Welcome to the first installment of our online series, "The Adventures of S'mores World!"
The idea for this book grew from our shared belief that the digital world continues to offer vast, unexplored territory which more natively leverages the power of new media to tell stories. As Bret Victor put it best, "Stop drawing dead fish."
We were also drawn to the idea that the arts and technology are a natural fit, both conceptually and spiritually. This hit home for us during a visit to the de Young Museum in San Francisco a few years ago, where we saw a Precisionism exhibit whose rallying cry was to 'unite the artists and the engineers!'
Finally, we wanted to feed our learning agendas through a very concrete project, by creating a book which was itself an experiment in responsive design. This included the exclusive use of scalable vector graphics and a custom layout algorithm which adapts to different devices. Our goal is to continue to incorporate greater interactivity as we expand the series, in order to provide a more engaging and even immersive experience.
Of course, at the heart of this project is storytelling itself. Our first connection with stories began with me (Mike / Dad) reading books at bedtime to Anna and her sister, Ellen. We graduated to more sophisticated narratives over time to satisfy their growing imaginations, but also to provide a more engaging literary experience for me as a parent (and to keep me from falling asleep along with them). This sometimes resulted in the need to treat reading as an act of improvisation, with on-the-fly editing and explication.
We have taken a similar approach with the vocabulary in S'mores World. It is written for children and adults alike, which makes it hard to categorize in terms of age range. It is meant to be read aloud and, if you are a parent, it may also benefit from improvisation - especially for younger children as they become familiar with the story. We'd like to encourage you to follow your intuition and your creative impulses. Bounce around in non-linear ways, engage with the illustrations, and explore questions which arise. Treat this as a beginning and not an end. And please let us know where it leads you!
Books can offer a shared adventure - allowing people to slip through the normal flow of space and time. And every story collapses the gap between 'you' and 'I.' After all, we are our stories. We hope you enjoy this one!
Anna and Mike
Cheyenne, Saint Paul
May 1, 2021