International Children's Digital Library

I've been looking around the ICDL website (http://en.childrenslibrary.org/) for a couple of days, and have been both frustrated by some of the workings of the site, as well as impressed by the incredibly diverse collection of books from around the world, that you wouldn't be able to find anywhere else!

My first impression of the ICDL site was that it's pretty clear it's been around for a while -- well before Tumblebooks or Bookflix, or other very easy-to-navigate digital children's books sites.  I have not found the site to be that intuitive, or well-organized, and the searches offered to me seemed kind of weird (who looks for a book by the color of the cover?!)  I was thinking about appeal terms that   Also, every time I went back to the home page, I had to sign in again.

Thanks to Shannon's tweet, I discovered the ipad app -- I never would have found the link with the tiny font, only found on the bottom corner of the home page, a link that disappears as soon as you sign in!  It shows that they are trying to keep up with the latest in digital children's books; however, I honestly don't see what's so different about the app from the regular site, except that it's even harder to navigate than the website, because there aren't back and forward arrows, and many of the books can't be read on the ipad because they require a java plugin!  In addition, when I was exploring the exhibitions, and the activities that went along with the exhibitions (which I'll describe below), the app took me to a page that described the activity, which was a dead end!  I couldn't go back or forward, there were no hyperlinks on the page, and no way to get away from the page.  I had to completely quit the app and start over.  I think both the app and the site need to be completely overhauled by a talented web designer -- there is too much good on here to let it go unexplored due to website issues!

Aside from these technical issues, once I actually got into reading the books, I enjoyed it very much.  Where else can anyone have access to so many books from around the world!  I wished all of them had been translated into English just so that I could read more.  While I was reading one book that I'd just happened upon, I noticed that it said it was part of an exhibition, so I clicked forward to find out what an exhibition was.  In Exhibitions, I found some very useful collections of books, categorized under a main heading (such as "Strong Women and Girls Help Make the World Go Round" and "Clearing the Hurdles"), and with a list of books that fit the exhibition theme, each with a description, and a link to activities that could be done in the classroom with these books.  Despite this being where I got to a dead end on the app, some of the activity ideas were great -- for example, read the English description and look at the illustrations of one of the books in a foreign language, then make up what you think the story is about.  This is a great resource for teachers, as it makes something as huge as the ICDL site manageable for easily using in the classroom.  It also looks as though members of the site can create their own exhibitions, and submit them to ICDL - something ripe for possibility, with the wealth of books on the site, and currently only six exhibitions.

The books I decided to annotate below were all part of one or more exhibitions.

The Christmas Tree Ship by Jeanette Winter
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/432512271

Taming the Taniwha by Tim Tipene, illustrated by Henry Campbell (published in New Zealand)
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/432526197

The next book was not available on Goodreads, as it has not available in the United States, so I put the annotation below.

Bakat Matagal Ang Sundo Ko?/Why is my Mommy Late? by Kristine Canon, illustrated by Mariano Ching (translated from Filipino/Tagalog, published in Philippines)
School's out, and while mommies and daddies are waiting in the schoolyard for all her classmates, a little girl's mommy is not there.  While trying not to worry, her imagination takes hold, and the girl imagines all the animals - turtles, monkeys, whales - that might be trying to help (or hinder!) her mommy in coming to pick her up.  And just when she can't hold back her tears any more - aha!  Mommy is finally there.  Putting a creative twist on a universal experience, bright, bold illustrations and silhouettes are the perfect match for this imaginative tale.