CHANGE?
WHATIS RADICAL
ANINTRODUCTION
A U I R B INN 6
thatdo not
Thisfuok epryarsto containa numberof stories
again,it maycontain
twessarilyoccuratthesametime.Then
of bothwords
mly onestary.ln any evenlcarefulinspection
(Macaulay,
BlackandWhite,
and picturesis recommended.
1990,titlepage)
book grcw out of a puzzle.The idea that somethingradical is
placein children's
booksfirstoccurredto me whenI wasa
ThisCommittee
awardberof the 1991Caldecott
Committee.
fre medal for the best picture book of the year to David
overtheaward
ay'sBlackandWhite(1990).Afterexcitement
down, I beganto wonder why Black and White appealedso
to contemporary
childrenbut not alwaysto contemporary
Likethe book itself,the reactionto it seemeda puzzle.
ingaround,I discovercd
otherbooksthatevokedthe samesort
mixedresponse.
Like Blackand White,thesebooksinvariably
interactivgnonlinearqualities.Thewords interactiveand non-
strucka familiarchord.Thesearcwordsheardoftenin consociety;they areusedto describedigitalmediasuchas
andthe lnternet.
andI beganto givetalks
KateMcClelland,
Caldecott
colleague,
connection.
drer librarians
andteactrers
aboutthisbook-digital
in
re talkedwe leamed.We beganto recognize
otherchanges
just in formats,but in perspectives
and in topics,and
just in picturebooks,but in all typesof books.Eventually
we
thatthechangesin booksfor youngpeoplehavea lot to do
moreinteracchanges
in society,
a societythatdailybecomes
We beganto seemore
andconnected
thrcughdigitalnetworks.
moresirnilarities
between
thisworldandtheworldof literature.
in booksfor youth,andwe
sawthatsomething
washappening
it "RadicalChange."
orreof our firstpublicpresentations
aboutRadicalChangea
"You've
iancarneup to the podiumto say,
savedmy life.I have
andconvincethem
beforemy schoolboardnextTuesday
DavidMacaulaye,rptained
a lot aboutthe "radicat"
or unusualnatureof
Blackand Whitein his
CaldecottMedalAcceptance
speech,whenhe saidthat
"it is essentialto see,not
meretyto [ook;that words
and picturescan support
eachother;that it isn't
to think in a
necessary
straighttine to makesense;
and finatlythat risk can
be rewarded"(799t,
p. 346).
Change:Book for Youthin a Digital'Age
Radical.
I couldnotquite
whywe needfundsfor bothbooksandcomputerc.
until I heardyoutalk. Now I knowexactlywhat
seethe aonnection
parenb'
educators,.critics,
l,m goingto say."Manymorelibrarians,
havegrownexcitedby thisnewway
andyoungpeoplethemselves
say
connections.They
andliterary-digital
of thinkingaboutliterature
and
selecg
understand,
them
helps
Change
he conceptof Radical
usebooksin thisdigitalage,andtheyhaveaskedto haveit all written down to useas a guide.lt was for this reasonthat Radical
Change,an ideaaboutbooks,becamea book itself.
MEAN?
CHANGE
RAI'ICAL
WHATDOES
Changeneedsno definition.RadicalChangedoes.Understandin
the exten'
in understanding
of radicalhelps
the variousmeanings
literaturcfor youth.
sivechangesin contemporary
from the Latinradix,meaning
The Englishword radicalderives
or@t.'I thinkof the entirebodyof existingliteraturefor youthas
from which
a soft of rhizome(a horizontal,root-likestructure),
manner.
emergein a random,spontaneous
new developments
"fundamental."The drangesin
Next, the word radicalmeans
literaturefor youtharebasic.
fmm the usualor'tradirneans"a depafture
Theword radicalalso
out of, br.rtat the
emerye
tional."Afl changesidentifiedas Radica/
of literature
characteristics
sametimedepartfrom,thetime-honored
whenthey
upset
arc
critics
and
librarians,
for youth.Someteachers,
"departures/"
"new"
they
Theterm mdical often
becauSe
Or
tOaS
referred
ChangeS
seeSUCh
describesextremeor insurpublished
were
that
canthinkof bookswith manyof thesametraits
gent actionsin times of
in the past.Theseadultsarcoftenlessdisturbedwhentheyrealize
potiticalturmoil Literary
whichdepartfromthe traditionalmaywell
thatthe literarychanges
critic RodMcGit[isasksin
numhrs.Nowthey
in thepast,butnot in significant
haveappeared
TheNimbleReoder(1996)
unusualis now
highly
was
What
quantities.
whether ndicalty-stYl.ed appearin far greater
booksfor
contemporary
envircnment
of a moresupportive
in partbecause
commonplace,
youth are"in anypotiticat
senseradical,or do theY
put to rest the transgressiveinstinctsof their
readers?"(pp. 1t7-72).
