A GAP in local stories for kids on audiobook looks set to be filled by a new recording room at Fremantle Press.
The publisher, who recently moved into a new home at the old SEC sub-station on Parry Street, will focus on local histories, identities, and experiences in titles targeted at children in upper primary school levels.
Fremantle Press head of sales marketing Claire Miller said it wasn’t easy converting a simple kids’ book into an audio version.
“You have to be a really best-selling kids’ book to be able to actually get an audiobook,” she said.
Ms Miller said becoming literate in stories was essential to a child’s fulfilment.
“If you read a book, if you can be empathetic, if you can be part of the community, then you are much more likely to have a great outcome in life as well.”
Ms Miller said the aim was to “get books into classrooms in a way that’s more accessible to all kids regardless of their literacy levels.
“It doesn’t really matter if you actually sit there with the book in your hand reading it or you hear it as an audiobook, you still get a lot of the same benefits in terms of empathy and a sense of belonging, along with all the other classmates who might be reading that same book.”
One of the first stories Fremantle Press hopes to record is Jack’s Island by Norman Jorgensen.
Set on Rottnest Island during World War II, the narrative carries emotional and historical insights for young readers.
StoryLinks praised it as a “fun but also emotionally rewarding read… that will keep the reader engaged and inadvertently learning along the way.”
Ms Miller said Fremantle Press could also use the recording room for First Nations oral storytelling, expanding access to Noongar language in children’s literature.
Fremantle Press has been working with Noongar language teacher, storyteller and cultural leader Jayden Boundary to create “downloadable resources so that kids… [can] hear, as well as see words on the page.
“That’s something we want to really continue and do hopefully with a much better quality using the new room,” Ms Miller said.
by ALISHA IRVING