Remember when you used to read a book and it would transport you to another place and time until you wistfully turned the last page? Well, that's not how it works any more. Now books come with tie-ins including movies, board games, toys, web sites, apps, and theme parks. Pity the author who writes a single, stand-alone book. Kids want to read a whole series! They love the characters and don't want the experience to end when they finish the book.
Harry Potter presents a fine example of this trend. Did you enjoy the books? Then you'll want to see the movies, buy the Lego sets, play on Pottermore.com and visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at the Islands of Adventure theme park. Ka-ching! There doesn't appear to be a limit to the money that can be made off of a successful book series. Publishers feared the demise of the old-fashioned book. They needed to figure out new ways to hook kids who wanted an experience rather than a simple story that played itself out on paper. Witness the invention of multi-platform books.
I first heard about multi-platform books a few years ago on National Public Radio (Kids' Books Make The Leap Off The Page And Online, December 15, 2010, http://wap.npr.org/story/132057619). "39 Clues" was arguably one of the first multi-platform book series marketed to kids. Only 10 of the 39 clues could be found by reading the books. The rest of the clues were revealed by collecting trading cards and playing an online game. This was a diabolical business scheme because it compelled kids to buy the books new rather than borrowing them from the library or buying them at a used bookstore. The trading cards came packaged with the books or in a card pack. You could play the online game without the cards but you couldn't get all 39 clues without the cards. In our experience, none of the books we borrowed from the library still contained the cards. There's probably an online black market for "39 Clues" game cards stolen from the library.
The evil geniuses behind the "39 Clues", otherwise known as Scholastic Books, have created additional multi-platform books including the more recent "Infinity Ring" series and the upcoming "Spirit Animals" series (Scholastic to Publish new Multi-Platform Fantasy Adventure Series, "Spirit Animals"', January 10, 2013, http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/press-release/scholastic-publish-new-multi-platform-fantasy-adventure-series-spirit-animals). Other publishers have their own offerings including the "Warrior" series, "The Amanda Project", and "Cathy's Book" (Kids' Lit: Beyond Paper Books, February 16, 2010, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/regina-brooks/kids-lit-beyond-paper-boo_b_464130.html).
At one time we only had to worry about whether a book was banned by the school or public library because of controversial content. Now when you unleash your child in the library you must be prepared to guard your wallet and monitor online games and related content. It's a brave new world out there.
John's Review of Infinity Ring
[Disclaimer: This review was a joint effort. John read the books and played the games but he does not like the physical act of writing. As a compromise, I agreed to type the review as we discussed the books and games. John proof-read the drafts for content errors and typos. Our discussions and re-writes spanned several days over the course of the week.]
Sera and Dak are best friends. Dak's scientist parents were making the Infinity Ring, a time travel device. However, a vital piece of information was missing. Sera, a self-described science geek, solved the missing piece of the Infinity Ring. During the first test of the Infinity Ring Dak's parents were accidentally left in the past. Sera and Dak returned to the present with the Infinity Ring where they were kidnapped by men in black. At the kidnapper's stronghold, they were introduced to Riq, whose parents invented a language translator. Sera and Dak learned that history is broken and The Great Breaks need to be fixed or the world will end in a Cataclysm. Riq was appointed Sera and Dak's guide.
The Infinity Ring is a series about Sera, Dak and Riq's adventures as they travel through time to fix the Great Breaks and rescue Dak's parents. In Book 1 there is a mutiny on Christopher Columbus's ship in which he was killed. A map accompanying the first book holds the code to unlock Episode 1, an online game where the French Revolution is about to fail. Book 2 is about Siegfried the Viking and his quest for Paris. Episode 2, the online game bundled with Book 2, is about the destruction of a famous portrait of George Washington and the kidnapping of Dolly Madison, who in real life saves the painting. As you can see, the book is not related whatsoever to the map and game that goes with it. The map unlocks the game but isn't necessary once you're playing the game. Each game can be completed in about 30 minutes to an hour. You can also download free Infinity Ring apps on your iPad. There is a separate app for each Episode and they do not require the codes from the maps. The games are identical to the games on the web site but the interface is not as good on the iPad.
There are 7 books planned in the series but only 3 books are available right now. The next one will be out in June 2013.
A comment from John
How am I supposed to wait until JUNE!?!?!?!?!? Save meeeeeeeeeee!
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