"extremely
differcntfmmcommonly
Finalfy,
theword radicalmeans
youtharenofextleme.
for
in
literaturc
existingviews."Mostchanges
a few of the examplesdescribedin this book do
Nonetheless,
that ate "extl€melydifferent''from the
rcpresentdevelopments
literatureof the past.
together,RadicalChangemeans
all thesedefinitions
Considering
fnrmtheusualortraditionalin literchangedeparting
fundamental
4
{
Dmputers.I couldnotquite
L Now I knowexactlYwhat
critics,Parents,
;neducators,
by
nmexcited this newway
TheYsaY
ligitaI connections.
and
select,
remunderstand,
are askedto haveit all writbr this reasonthat Radical
a bookitself.
An Introduction
Change?
Whatis Radical,
to an ancient
aturefor youth,althoughstill relatedto it. According
Chineseprovert,wisdombeginswhenthingsare calledby their
rightnames.RadicalChangegivesthoseof uswith a seriousinterliteraturefor youththe rightnameto applyto
estin contemporary
whatotherwise
wouldrernainan enigma.
"Radical
book,
waysthroughoutthis
change"isusedin two different
asshownin Figure1.
Figure1
EAN?
KEY
hangedoes.Understanding
the extenin understanding
l for yor.rth.
initialcapsis usedto describe
I Changewith
)The termRadica
ortheorythatallowsthe readerto identifolittheframework
thedigitalage.
eraturcwithcharacteristicsof
n the Latinradix,meaning
istingliteraturefor Youthas
from which
tlke stnrcture),
manner.
m, spontaneous
no capitalsis usedto referto
)The termradicalchangewith
in literatureor
the evidenceof the changesthemselves
(sometimes)
in society.
lamental."The changesin
DOES
APPLY
CHANGE
RADICAL
YOUTH?
TOALt BOOI(S
FOR
ture fromthe usualor tradinalemergeout of, but at the
of literaturc
# characteristics
d criticsareupsetwhentheY
theY
because
r "departures,"
metraitsfrat werePublished
di*urbedwhentheYrealize
rnaYwell
frrn thetnaditional
NowtheY
gnificantnumbers.
is now
lwas highlyunusual
se suppstire envircnment.
RadicalChangecanapplyto all typesof boolafor youth.However,
regardin thisbookit will beappliedonlyto textsthataregenerally
"literaturc"
ed as
for childrenor youngadults.
rely diffurentfrromcommonlY
urefor youtharcnotextrcme.
; describedin this book do
rfemely different"from the
ther, RadicalChangemeans
ireuzualortraditionalin liter-
Literature
is writing illustation, or ofrer graphicrepresentation
ideasof
demonstrating
excellenceof form or styleand expressing
hereon
focus
lt
sense
to
makes
widespread
or long-terminterest.
manyof the adultsfor whomthe
book with literarymerit,because
for choosing"goodbook" to
tf,scussion
is intendedareresponsible
rce with childrcnor for teachingdhers about such books.This
foryouthcenteson the
saminationof Radical
Changein literature
lndheld b@k,a termthatmeans,asit wouldseem,a bookwhich
of an eleccanbeheldin thehandandreadwithouttheassistance
hasbeenand
ic device.Our discussion
looksat how literature
"package."
The
portable
ll continueto betransformed
withinthis
for examinationis that publishedfor
of literaturcselec'ted
mostoftenbutnotalways,bythe
readers
in the UnitedStates,
ile divisionsof tradepublishinghouses.
booksfor drildrenchange,it followsthat parents,teacheru,
aboutwhatthismeans
andquestions
ctherswill raiseconcems
Overall,the annual
BookSetting
Chitdren's
Surveyconductedin
March1996showedsteady
satesof children'sbook.
