Tellitagen Children's Stories

Reviewed by Julia Gruber

Accuracy
The information on this web site is accurate. The stories are either retold traditional tales or original stories by the author. The stories include simple pictures and are told in the author’s voice with text below the pictures. The text is exactly as the author’s spoken version. I found no indication on the web site that any other person edits the material.

Authority
The author of this site is clearly labeled on the title page before each story begins. Jack Otis Moore tells about himself on the “About the Author” page. He obtained two degrees. One degree is in Studio Art from the University of Texas at Austin, and the other is in Library Science from Columbia University. He worked previously as a freelance commercial artist and is currently working for Texas State Library in the Reference Department. He is still available for hire as a freelance artist on the side. There is no sponsoring organization associated with this site.

Objectivity
There is no apparent bias in any of his stories. His original stories include people from several races where appropriate (i.e. Billy’s Dilemma). The page is intended to entertain young children. There is no apparent persuasion or opinions voiced. There are no advertisements.

Currency
The page was last updated on September 6, 2003. The links page has not been updated since October 8, 1999. Most of the links are no longer available.

Coverage
This page offers children the opportunity to listen and view still pictures of traditional stories as well as original stories by Jack Otis Moore. The four stories currently on this site are Goldilocks, The Tornado, Billy’s Dilemma, and The Boy Who Cried Wolf. There is also a link to “Other Stuff” where stories can be downloaded with a coloring option. My 21 month old sat quietly and was engrossed with the soft tone of Jack Otis’s voice and the simple, colorful pictures that accompanied them. His stories are simplified so that younger children are able to follow along and understand the vocabulary. Older children who can read can follow along with the text as well. This site is designed purely for entertainment.

Reviewed by Rosella Jenkins

Tellitagen Children’s Stories website is authored by Jack Otis Moore. Mr. Moore has a degree in studio art and Library Science. He is currently employed in the Reference Department of the Texas State Library.

This is a wonderful children’s website and parent website. It can also be incorporated into the classroom. This website provides four basic stories that children can listen to. In order to view the on-line story Flash6 Player is required. Since the stories are streamed through a server there is a short preloading time depending on the speed of one’s connection. The four stories provided for viewers are Goldilocks (re-telling of a traditional story), The Tornado (an original story, based on family legend), Billy’s Dilemma, and The Boy Who Cried Wolf (re-telling of Aesop’s Fable). In addition to these stories there is a link for Other Stuff. This link connects the user to a page that provides seven links. The first link The Stories allows users to hear certain parts of a story and a user can even download a coloring page. The second link allows a user to download a story. The third link is about the author. It provides a page of information about the author. The fourth link provides a few examples of Mr. Moore’s animation. The fifth link provides a to Mr. Moore’s house. He provides some historical information of his house, which has been zoned as a historical house in Austin, Texas. Pictures are also provided. The sixth link Mr. Moore provides other suggested links. These links provides other links to children’s material. The final link provides users the chance to provide feedback to Mr. Moore. The last time that the website was updated was September 6, 2003. The site layout is user friendly. Each page has a link either to home or to all of the other pages within the site.

Overall this website is user friendly. It provides stories for children and parents to listen to. Educators can also incorporate this website for their students when discussing fairytales or stories in general.