Online Storytime

Have you ever tried online storytime? I'm not sure how I feel about it. In some of my high school and university classes, we listened to authors reading their own works, or narrators reading them; that's a great way to shake up the introduction of literature and get across how the tone and the rhythm of the piece could be interpreted. I suppose I think audio books are better for school-aged kids. Libraries may go more and more this way, to stay fresh in an ever-digitizing world. (We'll talk about e-books one of these days.)

Apparently, online story time is cool, because Rachel Ray reads Green Eggs and Ham. I don't know about you, but I've never thought, If only there were more celebrities who departed from their routines and read books to my child via web videos. Thanks to The Screen Actors Guild Foundation, Tia and Tamera read No Mirrors in My Nana's House and Betty White reads Harry the Dirty Dog. The site features activity ideas with each reading--I like that. 

Story Place's digital library features (if you're patient enough to wait for it to load) animated stories, activities, and suggested reading lists, divided by reading level.

And, of course, YouTube has a plethora of storytimes, including Mercer Meyer reading his own There's An Alligator Under My Bed.

But, see, the problem that all of these storytimes have, is that none of them can ever be better than Reading Rainbow. Am I right?