Introduction

Sound books are books that come with an attached electronic panel and plays a short sound, voice clip or tune when the buttons on the panel (or in special cases, embedded on the pages of the book) are pressed. The books target audiences are young infants to kindergarteners, and thus features well-known TV children shows or book characters. Sound books first appeared in the market during the late eighties, and seem to be getting momentum. A majority of sound books in the market today are published by Publications International, although there are other small publishers jumping on the bandwagon as well.

Types of Sound Books

Below is a list of sound books available in the market today and a description on what they do.

• Clock Book- A book with a LCD panel, 10 buttons and a analog clock. The gimmick here is that you can turn the hands of the analog clock and push a button to get a digital reading (a perfect tool for those suffering from serious cross-eyes).
• Pop-up Song Books- A music book with 10 buttons and pop-up pages.
• Busy Box Books- A book with an activity panel that when played with results in music or sound effects.
• Furry Friends with Animal Sounds books- A book that looks like the head of a animal, covered in plush. Pushing the nose of the animal triggers a sample of the noise that animal makes.
• Camera Books- Books with a camera-like button panel located in the lower middle. This type of book plays 5 sounds, including one that makes camera shutter noises. The camera panel has a flashing like that flashes at approximately 5-30 times a second for about 2 seconds the moment the "Shutter button"(A red button at the top-left corner of the panel) is pressed. It also comes with a clicker thingy that is supposed to simulate a camera's focus adjustment knob in the center of the panel.
• Telephone Book- One of the more complex-to-operate books, and one that talks a lot, too. You are required to key in sequences of numbers found throughout the book in order to get a voice message. Key in the sequence in wrongly and you get either a busy signal or the wrong voice message. The pound and asterisk buttons play standard telephone sounds. the message button is where the fun's at. You press it, and it plays a random amount of messages¹. Also includes a detachable handset that doesn't do anything.
• First Play-A-Sound- A simple book with 3 buttons, usually 2 voice samples and one sound effect. These books are particularly simple in nature, and like the name suggests, is perfect for toddlers or beginners to the sound book collection world
• Guitar Books- A musical book. Has 5 buttons, each assigned to a tune. The gimmick on this book is a pick-up bar which when rotated plays overdrive guitar sounds. the guitar shape sound module is said to be detachable.
• Lift and Listen- A sound book with 10 buttons, each button has a voice sample. This is coupled with flaps on each page of the book.
• Little Lift and Listen- A stripped down version of the Lift and Listen books, these books have 5 buttons, all assigned to generic sound effects. Like the Lift and Listen books, the pages on these books have flaps on them.
• Microphone Book- These book have 10 buttons. Like the guitar Books, these books play music instead of voice samples or sound effects. Unlike the Guitar books, however, the gimmick here is a working microphone. If you see any child carrying one of these, it is recommended that you try to get as far away from the child as possible².
• Music Maker Book- A book with 5 song buttons, 5 instrument buttons and 2 percussion instrument buttons. Again, this is a music book. The gimmick here is that you can change the instruments of the 5 songs in real time using the 5 music instrument keys. If the music instrument keys are pressed when there's no song being played, it'll play a short sample instead. The two percussion instrument buttons on the side can be used to form a rythim to accompany the tunes.³
• Music Note Book- A music book with a sound panel that is in the shape of a music note. Has 10 buttons, each assigned to a different tune. the gimmick is that there are 4 lights at the top end of the sound module that flashes in unison to the song.
• Little Music Note Book- A stripped down version of the Music Note Book. Only plays 5 songs and doesn't have the twinkling lights.
• My First Sound Book- A standard sound book that has a sound module that's in a shape of the number 1. Has 4 buttons, each assigned to a generic sound effect. The books' all look deceptively like the "My First Song book", and the only way to tell them apart is by the buttons⁴ and the title of the books.
• My First Song Book- A standard music book that has a sound module that's in the shape of the number 1. Has 4 buttons, each assigned to a song. Like the "My First Sound Book", the only way to tell them apart is by the title and buttons.
• Piano Book- A book with 10 music buttons and 9 tone buttons. Tone buttons said to have lights under them which you can follow to (ala Casio keyboards). Or you can play your own tunes with the piano alone (but don't expect to use it to belt out Beethoven numbers, though. With only 1 2/7 octive and no half keys, you're gonna get stuck if you try anything more complex than "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".
• Play-A-Sound books- The first series to hit the market. 16 buttons, each can either be a voice sample or a sound effect.
• Wipe-Off Sound- With a sound panel that has 27 buttons, this series probably has the most buttons on the sound module. Each button plays a short voice sample. Normally comes with a erasable marker pen.
• Nightlight Lullabye- Like the series' name suggests, this music book plays lullabyes and has a glowing night light that's in the shape of a star. Sound panel has 5 buttons, each attached to a lullabye.
• Book box with plush- Generally, the sound module is that of a First Play-A-Sound attached sideways, and it only plays sound effects. The package comes with a plush
• Little Sound Book- A sound book with 7 buttons, each button either plays a voice sample or a sound effect.
• Interactive Play-a-Sound- A book with 18 buttons, mostly sound effects or speech samples. Has some sort of game built in to the sound module.
• Touch-the-pages book- By far one of the hardest to find series of sound books. The book pages has buttons embedded into them, each triggering a speech sample or sound effect (Think Broderbund's Living Books series, but without the animation and PC).
• Lullabye books- Plays a lullaby when the button is pressed. No lights, though, and only plays one song.
• Touch, Feel and Hear books- Published by Hinkler books. The gimmick here is that the books' pages has some material glued on to it that simulates the feel of various objects. Book's sound panels have 4 buttons.
• Single button song books- Manufacturer unknown. Each book has a simple 1-button button panel that plays only one song in a rather shrill tone when the button is pressed.
• Single button speech book(?)- A book with only one button, and only says one thing when pressed. This entry will be updated once the exact series name is known to the researcher

