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Friday, March 2, 2012

Create Free Read Along Books for Read Across America Day

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      Today, Friday, March 2, 2012 is NEA Read Across America Day. 


                Reading is a favorite pastime in our household.  Books, magazines and e-readers are stacked in every room.  Each night, my husband and I read to our toddler, hoping to pass our love of reading on to her.  As she matures, I see that our work is not in vain.  She appears to love books as much as we do.

                Unfortunately, bed time stories are no longer enough to pacify our little one.  She also likes to spend time perusing her books with some autonomy.  For her third birthday, she received a children's e-reader and several electronic books as a gift.  During the months since, I frequently find her attentively listening as her electronic device reads books to her.  She is also mastering the letter, word and language games it offers.

                Another favorite of my toddler is read along books.  (They were the only thing she requested from Santa last year.)  Years ago, my husband and I enjoyed playing 45s on portable record players as we eagerly awaited the sound of chimes signaling us to turn the page of our favorite books.  Later the books came with cassette tapes.  The newer versions our child enjoys come with CDs or an MP3 download.

                In order to assist Santa in locating these items, I perused online book stores like Barnes and Noble and Amazon.  Both retailers stock read along books, but at prices ranging from $10-$30, it can be difficult to stock a library with them.  Dollar Tree stores can help round out read along book collections by offering a wide variety of religious and fairy tale CD books at $1 each.  Of course, there is a way to turn all your children's and even adult books into audio books for free.  All it takes is a little time and a home computer.  Here's how to make your own.

                First, open the Voice Recorder program on your computer.  (It's free software available on most Windows systems.  Then record yourself reading each page of your favorite book onto a separate track. i.e. 5 pages will equal 5 separate recordings.

                Next, open Windows Live Movie Maker.  (This is another free software application available on most Windows systems.)  Download each page's recording into the project task bar.  You may have to also insert a picture or text into the video track in order to get started.

                Between each page sound track, insert a sound effect track which will cue the listener to turn the page.  I like to use sounds like chimes or bells.  Several websites like www.soungle.com offer royalty free sound effects downloads at no cost.

                Then, save the completed project as a WAV file.  Some CD players will play WAV files.  If yours will.  You're done.  Burn a CD, slip in an envelope, and affix it to the inside cover of your child's favorite book to transform it to a read along version.  If your CD player does not recognize WAV files, or your child prefers to utilize his or her MP3 player, another step is required to convert the WAV into an MP3 file.

                Download a freeware WAV to MP3 converter online.  www.wavtomp3converter.com and www.free.mp3-converter.com are just a couple sites offering free downloads.  www.convertfiles.com/convert/audio/WAV-to-MP3.html  allows users to make the conversion without installing a new program.



                And that's it!  It may take some time to complete your first read along book, but once you get the hang of it, subsequent ones take only minutes.  I like to set aside a few minutes each month, to make CDs for the books my child already has.  I also encourage other family members to help me add to her collection by making recordings and emailing them to me for editing.

                On days, I'm feeling especially creative, I recruit grandma and grandpa to read books while chatting with us on Skype.  I use the VOD Burner program to record our conversation.  That way, I end up with a home movie and sound which can be edited into read along story for my little one.  *Note, VOD Burner software can be a little pricey (around $100,)  but it does come with a 14-day free trial.  If you utilize Skype frequently, it is well worth the purchase price. 



                Creating audio books and videos to encourage reading is a wonderful gift for your loved one.  Don't worry, the finished project doesn't have to be as slick as a professional recording.  Young readers will love yours more because you made it especially for them.

               

                In honor of Read Across America Day, I would like to give something back to my friends and neighbors in Buchanan County, Virginia.  I am providing free MP3 downloads I created for my daughter's Dolly Parton's Imagination Library books.  To obtain a copy to supplement your child's reading experience  contact me on Facebook to request an MP3 of their favorite story.  Happy Reading!