0ver 34 percentof the
increasedtheir
respondents
children'sbook salesover
the previousyear,white
31.5 percentreportedno
change(Robackand
Maughan,1996,p.52).
Children'sBoofsin Print
(1998) lists morethan
t27,000 activetittes.
RadicalChange:Bools for Youthin a Digital Age
Theonty type of litenry
book for youth whichseem
thus far not to havebeen
influencedin a substantial
wayby the radicatchanges
of the digitat agearethose
knownas "easyreaders."
publishers
and
Perhaps
authorsbetievethat
childrenneedlinearto<t,
simptifiedconcepts,and
familiarsubjectsin order
to leamto read.
in relationto RadicalChangemeans"decodfor reading.Reading
ing" wordsand picturesto aniveat meaning.Evolvingideasand
"story"now and in
and constructing
issuesaboutreaderresponse
aspartof the discussion.
thefuturearescrutinized
WHOARETHEYOUTI{?
theagethat
recentlyaskedmeto Suess
A goodfriendin publishing
"always"
sayintendedreadenare,whentheywantto sella
editors
Theanswer(whichI did not know)
committee.
an
editorial
to
book
setting
Whetherornotthispracticeiswidespread,
iseighttotwelve.
restrictive.
unduly
and
often
best
is
imprecise
at
limic
age
andviewers)with whomthis bookis conThereaden(or listener:s
and includeas
presdrool
thrcughadolescence,
aemedrangefrom
well any other reademwho choosernaterialspublishedand
specificageof young
for youngpeople.The
specifically
marketed
to in thisboolqandwhenageis mentione4
is rarelyrefumed
readers
ratherthan
it is usuallytheageintendedby theauthoror illustrator?
Thesereaderc
aretheyoungpeopleDon
theageof theactualreader.
in
his
book CrowingUp Digital
Tapscott
callsthe Net Ceneration
(1996).Theywerebomafter1977.They
havegruwnup withtelevihavebecomemorc evisionsand computeru.Indeed,computeru
eachyearof theirlives.
dentandavailable
In 1997the Children's
an
BookCouncil(CBC),
organizationof pubtishers
of booksand book-related
muttimediaproductsfur
youth, compileda bibtiography,NotJustfor Childrcn
is statedin the
Arqlrmore.It
that'chi tdren's
Preface
booksare now booksfur the
youngandthe otder.One
thing is certain:they are
NotJust for Children
Anymore!"Thepamphtetis
availabtein electronicform
on the CBCwebsite
<http://www.cbcboo
k.o rg/
dex/htm>.
navigation/parin
tern to applyto theseyoungreaders.
It isdifficultto find a consistent
hercasumbrcllaterms
interchangeably
youth
arc
used
Childrenand
However;
when
readers.
andadolescent
to coverbothpreadolescent
intended
published
for
audian
written
and
is
specifically
literaturc
readers,
thetermtnung adultis applied.
enceof adolescent
AGE?
IS THEDIGITAT
WHAT
that
Thedigitalagereferredto in thisbookisthesocietallandscape
morc
commonhave
become
as
computers
emerged
hasgradually
placeandasthe Intemethasbecomea localewhercchildrencan
leamand play.Thedigitalagewasclearlyemeryingin the 1990s,
theyearsthatarethe focusof thisbook.No specificbeginningdate
can be identified,for this era, like the booksit has influence4
not only
erolvedovertime,out of whatcamebefore.Digitalreferc
qualinteractive,
connective
to
the
also
but
to themediathemselves
muchof society.
whichseemto havepermeated
itiestheypossess,
vividly
Lab,
describes
MIT
Media
head
of
the
NicholasNegrrcponte,
the impactof this digitalculturcin the collectionof his colurnns
6
{
"decodcal Changemeans
eaning.Evolvingideasand
"story" now and in
ructing
iliscusion.
ed me to guessthe agethat
e, when theYwant to sell a
wer (which I did not know)
acticeis widespread,setting
undulyrestrictive.
dfi whom this book is condolescence,and include as
I materialsPublishedand
r.The gpecificage of Young
rrd when age is mentioned,
hs or illu$rator,ratherthan
rs arethe young PeoPleDon
s bmk Growing UP Digial
7hraregru^m uP with televiers ha\€ become more evires.
pply to *reseYoungreaders.
eablyhercas umbrellaterms
rnt readen.Howevet when
ilishedfor an intendedaudiung adult is aPPlied.
b tte societallandscaPethat
are becomemore commona localewhere children can
ndy ernergingin the 1990s'
r. No +ecific beginningdate
he books it has influenced,
pfore. Digitalreferunot only
i nterartive,connectivequalr permeatedmuch of societY.
lvlediaLab,vividlYdescribes
re collectionof his columns
An Introduction
Wtratis RadicatChange?
