I’ll just come out and admit it, I have been a snob about books based on television shows, especially shows found on Noggin and Nick Jr. The teacher and the English major in me has run away from the rotating shelves at Borders that display the Dora, Diego, Blue’s Clues and Backyardigans books and I have, until now, never recommended any of these books to a reader.
But the time has come to swallow my pride and say it: these “character” books are not bad. More than that, they can be an incredibly powerful hook for kids, a way for them to engage with books that they might not have found otherwise. Additionally, for struggling readers, these books based on T.V. can be a great help as they grow into more confident readers. But I’ll slow down here, explain how I got from one extreme to the other.
My son is 21 months old. I have been reading to him for his whole life – literally from the day I found out I was pregnant. He loves books and he loves listening to my husband and I read to him. But – and this is when I began to revise my thinking on this one – when he was old enough to pick out his own book from the bookstore, when he could crawl around and show me what he wanted (because I never steered him to the character books) he went right for a Backyardigans book. That was at 10 months (yes, I know it’s an entirely different story about why he knew and loved the Backyardigans at only 10 months old), and he still loves that book and the others we have about his favorite television show.
Kids want all kinds of things that aren’t always good for them, but these Backyardigans books seem to be great. Ethan sits with them for long chunks of time turning the pages, looking at the pictures and, now, saying words and short sentences that make sense for each page.
After I realized how much Ethan loved these books, we began to give him free reign at the bookstore, where he will almost always pick a book based on a television show that he watches – Dora, Diego, Blue’s Clues, Sesame Street. And he loves them. And he “reads” them. Over and over again.
And then I began to talk to other mothers and other, older readers about these character books and the consensus seems to be in line with what I saw with Ethan – kids like these books, and they like to read them. And in an age where television-watching seems to be taking up lots of time in the day, isn’t it far “better” to have kids read books based on their favorite characters than passively watch them on T.V. all the time?
So I got to the point that I was comfortable with these books as a mother, but the teacher in me wanted more. I came to understand that kids who are familiar with certain television shows will be more successful at reading books that are familiar to them. I often recommend that struggling readers work through a series of books so that characters and settings are familiar to them. Isn’t this the same but on an even more visual level? Hmmm… I never would have imagined that I might recommend Dora books to a struggling reader, that they might actually be just the thing to pull her back into reading.
I gave all of these ideas another run with Wow, Wow, Wubbzy. This is a show on Noggin that I had never watched before. I had decided that it was not worth my time or Ethan’s time – after all, if he’s going to watch T.V. than we might as well both get something from it. So I sat down with a Wubbzy DVD, A Tale of Tails, and watched it straight through with Ethan. And it was good! It was about learning to accept others, friendship and problem-solving. It was also funny, sweet and fun for Ethan to watch – the ultimate litmus test in my mind.
After the DVD we moved to two books. The first was based on one of the episodes in the DVD, A Tale of Tails. The book was very true to the show in that it captured the plot, characters, setting and tone perfectly. Ultimately, it tells the story of Wubbzy, who has a very long, bendy tail. He is ostracized by some kids he wants to play with because he is different, until his friends help him realize that his tail is cool and he should be proud of it. At the end, the kids who ignored Wubbzy in the beginning are eager to play with him. (From a plot point of view, the book is slightly predictable – but that’s my adult opinion, kids seem to love Wubbzy and, therefore, will love this book.)
For a child who may struggle with reading or who is learning to read, the fact that the book so closely mirrors the show is ideal. The knowledge that she already has from watching the show would help with reading the words and following the story in print. (This book also comes complete with stickers, which were a huge hit in my house!)
The second, and final, Wubbzy book that we read is called It’s Wubbzy! This is a book that works as an introduction to Wubbzy and may be best for younger readers. It’s a board book that talks when you press a button, saying “Wow, wow, everyone! My name is Wubbzy!” Each page introduces readers to a character in the stories with little text and bright, colorful illustrations. This one was a huge hit with Ethan!
So after getting over my wrong judgment about Wubbzy in general, I was able to learn something myself. These character books are engaging, fun to read and easy to understand – especially if your child is familiar with the show. Finding television in books is not such a bad thing after all. . . .
Jenny is the editor of Ethan’s Bookshelf, a children’s literacy site, and writes her blog Read. Imagine. Talk. When not in front of her computer, Jenny can be found chasing after her son, reading a good book, or watching really bad reality T.V.
Editor’s Note: Shortly after Jenny pitched this idea to me, we were contacted about doing a Wow, Wow, Wubbzy DVD and book set giveaway. I had the review copies sent to her so that she could include them in her review. Now three of you have the opportunity to win the books and DVD mentioned in this post. If you click over to 5 Minutes for Mom, you can enter to win over there, too!
Leave a comment, and we’ll draw the winners on October 1. Try to keep your comment on topic: what’s your opinion of these kinds of TV tie-in books?
This giveaway is closed.
