Actors Aid Child Literacy With Online Readings
James Earl Jones, Hector Elizondo, and More Read Kids Books Online
Apr 22, 2009
Imagine hearing a bedtime story from James Earl Jones. Picture reading Nina Laden’s The Night I Followed the Dog along with Amanda Bynes. Or consider celebrating the Christmas holidays by having Lou Diamond Phillips read Chris Van Allsburg’s The Polar Express.
Thanks to the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Foundation, an educational, humanitarian and philanthropic non-profit organization, all this is possible through their free online streaming video program Storyline Online. Similar to PBS network’s hit TV show Reading Rainbow, Storyline Online lets celebrities give online readings of children's books – accompanied by animated illustrations, sound effects, and music.
Al Gore and Jason Alexander Promote Kids Literacy Through Online Children's Books
Originally funded by a grant from Verizon, Storyline Online is now produced entirely by the SAG Foundation and boasts an impressive list of talent, including movie actor Hector Elizondo, singer songwriter Haylie Duff, and even former vice president Al Gore (who gets to read William Steig’s popular picture book Brave Irene)
Other books run the gamut from magical comedy (Satoshi Kitamura’s Me and My Cat) to animal stories (Janell Cannon’s Stellaluna) to autobiography (Patricia Polacco’s Thank You, Mr. Falker). One book is even read by its own author – as Jason Alexander (George Costanza from Seinfeld) reveals when he tells viewers he wrote his book, Dad, Are You the Tooth Fairy?, after telling his sons the truth about tooth fairies and magic.
The Online Reading Experience
Each story is introduced by the actor, who can give viewers surprising information about their own reading experiences.
“You might wonder why I’m doing the reading and not you,” states James Earl Jones as he introduces To Be a Drum by Evelyn Coleman. “As old as I am, I still need practice, because I learned to read quite early around the time I was four. But I didn’t read out loud until I was fourteen because I didn’t talk. See, I’m a stutterer and I’m also somewhat dyslexic. But we’ll give this a try anyway.”
Jones then shows how much acting classes have strengthened his reading skills by delivering a stirring rendition of Coleman’s take of African American history. On screen, viewers watch Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson’s illustrations move across the page, taking them on a journey through the origins of human life, the struggles of African slaves, and modern African American accomplishments. In the background, drums beat and singers chant, complementing Jones’ performance.
To ensure such online storytelling experiences lets viewers practice their reading skills, all Storyline Online videos have captions that relay the book’s text, letting viewers read along. The online stories also include information on the celebrity narrator as well as activities teachers can do with students after hearing the story.
Online Readings Provide Acting Classes
But it isn’t just students and teachers who benefit from Storyline Online. According to Ellen Dean, the Arizona coordinator of SAG Foundation’s BookPALS program, Storyline Online provides new volunteers with acting classes.
“I send all my volunteers to the Storyline Online website, because then not only do they find fantastic books to read – they can model their reading after the actors on Storyline Online,” she states.
Being able to model their English reading and speaking skills after the actors also helps a number of older English language learners, who visit the site from countries ranging from Russia to Korea to Japan.
Even so, Storyline Online’s biggest fans remain their main audience – the kids.
“I am not a teacher I am a little kid in 5 grade,” writes young Yeawheh, a student from Texas, in Storyline Online’s viewer comments. “You all are movie stars. I love you people and your movies.”
Listen to actors read your favorite stories by visiting the Storyline Online website.
And learn more about SAG Foundation's literacy programs at BookPALS Brings SAG Actors Into Classrooms and BookPALS Aids Child Literacy with Pencil PALS.
Unfortunately funding has run out for Storyline Online, preventing new stories from being recorded. Find out how you can help by visiting the SAG Foundation website.
Sources:
Dean, Ellen. Phone Interview. 3 March 2009.
Smith, Marcia and Nurit Siegel. Phone Interview. 18 March 2009.