"Beingdigitalis
BeingDigital(1995):
trnr WiredMagazinecalled
dftrent. We arenot waitingon anyinvention.lt is here.lt is now.
will become
I isalmostgeneticin itsnaturc,in thateachgeneration
(p.
one" 231).
lnoredigitalthanthepreceding
Uhat DoesDigitol Mean?
media
to electrrrnic
Digitalisa termthatisoftenusedwhenrefening
to its meanh the 1990s.Therearetechnicalandculturalaspects
i6" Technically,
digitalmeansmediathat arecieatedusingbytes
madeup of bits.A bit is a binaryunitwhichis createdby the prcsa 1 or a 0, thus
enceor absence
of anelectricalimpulse,in essence
bitsand
for us is that,because
fre namedigital.Thesignificance
being
withoutsubstantial
bytesarereallyonly electricalimpulses
lsy cannotbefixedintoplaceorfrozenin a linearorder-theycan
Theelectrical
be endlessly
and instantlyanangedand rearranged.
canspeedanrundtheworld
inpulsesof whichbytesarecomposed
withina few
h seconds-andbecomesornething
entirelydifferent
(ln
medium,
rnrnentsof theiranivalat a destination. a pre-digital
$e smallest
unitsof matter{he atoms<nce setin place,stayin
and
lrat order.Print,radiq andtelevision-asoriginallyconceived
linearmedia.)In a broadsense,digital
tansmifted-arepre-digital,
*ftru to mediawhichprovidefor usersa highlevelof choiceand
andtransirteractivitybecause
the bitsandbytescanbe reananged
mittedsoeasily.
rle1
AGE
DEVELOPMENT
OFTHEDIGITAL
1960s Television
wklelyarailable;
becomes
the globalvillagebegi*
1970s Internetprecurrorcomesinto rce
1980s hrconal computelsanddigitalmediabecorne
widelyarailable;videogamesbringdigitalmedia
to youth
19!Xts Internetbecomes
widelyarailable;ttoHer'electronicmediazuchastelevisionbecomedigitized;
technologies
conrerye
digital age has its roots in the 1950s, when television
the homesof mostAmericans.Theyearsbetween1960 and
digitalage.Thebegincanbe thoughtof asthe developing
amongpeoples
of theglobalvillage-theinstantconnectivity
RadicatChange:Book for Youthin a DigitalAge
acrossthe world-and the emergenceof the visualas a wi
means
of communication
datebackto thelate1960sor early19
However;
thequantumleapin connectiviry
interactivity,
and
In 7997,44percentof
att U.5.households
had
personal
computers.
But
an astonishing
60 percent
of the househotds
with
childrenhadthem.
Predictions
arethat by
the year2000,nearlyhalf
the househotds
with
childrenwitt be online
(Tapscott,1997,p. 22-23).
NetworkWizards,
an online
sourcewhichprovides
statisticson wortdwide
connectivity,can be found
at .hftp: / /www.nw.com/>.
that marksthe fully emergeddigitalage did not occur until di
mediahad startedto touch the livesof the generalpopulace,in
last decadeof the twentieth century.Digital communication
becomeubiquitous
by theearly1990s.By 1994,safesof
wereapproaching
computers
thoseof televisions,
andthe
enalgrowthof Internetconnectivityhad begun.Thenonlineat inter.
activedigitalcommunicationmedia havereachedout and drawn i
older;linearmedia-videq sound,print-and madeall acessiblei
a user-contrclled
wav neverbeforeknown.
The digital age acknowledgesthe continued influence of
media,butthefocusison thespreading
electronic
networkof i
personal
connected
Thisis the ageof the Internet,
computers.
lnformationSuperhighway,
the National InformationInfrastructurc
It is the ageof digitizedmedia,often in multimediaformat.While
thereare certainlydownsidesand pitfalls,the rnorepositive,nurturing, challengingaspectsof this digital agecan unleashthe potential
of all of us-and, most irnportantly,children.
