[quoting Merrill, 26 Feb 97] ...they love these Living Books. They play with them for hours. Very engaging. However, not one of them has learned to read from these books.
Could you be misguided or misled as to the real objectives or educational outcomes for these CD-Books? I do not think they are designed to teach children to read, no matter what the marketing department may claim, rather they operate more in the affective domain--what Gagne calls attitude. On page 85 of the book, Principles of Instructional Design, is the statement "It would be difficult to overemphasize the importance of attitudes in school learning." Thus, if children were able to develop a positive attitude through the use of these CD's, then they are indeed of value and serve to lay another stone in the complex groundwork that children need in order to become active members in the literacy community.