Characters and Sound books

Here's a partial list of popular TV or book characters that have sound books out

• Eric Hill's Spot The Puppy
• Norman Bridwell's Clifford the Big Red Dog
• Bob the Builder
• Reverend Awdry's Thomas the Tank Engine
• Fisher-Price's Little People
• CTW/Sesame Workshop's Sesame Street
• Scooby Doo
• Teletubbies
• Blues Clues
• Dora the Explorer
• Disney's Winnie the Pooh

Batteries type and replacing them

It's safe to say that most, if not all, sound books runs on 3 LR44/AG13 or equivalent batteries. This is especially true for Publications International sound books. All the sound books in my collection so far runs off 3 LR44 batteries.

To replace the batteries, you'll need a 1mm diameter philips screwdriver, 3 fresh LR44 button-cell batteries, a sheet of paper, a flathead screwdriver, and a lot of patience. First, locate the battery drawer lock screw or the battery hatch lock screw. Use the screwdriver to remove the screw. Now, gently slide the drawer out. Be careful. Some of the books have a flip-open drawer instead of a slide out drawer. On books with a battery hatch, gently pry the hatch open with your fingernail or the flathead screwdriver. Should the battery come loose and cause the drawer to jam (this happens a lot with early Play-a-sound books), gently wedge your flathead screwdriver into the slot, push down the offending battery and continue sliding the tray out. Be careful to not scratch the book's circuit that's above the batteries though. You don't want to short out a couple of your favourite buttons.

If the batteries aren't already loose, use the flathead screwdriver to pry them out. Put in the new batteries, "+" sign facing up. Now, gently slide the drawer back into the book. Test the book by gently pressing each one of the buttons. If they all work okay, replace and secure lock screw. If not, re-open tray and check whether you inserted the batteries correctly.

Collecting Sound Books

Okay, so you've seen your baby brother or some other tyke play with sound books, and you thought that the books are kinda neat, being able to talk and all, and you would like to have a set to call your own. Or maybe you're just looking into some eccentric hobbies and decided that Sound Book collecting suits your eccentric lifestyle. But you don't know where to start. No problem. This guide will help you get a starter set up in no time. Just follow the steps listed below:

1. What will it be?

First thing to do is to narrow down your criteria. Start easy. You don't need them all. Have a favourite TV show or book character that you see a sound book is available? Or maybe you want only camera books? Narrowing down the wide selection will make things more focused and your objectives clearer.