DIGITAL.AGE
PROPHET
'The medium is the messageJ'
"Ihe global village.""Hot and cod
rnedia." These are all common phrasescoined by Marshall
Mcluhan. Thirty-someyearsago, Mcluhan wrote extensivelyand
Theimpactof the emerging
aboutthe electronicenvironment.Although his ideas
electronic
agegained passionately
were
often
speculative
ratherthan "proven,"and criticizedas such,
widespread
attention
duringthe sixtieswith
they'vebeen persistentlydiscussedduring thity yearsof irnmense
Marsha[[
Mcluhan'slhe
social,technological,and political change.Many of Mcluhan's
MediumIs the l4assage
conceptsseemmore relevantthan ever.Recognizinghis continued
(1967).ThiswasMcLuhan's
influencb,the Massachusetts
Instituteof Technologyrecentlyreir
only best-seller,
and it
suedhis boolg UnderstandingMedia: The Extensions
of Man, origibroughthis ideasto the
published
nally
in
1964.
generalpubtic.At his death
in 1980,Mcluhanwasnot
particularlyrespectedas
academician
or spokespersonfor popularculture.But,
saysGaryWotf,executive
"in the
editorof HotWired,
confusion
of the digitat
revotution,
McLuhan
is
relevantagain"
(1 996,p.72al .
TheGlobatVittage
Over and over McLuhan pncposesthat the electronic media are
breaking down old habits of thought formed by the impact d
Cutenbergand the printingpress.The isolationist,nationalisticoryanizationof the world will alsobe brokendown, he says,as people
beginto communicatevia rnediathat arc involvingand nonhierarchical.Erenmorethan Mcluhan imagined,the global community
not only exists,but is increasinglyinteractive.
8
lge
ce of the visualasa widesPread
to the late1960sor earlY1970s.
ectiviry interactiviryand access
I agedid not occur until digital
lof the generalpoPulace,in the
ry. Digital communicationhad
90s. By 1994,salesof Personal
and the Phenornof televisions,
had begun.Thenonlineatinterr havereachedout and drawn in
rint-and madeall acessiblein
mo\vn.
I continued influence of other
n the spreadingnetworkof interis is the age of the Internet,the
iona I lnformationInfrastructure.
en in multimediaformat.While
ftt'alls,the morepositive,nurturbalagecan unleashthe Potential
; children.
"Hot and cool
e globalvillage."
phrasescoined bY Marshall
McLuhanwrote extensivelYand
:nvironrnent.Althoughhis ideas
'proven," and criticizedas such,
I duringthirty Yearsof immense
al change.ManY of Mcluhan's
his continued
ever.Recognizing
tr.rteof Technologyrecently reisof Man, origidia:The Extensions
ls that the electronic media arc
)ught formed bY the imPact of
l'heisolationis! nationalisticorgabroken down, he saYs,as PeoPle
that are involvingand nonhierar'
imagined,the global communitY
interactive.
{
An Introduction
Change?
Whatis Radical.
HotandCoo[Media
mediaaseither'hcf.,oor not requiringactive
Mcluhandescribed
or "enol,"
participation
on the partof the recipientof the rnessage,
Accordihgto Mcluhan,a
requiring
a highdegreeof participation.
"hot''mediumis onethat is filled with the datathe userneedsfor
Oftenit callsinto playonly oneof the five
gamering
the message.
"hot"
medium.So are handheldbooks-they
Radiois a
senses.
andnaffowthe fieldof choicefor the reader'
marshal
information
"cool"medium.lt bringsintoplay
Television,
ontheotherhand,isa
userinvolvemoreextensive
and necessitates
at leasttwo senses
he saw
ment.AlthoughMcluhan'sexamplescan be challenged,
a
anddefined desirof a one-waybroadcast
beyondthe limitations
able,evolvingprincipleof the new media:interactivity.
