The Judging Committee of the Children’s Digital Book Award, run in partnership by The Open University and UKLA, names Fonetti and Pickatale as highly commended in the 2022/2023 Award. The two publishers, both set up as online reading platforms, submitted several titles for consideration. Ten literacy professionals (nine practising teachers and one literacy specialist) from across the country volunteered to evaluate the digital books.
In their evaluation, the judges paid attention to the digital books’ potential to support children’s reading for pleasure. The teachers followed the Reading for Pleasure research-based criteria for children’s reading engagement, based on their best judgment and in some cases, also on children’s responses to the books. The titles “Fantastically Fun Poems” by Pickatale and “The Sock Monster” by Fonetti scored particularly high.
On the other hand, titles with lower interactivity and personalization options, were perceived as a little less engaging by the teachers.
The overall recognition of “highly commended” highlights the publishers’ commitment to supporting children’s reading for pleasure through a range of titles and diverse stories. The judging teachers and the Award Committee commended the publishers for their effort to support young children’s enjoyment of reading with highly engaging digital books.
