Bedtime Story and Interactive Movie-The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

Here they come--ebooks that are part book and part movie.  Moonbot Studios in Shreveport, Louisiana has produced an interactive children's book for the iPad. The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce, is an interactive digital story based on an award-winning animated short film of the same name.  (Take a look at the You Tube Video at the bottom of this post.)

The iPad version sells for $5 from the App Store, so it is marketed as an "app" rather than a book. Is it a book at all because it is based on an animated film?  A traditional print version was developed later.

Each of the 27 pages (screens) offers the reader a chance to interact with the character Morris. From the opening tornado scene where you can change the speed and direction of Morris tumbling through the storm, to a screen where you help Morris repair some books, the progress of the story is controlled by the reader.

An options bar on the side of the screen allows you to listen to the story with or without text, read it without narration, or turn on the accompanying musical soundtrack.

Each reading of the story is unique, since it's  influenced by the reader's interaction with the touch screen. The creators call it the reinvention of digital storytelling.