HcLuhanand Books
them.
transforming
Mcluhandid not abandonbooks.He suggested
same
the
precisely
in
He transformed
the bookshe himselfwrote
waysandfor the samercasonsthat handheldbooksfor youthare
now.Mcluhanspokeof one of the conceptsof
beingtr:ansformed
media,
printandelectnrnic
between
theinteraction
Radical
Change,
"Our
it by
save
but
job is not to wreckthe book
nf,renhe said,
in Neill,1971,p. 311).
of newmedia"(quoted
bachinggrammars
"goc,l"
it is commediumbecause
wasa
Mcluhansaidtelevision
the mosaicof
whichmakeup a mosaic-+redicting
pced of ,,bits,,
to SamNeill,
thedigitalworld,beforeit cameintobeing.According
work,
who hasstudiedMcLuhan's
a librarian
. . . evidentin his
Theeffectof the mosaicapproach
publications,
has naturaliycausedgreathowlsto
of a man's
hrisefromthosewhoexpecttheargument
p$e,
word
by
yv.ord,
pointof view to marchforward
of
out
rising
one
each
by
chaptgr,
by page,chapter
in a visto culminate
the'prec6ding
andAEu"lopihg
of
He'is accused
conclus"ion.
ible and ciatsi'fiabld
"comrnunicator
communicate."
who can't
beinga
(p.312)
usesthrcejuxtaposedformatsin lhe MrchanicalBride
shortwitty quoMan(lg5lFadvertisements,
of tndustrial
culturalrelaboutadvertising's
andan essay
andstatemenB,
"Because
of the
In the introductionto the volumehe states,
ing point of view in this book, there is no need for it to be
Mcluhanusedaltervi).Inotherbooks,
in anyspecialorde/'Q.
almost
lightandboldfae typeto makepoints;he published
(1967);
visualtexts,includingTheMediumIs the Massage
RadicalChange:Boolafor Youthin a DigitalAge
and he foresawthe hypertextstoryand the soundbitesof modem
(',979),wherehe said,"ln
newsreportsin Culturels Our Business
the electricagethe connectionin nanativeand art is omitted
Thereis no storyline in modemartor news.. . . Thus,isolatednews
itemsare rnorc interesting
than editorials"(p. 112).Mcluhan
employedmanyothernonlinear,
nonsequential
in his
techniques
writing-all of whichhe described
ascommunication
reflecting
the
worfd.Mcluhanwasan accurate
electronic
prophetforthe radical
changes
to comethreedecades
laterto the handheldbookforputh.
Thisimaginary
dialogue
betweentwo contemporary
childrenand their aunt,
a Mcluhanfan, is meant
to showwhichof
Mcluhan'sideasseem
vatidat the beginningof
the 21stcenturyand
whichneedrethinhng.
Blackqnd White(1990)
by DavidMacaulay
is
discussed
o<tensively
in
subsequent
chapters.
It is a prototypeof
RadicalChange.
RadicalChangein Literaturefor Youthand McLuhan'sldeas
An imagineddialoguebetweentwo "Net Ceneration"childrenNell(l il andWillie(6)- andtheirfavoriteaunt, Rosa,
who likesto
hearwhattheythink and hasalwaysbeen interested
in the ideas
expunded by MarshallMcLuhanin Understanding
Media:
Nell:
Look,Aunt Rosa,l'm readinga goodbookby David
Macaulay
calledBlackandWhite.
fuint Rosa:Ahhh!Thenyou havewhat a man namedMarshall
Mcluhan rcftinedto somethiny yearsagoasa ohot"
medium,something
that doesn'trequircthe kind of
intenseinvolvement
that televisionviewingor using
yourcomputerdoes.Professor
Mcluhanthoirghtprintl
ed books"--otherthan
thosehewnotehimself-provide
a prettycornpleteand straightforward
experience.
He
compared
themto the "mosaic"of electronicmedia
thatdemandmorethought.
Wllie:
Haveyouseenthisbook?Here,lookat it. Lookatthis,
lookat'thedifferent
sizesandshapes
of thewords,and
wheretheyareon thispage.
Nell:
A rereadingof Alice's
Adventuresin Wonderlq
nd
bringsa newappreciation
of LewisCarrolfsgenius
A,nt Rosa:
and his understanding
of children'sthought
processes.
Thefull text
from ProjectGutenberg
is avaitabteon the
WorldWideWebat
<http:/ / wwl.promo.net/p g
/_titles/A.htmb.
Lookslikemoreof a mosaicof itemsthanI seeonline.
