EA's new FLIPS series takes books from some of today's best children's writers to deliver what are essentially extended director's cuts of their works to the Nintendo DS. Children will be able to read books from Cathy Cassidy, Eoin Colfer, and Enid Blyton, with quizzes and reference links built right in to help encourage getting to the end of each chapter.

"I'm over the moon to see my stories and characters brought to life on the Nintendo DS with EA's new FLIPS range," said Eoin Colfer, author of the award-winning Artemis Fowl series. "Everyone knows that reading improves literacy skills. I have two children who are DS fanatics and cannot wait for the FLIPS to arrive, so EA might finally get them reading my books!"

Here's what they've got lined up so far:

Enid Blyton (Egmont) - The Enchanted Wood®, The Magic Faraway Tree, The Folk of the Faraway Tree, Enchanted World – Petal and the Eternal Bloom, Enchanted World – Melody and the Enchanted Harp, Enchanted World – Silky and the Rainbow Feather

Cathy Cassidy (Penguin)– Scarlett, Angel Cake, Sundae Girl, Shine on Daizy Star, GingerSnaps, Driftwood

Eoin Colfer (Penguin) - Artemis Fowl, Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident, Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code, Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception, Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony, Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox

Too Ghoul For School (Egmont) - Silent but Deadly, The In-Spectres Call, Ghoul Dinners, The Bubonic Builders, Attack of the Zombie Nits, School Spooks Day, French Fright, Terror In Cubical Four

That's an impressive list of reading materials right there. The first four FLIPS titles are being released in the UK on the 4th of December, with each release featuring six to eight books for the low price of £24.99. Will the Nintendo DS succeed where libraries and book stores have failed? We'll find out then.

... doubtful teachers and literacy experts question how effective it is to use an overwhelmingly visual medium to connect youngsters to the written word. They suggest that while a handful of players might be motivated to pick up a book, many more will skip the text and go straight to the game. Others suggest that video games detract from the experience of being wholly immersed in a book.

Some researchers, though, say that even when children don’t read much text, they are picking up skills that can help them thrive in a visually oriented digital world. And some educational experts suggest that video games still stimulate reading in blogs and strategy guides for players.

To be sure, some of the experiments pairing electronic games with books will be little more than marketing gimmicks. But publishers and authors suggest that some projects may push creative boundaries, helping to extend storytelling beyond the traditional covers of a book.

I'm not sure WoW et al. are the best examples of compelling story lines that approximate literature, and some of the library-driven initiatives don't exactly seem to encourage "traditional" literacy (having seen plenty of students happily sleeping in university libraries, it takes more than just getting them in the door). Still, as James Paul Gee notes in the article, there are issues beyond "pick up a book and read it" that games can teach; critical thinking skills, for example, have rarely served anyone wrong. Besides, one never knows where video games will lead — one of the best and brightest in my department recently confessed that a Romance of the Three Kingdoms game is what started his interest in China.

Using Video Games as Bait to Hook Readers [The New York Times via Pop Cosmopolitanism]

We mentioned Michael Abbot (of the Brainy Gamer) and his efforts to put together a great syllabus for his history of RPGs class; as promised, he's now posted the reading list (required readings will be culled from this list, but it's a pretty nice little bibliography for background reading). At this point, it just includes traditional books and articles, but he's planning on expanding it to online and popular media sources, as well as other good ideas sent in by people who are keeping tabs on this project:

You'll find some esoteric stuff here, but every title is germane to the subject in one way or another. I've also included books like Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces and Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, portions of which I plan to assign as foundational texts.

So far the bibliography only includes traditional materials (books and academic journals). I'm working on supplementing the list with online and popular media resources devoted to RPGs ...

Here's the list. If I've omitted a title you think should be included, please let me know. If you have a favorite website or online essay devoted to RPGs (history, analysis, special focus on a single game or developer, etc.), please feel free to drop me a comment. I'll be sure to add it to the list I'm working on, which will be posted here in a few days.

It's quite an impressive list, and if you've got room on your list of things to read, wander over and check it out — or add your own suggestions for good go-to sources for a class of this nature.

RPG syllabus - books and journals [The Brainy Gamer]

[Thanks, John]

TAB members say other students appreciate the advice.''They're usually very receptive because you're another cool teenager,'' said 17-year-old Sarah Wright, a senior in the fall.

TAB has been around for going on ten years now, founded by then librarian Deanna Hendren, who felt that teens suggesting books to teens would be far more effective than an old woman in a cardigan, and yes that is an unfair librarian stereotype. I've known plenty of hot librarians in my time, but that is a story never to be told. The point here is teens relate to other teens, because oftentimes teens are extremely stupid.

They also talked about removing books, labeled by adults as classics, that had sat on the shelves for years without being read. (TAB member Sam) Lenz said he and other students displayed a definite preference for newer titles.

''Keep it modern,'' he said, noting that books written a century or more ago ''have a different way of being written that we don't fully get today.''

So what would they be reading instead of the classics?

They displayed particular fondness for books that delved into serious — and sometimes taboo — topics, such as affairs with teachers, suicide and self-mutilation.

Students bring teen touch to reading recommendations [The Fort Dodge Messenger via Game Politics]

According to Katie Salen, the Executive Director of the Gamelab Institute of Play, who has been teaching game design to children:

...Today, it's not so much about knowing the exact content on page 309, but it's understanding how the content on page 309 might be connected to content on page 500, which then may be impacted by something you find elsewhere on the Web.

Basically, it's a way to teach children how to think about those big picture problems. The example given by NPR is the complex situation of how driving your car eventually affects greenhouse gases, which in turn affects the animals in the ice caps, like polar bears. The lesson here is to see the connection between a car and the polar bear.

I know, you're saying, "Blah, blah, blah... How come public school kids get to learn game design when I had to learn how to read by watching the Electric Company?!" Kim Phu

Proposed Video-Game School Gets $1.1 Million Boost [NPR via Next-Gen]

One of the major obstacles in my career as a professional writer has been that I don't know how to read. I remember my first interview with Crecente, when he handed me his business card. I just stood there, blinking uncomprehendingly at the small little insects upon the gaudy pink-and-green piece of cardboard. Finally, I had to admit to him I didn't know how to read.

"You don't know how to read?" he asked, shocked. "Hell, even our worst writer..." (and here Crecente pointed at Ashcraft) "... knows how to read. How can you write if you don't know how to read?"

I took offense. "Fuck you and your classist stereotypes, man. Why can't an illiterate be a good writer? What's next? Are you also going to tell me I'm not a good African-Irishman just because I also happen to be an albino? Because, as the color of my skin attests, I am a credit to my entire pink Nubian race."

Crecente looked confused, but — not wanting to seem prejudiced — he eventually gave me a shot, and here I am, smashing my fingers randomly against the keyboard and filling the screen with incomprehensible gibberish.

Anyway, the point I'm making is that — since I've never learned how to read — I've also never read any of the books on Next Generation's list of Top 50 Books For Everyone In The Game Industry. I don't know what any of them are about, or if they are any good, but the covers sure look pretty. Lorfian Kedtreach

50 Books For Everyone In the Game Industry [Next Generation]