Books with unbookish characteristics: An exploration of children's responses to interactive children's literature

The purpose of this research project is to evaluate the choice narrative as a genre of children's literature. This study finds that choice narratives come from a long tradition of interactive literature for children. The categorization of interactive texts also provides a functional definition of interactive children's literature by citing works that fit into this genre. The study describes ten children reading choice narratives in a book format and in a computerized version. By using reader-response theory as a framework of discussion, this descriptive analysis concludes that participants were actively engaged in the meaning-making process while reading choice narratives. By having the subjects provide think-aloud protocols during their reading, the study is able to externalize and document cognitive activity associated with reading an interactive text. This analysis also reveals that different children respond differently to choice narratives and that they use a variety of strategies to experience the texts. The study also finds that some participants prefer reading choice narratives in a book format, while others prefer experiencing multiple plot narratives in a computerized environment. By looking at the historical background of interactive texts and by understanding readers' responses to these texts, we can have a better understanding of how these texts are constructed and how they function to engage the reader in the production of meaning. Understanding how the structure of these innovative texts operates can allow producers of these texts to meet the expectations and needs of young readers.