And,look,hereonthefirstpage,theauthorwon'teven
tell us how manystoriestheie are in the book.The
readerhasto figureit out. lt's preftyinvolving.[See
Plate1.1
Yes.Very
unusual,
though,fora book.Things
happening
simultaneously,
nonlinearly.
Veryunusual.
I do rcmember Professor
Mcluhan'ssayingthat LewisCarrollin
Alice in Wonderlandforeshadowed
the electronic
mediawith his treatment
of time and spae. And he
talkedaboutwhatis "leftout''forthereadertosupplyin
comics.Andhewpte booksto showhow it ould hap
pen.Haven'tseenso muctrof thatin eoodliteraturc
for
youth-Sut lookslikeyouhaveanexlmplehere.
What'sthaton yourcomputerscreen?
{
d fre soundbitesof modem
s (1979Lvrherehe said,"ln
ative andart is omitted
news
...Thus,isolated
re\^/s.
iton'als"(p. 112).McLuhan
in his
techniques
sequential
reflecting
the
mrnmunication
r:adical
curateprophetfor the
bookforputh.
the handheld
ldeas
ruthand McLuhan's
'Net Ceneration"childrenoriteaunt,Rosa,who likesto
in the ideas
ber:ninterested
Media:
Jnder$anding
ding a goodbookby David
d lUhite.
hat a man namedMarshall
n trirty yearsagoasa "ho(
doesn'trequirethe kind of
viewingor using
television
thoughtprintMcLuhan
essor
s hervrde himself-provide
He
experience.
aiehttorward
media
m&aiC of electronic
ltt.
Here, look at it. Lookatthis,
and shapesof the words,and
Be.
ric of itemsthanI seeonline.
t page,theauthorwon'teven
; ihere are in the book.The
r.fr-lt's prettyinvolving.[See
happening
fo a bookThings
I do remem]v:Vervunusual.
savini *rat LewisCanollin
resha?o,vedthe electrcnic
i of time and space.And he
in
rut"brthe readertosuPPlY
lcsto sl'rowhow it ould haP
for
h of frat in goodliterature
hareanexfmplehere.
x.Jterscreen?
An Introduction
Change?
Wtratis Radical,
Thafsan electnrnicbook,a CD-ROMor digitalvercion
of David Macaulay'sTheWay ThingsWork (1988).
Seeall the graphicsthat I can click on to get more
of it will be words, somepictures,
information?-Some
somevideq someaudio.
Maybe that's what your professor
'media. meant by being
I can click on my
involved,by a mosaicof
mouseand iink from one ideato another.But I haveto
do the samekind of thinkineand can do the samekind
of linkingof ideaswith BlaZkand White.
Rosa:A handheldbook that demandsa largeamountof
An
and can be readnonlinearly?
rcaderinteractivity
of linkedprint,pictures,
electronicdevice'consisting
video,andsound?Ahhh! furhapswe'vereachedthe
kind of combinedand compatiblecommunication
Mcluhanhopedfor but did not see.l'll haveto think
aboutthis....
did not usethewordsRadicalChange,but he described
in life extremelydifferentfromcommo,nly
afteration
transviews,broughtaboutby new mediaand potentially
primaryexampleg
but
his
as
not
cfiildren
He
use
books. did
he prcdicted.
no onefromthedevelopments
ThanThirtyYearcLater
a
ideaswereintrcduced,
thanthirtyyearsafterMcluhan's
age has emerged,changingour environmentdrarnatically.
omputer has becomea common householdand classroom
"box for manipulating
And the conceptof the computeras a
' has given way to the idea of the computer as a device for
and politicalboundaries.
geographical
icatingdataacross
prca computeroncerequiredthe skillsof a professional
Todaya preschoolchild can performa rich varietyof
evenbeforesheleamsto read.
operations
againandagainthat"cornputing
emphasizes
asNegroponte
anymore.lt isaboutlivingl'(1995,p. 8).The
abor,n
computers
All formsof
it cannotbe avoided.
isubiquitous;
environment
video,anddata-have begunto movearound
media,but ratherin bitsthat
in linearstreams,
aswith.previous
The new technology,
nonsequential
and rearrangeable.
beWeenthe Seneragap
says,hascrcateda cultural
he
andtheInternet,
Referencing
two digitalmedia,CD-ROMs
"one
a
socializing
other
rs that
is an electronicboolgthe