I would like to clarify and introduce some terms for you in order to read this text in the desired way. For a while, we will stay in the bight of this journey as we move into forming loops, theories and ideas on how interactive picture books can be used to foster curiosity for reading and creativity for children. I am building a web platform called Wink that aims to contain a children’s story I wrote and am making into an interactive experience, in relation to my research.
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Through this bight of the thesis, I feel the necessity to clarify my intention of using knots as a “thinking and writing object” throughout my research journey. Although knots are physical objects and technically crucial in many fields of labor and life, they are also objects of thought and are open for wide minds’ appreciation. Throughout history, knots have been used to connect, stop, secure, bind, protect, decorate, record data, punish, contain, fly and many other purposes. So if the invention of flying -which required a wing that was supported using certain types of knots was initiated with the knowledge of how to use strings to make things, why wouldn’t a research paper make use of this wonderful art as an inspiration for writing and interactive reading?
### KNOTS AS OBJECTS TO THINK WITH
@ -81,13 +83,17 @@ Every reader starts from 1 and continues until 12, with a consecutive numeric or
My desire to write a children’s book about grief and memory ignited when I was studying in college
and doing an internship in a publishing house in Ankara. I was struggling to process a loss I
@ -106,7 +112,7 @@ person I lost.
As funny as it may appear, I felt like I was sabotaged by these bees that I thought were here to
hurt me but in the end they made me understand that its ok to let things go and every being does
what it has to do to find its way of survival. The little habitat that they chose to create in my room
seemed like a calling or a sign that I can affect another living being significantly without being
seemed like a calling or a sign that I can affect another living being significantly without being
aware of it. This goes for everything, no matter if some people leave us in this world, they have
living matter in us that keeps pulsing. So then I started researching bees and their ecosystems. I
read Alan Watts, Alan Lightman, Emily Dickinson, Maurice Sendak, Meghan O’Rourke, Oliver
@ -118,7 +124,7 @@ Years passed and I wrote and deleted and rewrote the story that I am working on
today so many times and was waiting on it because it always felt incomplete. In a way it
will always be incomplete because of the natural ambiguity the topic carries. Years later, grief was
back in my life with the loss of my grandfather. So therefore, the story I wrote and abandoned
changed again as I attempted to rewrite it as a different version of myself with a different understanding of death. And this went on… The story remained hidden and I forgot why it ever existed
changed again as I attempted to rewrite it as a different version of myself with a different understanding of death. And this went on… The story remained hidden and I forgot why it ever existed
in the first place.
<sup><spanclass="margin-note"><imgsrc="../irmak/broken.png">I wrote and deleted and rewrote the story 3 times already.</span></sup>
Last year when two earthquakes hit Syria and Turkey, I was drowned like everyone I know, by a
@ -128,11 +134,15 @@ furious, away from home, mostly alone and remembered vividly my failed attempt t
or place grief in one of the piles in my mind.
Previous months, I was working on this story (yes, again) but didn’t know how to tackle the text
because it was so different to what I was experiencing now, when compared to the last time I rewrote
because it was so different to what I was experiencing now, when compared to the last time I rewrote
it. A tutor asked me why I wrote this story in the first place and I couldn’t remember. I kept
tracing back to 2016 and step by step, remembered why, as told above. The consciousness that this
story is actually a personal history of how I went through grief in diff erent stages of my life, made
me realise that it doesn’t have to be or even can be a perfect story.
story is actually a personal history of how I went through grief in different stages of my life, made
me realise
<br><br>
that it doesn’t have to be or even can be a perfect story.
In the end with the experience I had with loss, I believe the story turned out to be an ode to
remembering or might I say an ode to not being able to forget or an ode to the fear of forgetting.
@ -143,7 +153,7 @@ remembering or might I say an ode to not being able to forget or an ode to the f
The effect of storytelling knowledge on kids’ development and creativity. What can
we learn from open ended and multiple ending stories?
ability to form basic stories or to express their emotions through fictional characters or events.
The sense of storytelling settles for kids, starting from age 3. By this time, children have the ability to form basic stories or to express their emotions through fictional characters or events.
Children are not born with a wide vocabulary of emotions and expressions. They learn how to
read, mimic and express their feelings over time. The more children read, write and are exposed
to social environments, the more they widen their sense and ability of expressing themselves. The
@ -166,16 +176,18 @@ the moment a certain story sparked for us.
Nowadays storytelling takes many forms. For example, some readers’ story might even begin from
here although it isn’t the beginning. Interactivity is one of the storytelling forms that can signifi-
cantly improve children’s creativity. This is mainly because children as readers or listeners get to
contribute and affect the story. This of course requires and improves creative and active thinking.
contribute and affect the story. This of course requires and improves creative and active thinking.
Getting the chance to choose a path for a fictional character gives the child the freedom and confi
dence of constructing a world, a character or an adventure. Although this is essentially “writing”
as we know it, children think of this as a game, yet to discover they are actually becoming writers.
What kind of reward can we expect from active participation in a story? Narrative pleasure can
be generally described in terms of immersions (spatial, temporal, emotional, epistemic) in a fictional
world (Ryan, 2009). When we are set to create or co-create a world, the narrative has effects
on us such as curiosity, suspense and surprise. At this point, we start creatively producing ideas to
keep these three emotions.
