hear my voice! Of course, the 3 year old already enjoys sitting and listening to books on tape, and I figure the 1.5 year old will eventually enjoy it, too.

I'm also going to be singing a few of the songs I normally sing to them and recording those as well. (I know, not what you're planning, but just throwing that out there)
posted by TurquoiseZebra at 5:50 PM on December 12, 2008

I have recorded a bunch of books to mp3 for my son and he loves it. It's a great gift you're thinking of. We've now also gotten into buying some books on tape (cd), and he likes those a lot too. I use it mainly as a creative way to avoid tv, in those moments when he and I need some space or time to ourselves (end of day making dinner, a break for me while I grab 5 minutes to myself, etc.), or on car drives where I need to concentrate on driving.

The most important thing, I think, is to have read the story aloud a number of times before you record it. This prevents a lot of stumbles and lets you work out voices and delivery. Some books, I've found, just do not roll off the tongue. Others are written in a way that really works with the way I speak. Usually it takes reading them aloud to find this out. For me this is definitely the best way to get over the weird feeling.

I read with mild voice changes. More a change to indicate spoken dialogue in quotes, sometimes a breath/pause, sometimes actual charactery voices. But mostly just my voice with emotion. For my child's age (3), the emotional content of a story is sometimes the central thing, so I make sure to convey delight, anger, sadness, etc., as authentically as possible. That is, I'm not hamming up anger or sadness in a way that can diminish it. The more narrative parts I read in a neutral voice. Actually, I often try to channel the narrator in The Royal Tennenbaums (Alec Baldwin!) when I read the narrative portions. I like his delivery.

Technically speaking, I have had trouble with maintaining a consistent volume, both within one story because I'm not a pro at this, and from story to story when I record one book one day, and another book a week later. I am only using a portable digital recorder, so that might be a limiting factor. But, a consistent volume is something I would aim for if I were you. Also, background noise can be more distracting on the recording than you experience it when reading, so a really quiet spot for reading is key.

I have not yet brought my readings up a notch by including a "turn the page" sound, but I notice that these are really helpful in the professional versions I've bought. My son can easily follow along, and likes that he knows where the story is. I don't like stories where there's so much ambient music that it distracts from the story. I'm not interested in creating a radio soap opera. One book/CD that I think does a good job of all of the above is Lilly's Big Day and Other Stories CD. "A Weekend with Wendell" and "Julius, Baby of the World" are particularly good examples from that compilation.

I personally would not like DVDs, as I think the more left to the imagination at this age, the better, and the more linkage with the written/printed word the better. At different ages this might change.
posted by cocoagirl at 5:54 PM on December 12, 2008 [2 favorites]

Reading aloud is SO fun. I read all three of the Lord of the Rings to my sister (she was ten, I was sixteen) over the course of about six months, doing voices that got progressively weirder along the way. It brought us together like nothing else we ever did. I think I even wrote one of my essays for college about the experience - specifically about how it felt that my reading of Gandalf the White's appearance made my little sister weep. I'll never forget it.

Don't feel weird, because these kids will remember your readings forever and will appreciate any effort you put in. DVDs might be cool so you can show them the pictures. The goofier the better.
posted by crinklebat at 6:46 PM on December 12, 2008

I loved the tapes my mother made for me as a child. They were all books I owned- numbered so that I could pick out the right tape for the right books (of course a few stories fit on each tape!).

She also put a chime when it was time to turn the page (I think most commercial readalongs do too), which I'm certain helped me learn to read.

What a great gift you've thought of!
posted by sunshinesky at 7:51 PM on December 12, 2008 [1 favorite]

My mother did this for my brother and me and it was brilliant. They weren't just very short books either but then we were a bit older than the children you're doing this for - think she needed three 90 min tapes for one of them - and we'd just have them on in the background when we were playing or at night going to sleep. We loved them!
posted by koahiatamadl at 4:40 AM on December 13, 2008

This may sound weird, but take it from someone who records a lot of spoken word: Floss and rinse before you start recording. Especially the bottom front teeth. It's so much easier to enunciate with clean teeth!
posted by tomboko at 5:10 AM on December 13, 2008