Wally is a baby whale and my idea. Wally is sometimes me, and sometimes has its own mind. At those moments I listen and try to understand what he tells me. Today Wally is telling me that he wants to go digital because then he can share his adventures with more children. I explain that a big whale like him must create a lot of zeros and ones. “It doesn’t matter you old man”, laughs Wally, ” I want to play in the digital playground”. Isn’t the depth of the ocean not a wonderful place for your stories Wally? “It is Isgar, but I will share them digitally”.
I’m going digital with Wally, wallymeets.com – it has advantages, digitally Wally fits everywhere. Wally wants to be in every corner of the web. There are more animals and characters, all screaming on the web “hey kids look at me!”. Websites for children books show book listings of what grown-ups think is a good book for kids. Children are very efficient and inventive, soon there will be websites made by children for children that track all the digital children books available on the web. Children tell the program, what animal they want to see, what colors they like, which setting, ocean for Wally books for example, and bingo the kids get a listing with digital books that fulfills their wishes.
What does it mean for the writer? You need to make a children-book-finder friendly website. Benefits are no more publisher cost, no more printing cost. Plus the possibility that, if you get popular, things go quickly. Yes, there will be more competition but there will be a more diverse public than ever before. Digital or not, Wally is still real to me and to children when they read a book about Wally.