<sup><spanclass="margin-note"><imgsrc="../irmak/unnamed-1.png">Multiliteracy theory helped me ground my passion of using multimedia for children's literature.</span></sup>
Interactive storytelling reminds everyone but especially children that there are limitless endings to
a story that is solely up to the maker’s creation. Learning to think this way instead of knowing or
assuming an end to a story, I think influences the children’s decision making abilities and sense of
@ -201,22 +213,19 @@ theory includes new media and communication studies such as visual, digital, spe
literacies.
I kept this theory in mind as I chose the interactivity elements to use in the picture book. I think
the usage of multiple media such as sound, image and games is a good way to start and differentiate
the usage of multiple media such as sound, image and games is a good way to start and differentiate
from a regular interactive e-book. The fact that this theory has an educational perspective and
is taking the rapidly changing qualities of literature seriously, made me consider it as a guide in
designing the prototype.
Looking through the perspective of multiliteracies, questions come up for me that lead to the
rest of this thesis: What is an interactive picture book? Is it a book? Is it a game? Is it an exercise?
What is it defined as? How can we design an interactive reading environment without confusing
rest of this thesis: What is an interactive picture book? Is it a book? Is it a game? Is it an exercise? What is it defined as? How can we design an interactive reading environment without confusing
What is the target age group for the designated prototype and why?
@ -357,6 +365,7 @@ characters from the picture book.
My first attempt was to make a survey at the end of workshops with kids to whether they liked it
or not, but when I researched further, surveying with kids has very different methods and complications.
<sup><spanclass="margin-note"><imgsrc="../irmak/broken.png">There is a broken knot here because I ended up not doing a survey with children at the workshops.</span></sup>
Most kids either really like or really dislike things. Finding the in between emotions with a survey,
ends up being vague. Most surveys done with kids use emoticons as representation of a good or
bad or average time. Instead, I chose to observe the environment and understand how much empathy
@ -366,6 +375,7 @@ kids can offer in an interactive reading or playing environment.
### Loop 8
What does the joy of destruction and the awe effect have to do with interactivity?
Indeed, why did we ever start playing games? The most important aspect of a game for me is that
it surprises you and leaves you in awe towards something you weren’t expecting happened. I feel
like every reaction I give when I’m surprised, is a mirror of what I felt when I was playing freeze
@ -378,6 +388,7 @@ In my opinion, what drives everyone as a common denominator is amazement; becaus
us to our childhoods or distant memories where we first felt that feeling of awe. This is the main
purpose behind any kind of interactive design and I think books can be an amazing medium to
experiment this with. Specifically because this ancient device can take us to numerous worlds.
For me as a millennial, books give me enough amazement as it is. But as I worked in publishing
through the years and observed, I think kids today need something more to ignite their interest.
There are so many factors in a picture book such as the image, the text and sound which can be
@ -497,6 +508,7 @@ with their mouths as trees.
The next workshop was to discover how improv would work without reading the story first. This
workshop was fruitful because it helped me realize how much information or guidance I have to
offer for children in order for them to be comfortable to participate and interact without confusion.
We made a circle and I summarized the story to the kids, acting in the middle of the circle. This
broke the ice completely because I was a part of the workshop and they thought I was funny. For
the next part, I divided the group in three and assigned a character to them. After this, I asked
@ -561,14 +573,19 @@ a part of the story itself.
### Loop 11
The differences of these exercises in WINK than the already existing interactive
e-book platforms
e-book platforms.
The interactive e-book apps existing today, made especially for children, are quite similar in both
format and purpose. If we take a look at Bookr, Piboco, and Kotobee, we can see they seek a new
way to tell a story but have one mode of reading. The stories are linear and can be read once,
without side quests. This is the main difference with what I am trying to design.
Wink acts as a tool to play with and choose paths. The story isn’t linear in the traditional way
where you interact with the pictures and finish the book but there are side stories to the main
story that they can discover or choose not to. I think this is a solid difference. This makes it a playable narrative, different from a book.
story that they can discover or choose not to. I think this is a solid difference. This makes
it a playable narrative, different from a book.
This prototype is a good start to see how far I can get with the interactive elements and side
stories without confusing or discouraging the children. There are many other aspects that can be
@ -580,9 +597,11 @@ For future prototypes, I envision space to draw and write as a contribution to t
turning Wink into a hybrid format with more autonomous features. For me, at this point, it’s valuable
and essential to see if my technique of combining narratives is working or not.
Special Issues are publications thrice released by first-year XPUB Master's students. Each edition focuses on a specific theme or issue. The themes tie to external events and collaborations. Students and staff work together to explore these themes, rethinking what a publication can be. Each edition culminates in a celebratory release party.The structure, tools, and workflows are reset every trimester. This reset allows roles to rotate among participants and fosters an adapting learning environment. It provides a space to experiment beyond traditional collaborative methods.
Our inaugural Special Issue was number 19, in collaboration with Simon Browne. Garden Leeszaal was a snapshot of Leeszaal Library through the metaphor of gardening. During the release, we invited participants to engage with the library's discarded books. We pruned, gleaned, and grafted the books using pens, pen-plotters, scissors, and glue. Then we harvested a book of our collective work. Garden Leeszaal was an open dialogue. It was a tool for collective writing, a group-made collage, and an archive. For us, being a gardener meant caring for the people and books that formed the library.