2. Know thy series

Okay, you've decided to narrow your collection down to, say, Guitar books, because you like the sound of Distortion Guitars. Or maybe you decided to get Blues Clues books because Steve Burns/Donovan Patton/Kevin makes you all jumpy and excited whenever you see them on TV. No problem. You have just set your goal: to get all Blues Clues or Guitar books ever released. Now to study so that you'll know what to expect and get. Do a search online for Sound books. Visit the publisher's site. Drop by bookstores and toy with those on display for a while. Jot down whatever you've learned about the books in a journal or a private database (a DBase III or Microsoft Access database would do just fine).

3. Save, save, save!

A no brainer if you're a college student or someone with limited income. Sound books aren't cheap. So you'll need to save up for them. Plan and track your monetary funds, and soon you'll be ready for your first book.

4. The big round-up

Okay, you've a goal. You've done your study. You have the dough. Now is time to go out and start collecting. Head over to the bookshop, pick the first one up, and feel the power of the book flow through you. Don't panic and keep calm - it's perfectly normal if this is your first time buying things like these. Repeat with other books in the series. Then cooly walk over to the cashier and pay for them. If you're asked why you're buying the book, you have two choices: Let it spill that you're an eccentric and ignore their laughter, or create some sort of bull story saying that it's for a baby brother of a friend or something. Pay and leave.

Alternatively, you could shop online. Amazon's UK site is well stocked with these kind of books⁵. For American sound books, Barnes and Noble's website is the place to look. Be sure to have money order or a credit card ready.

5. My elusive book

Okay, if you pick a series that has been around for ages, this is bound to happen. You'll come across a title that's downright impossible to find. An example would be a copy of "Where is Clifford, the Small Red Puppy", a "Touch-the-Pages" book. Until today the only place which I have seen them is on auction sites like eBay. So, if you're willing to trust the sellers on online auction sites and bite the bullet whenever you get hit by a scam, bid on the rare book that's missing from your collection whenever you see one being auctioned. Otherwise, you're left to scour second-hand-books bookstores and/or garage sales like me (and I've still yet to tag down a copy of that particular Clifford sound book). Remember that the book needn't be in mint condition, although it'll be nice if it is. This book is rare, and owning a worn-out copy is better than owning no copies.

6. Keeping the books healthy

Okay, you have the books. Now what? How do I look after it? Follow the steps below to keep your book working years after you bought it:

• Treat them like you'd treat that US$200 encyclopedia set your uncle gave you on your 10th birthday: with respect. Don't step on them, use them as frisbees, bang on the buttons, spill liquid on them, doodle on their pages⁶, and so on.
• If you're not planning to use them for some time, take the batteries out so that the batteries don't eventually leak and damage the books. See the "Batteries type and replacing them" part of the guide, except that you don't put in the new batteries⁷.
• Press the buttons gently. If you push it too hard, it'll break, and we don't want that
• If you can, record the sounds each button make into a wave or MP3 file on the PC. That way, you can save the sound modules from excessive wear by playing back the sounds on the PC instead of using the modules⁸. You could also go the distance and photograph the pages of the book so that you needn't open the book ever again, but that's fully optional, tedious, time consuming, unnecessary, and even illegal in some countries.
7. Iterate!

Okay, so you've got them all. That's all there is, right? Wrong! new books might periodically come out. Once you're done with the "big round-up" stage, you can't just stop scanning and think that you have them all. New titles come out all the time, and the only way to keep up is to go back to the "study" stage. Keep saving cash. Sign up for notifications from online bookstores that inform you when new titles come out. Search the web every once in a while. Prowl the aisles of bookstores at least once daily. Only by doing so will you be able to keep up with the latest releases for your collection. Also, this will be a good time to start on another series if you decided to do so.

External Links

• Publications International website
• Hinkler Books website
• Amazon UK
• Barnes and Noble
• eBay