I think they are great. My son loves to read books that he can recognize and this helps that. Thanks for the chance, [email protected]
In my opinion, if your child is interested in reading the books, then let them read. You can always encourage them to read other types of books, the main thing is that they have a joy and love of reading, and if the tv tye in helps, then so be it.
enter me
My son like to see things in books that he has also saw on tv.He is 2 and it excites him to recognize them so I think it is great!
I think it makes kids want to read more when they see a book with characters they know
PLEASE COUNT ME IN ON THIS AWESOME GIVEAWAY 🙂
I think that a show that teaches values, and that life doesn’t always goes the way we want can be a rewarding program, and when a book comes into the hands of my child that streamlines the show that he loves, even more praise. Thanks for entering us into this valuable giveaway.
I don’t usually enjoy tv tie-in books. I’d rather my kids read books that have nothing to do with television. But there are some good ones out there, and my kids are fascinated when tv characters come into life in books. They’re not so bad after all.
my grandson is just learning to read this would be awesome for him, thanks for the chance to win it
My daughter came home talking about this, and I’m still not sure I know what it is!
I think it’s a good idea to have SOME books that are TV tie-ins in order to capture the interest of struggling readers who need something to really get their attention. I don’t see any harm in it, and when I was growing up, I had some books like that, too. I think it’s good to have a mixture of all types of books available to young readers. Great topic for discussion!!
Thanks so much!
Michele R.(CA)
[email protected]
I think anything that gets kids to read is good, but it should be only one of many options.
I am a preschool teacher and I have a lot of the tie in books. The kids love my Spongebob, Dora, and Diego books. If I need to clean the classroom the kids will sit on the carpet with books. The kids always go to the character books first
Thank you for having this offer my daughter loves to read especially books about her favorite shows!
[email protected]
I also would like to add we subscribed to this due to the value it offers thank you again
[email protected]
My daughter wanted to add a special thank you for the wonderful chance to win this offer….
Anything Wubbzy keeps my kids busy for hours! I highley recommend the new Wubbzy DVD, my kids and I love it!
I think that as much as my kids love tv, a book about their favorite character would be better than letting them watch the tv over and over! My son is very much in love with wubbzy, and I am so relieved that this year he can have toys and books based on the character!
I think they’re fun for kids 🙂
our grandsons were more eager to read books based on their favorite TV shows
I came across this prize package on YouTube, and the contest is so cute! I can’t wait to see all of the videos posted!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEPEpX8wzr8
I think the idea of tie in books is fabulous. I would love to win for my granddaughter, thanks!
I admit I usually try to avoid the TV tie in books – there are so many great books out there!
I think anything that gets kids interested in books and reading is fine by me!! My kids love books of all types, characters, etc.
I think it is a good idea. Kids can relate to the books more if they are already familiar with the characters. Hopefully it would lead to more reading!
I love being able to incorporate reading about characters that my grandchildren already know and love into our reading time. One of my best memories (so far anyway) was when I was reading a Dora book to them and my three year old granddaughter started yelling “Swipper NO SWIPPING” and held her hand up and was so serious about it! I laughed so hard at the expression on her face! Love those moments.
Thanks for the chance to win!
Some TV Tie-in books are nice while others seem like they were written in 10 minutes and don’t really go with the show. I read a Disney movie tie-in book of 101 Dalmations with my daughter and instead of wanting to make a coat out of the puppies, Cruella wanted to sell them to the circus. I can understand the need to make it sound a little more pleasent to read to children, but I can see some kids saying, “That’s now how it went!”
I read a lot to my son and also let him watch tv…but I notice he has learned alot from tv including all his letters! thanks.
I think they’re great. They let kids know that books are just as (if not more) fun as television!
Whatever is entertaining and educational whats the harm I say! If it teaches my kids good fundimentals then more power to them!Thanks for the chance to win!
Sweet idea!
anything that gets kids to read is a great idea..A lot of kids now watch so much tv and video games they hardly know what a good book is..these are great!!!
I think they are fine as long as the subject is wholesome.
We love books based on movies and tv shows. It isn’t all we read but following favorite characters in new adventures is fun for kids. 🙂
Hope I’m not too late! My 2 1/2 year old twins are big into reading, or rather, me reading to them. :o) Their favorite show surprisingly is Wow Wow Wubbzy so this would be perfect for us! I agree that book/movie/tv show tie-ins helps reading. My son who’s 7 is a terrific reader partly because of that. He wasn’t at all interested in reading until we got books that had characters etc from his fave movies & YV shows. It helped us alot!
I don’t mind books being tied into a tv show. Anything that gets them interested in reading is great! Toys or junk food are a little different. Sometimes they carry it too far, just to sell toys and such. But books are good!
Books that are about a tv show might just get the kids from the first.
I already chastise myself for allowing her to watch as much TV as she does, but I can see the benefit of having books that tie into her favorite TV shows.
They often encourage and excite my son about reading more.