About Crater Moon Stories™

This series of stories about Boom and Zoom on Crater Moon™ is designed for the next generation of children's picture books. The stories are written in two versions: "Look & Listen" and "Look, Listen, & Read." The "Look & Listen" version reads the story to you. The "Look, Listen, & Read" version supports co-reading. Co-reading between parent/teacher and child is an important tool in the learning process. Studies show that storytime between parent/teacher and child nurtures reading and socializing skills in children. These stories use a new, innovative format that reads like a play in which the parent/teacher plays a part, that of the narrator. The narration is assisted by action and sound effects. At other points in the story, the characters speak and move. Their lyrical animation provides a way to teach reading skills while keeping kids interested.

Storytelling can also present opportunities for other types of teaching and expanding awareness. Our stories are basically about robots who are terraforming a moon, which provides a platform to explore the connection we have to our planet and the universe. Boom and Zoom are apart from everyone they know, yet they stay connected to and are supported by the earth community. They are dedicated to their mission.

Each story promotes certain values, as well.

• Day 1: working together/cooperating, not giving up, problem solving, thinking outside the box, breaking down a large task into smaller ones
• RocketBoots: facing fears (examples: darkness, the unknown), supporting a friend, concentrating on the task at hand, value of individual experiences and the joy of sharing them
• Babbling Boom: too much of one thing is not good, balance of computer play and real-world play, supporting a friend, not giving up, the connection we have to everyone and to our planet
• Puff: patience, tolerance for differences and diversity, not jumping to conclusions, following the rules
• Hyperdrive: listening, taking good care of your body, persistence, creative thinking, observation and problem solving, planning on paper
• Christmas Eve: friendship, appreciating what you have, creative thinking, making lemonade out of lemons, experiencing the wonders of the unexpected

There are some guidelines that we find essential to follow in online storytelling. We don't want the animation to dominate the story. The goal is to strengthen reading skills. Animation, sound, and interaction should carry the child's imagination, not overtake it and replace the child's own ability to imagine through words. After all, that's what reading is all about! The role of a good children's book illustration is always to embellish the written word.

Please feel free to email us with any feedback you have about the stories. The technology we're using is the new industry standard for web browsing now being used by most tablets and computers. How is it working? Do you like the characters and story? Does the navigation seem intuitive? Is it supporting co-reading? We'd love to hear from you! Write to us at info@davidudovic.com. Read more about our stories at www.davidudovic.com/Stories.

    The Crater Moon Team

David Udovic     Author     Illustrator

Susan Udovic     Web Developer       Animator

Parents and Children Sharing
in the Virtual and Real Worlds

Creating these free, online stories is a labor of love, but they are only one part of an approach to early childhood education that includes a balance between "screen time" and "paper time." At PopDownCards.com, our commercial site, you'll find educational crafts, activities, free printables, and parenting tools that support a balanced approach to learning and encourage sharing between parent and child. Some of these tools carry the Boom and Zoom characters, familiar to your child through these stories. You can also find greeting cards for kids and signed, hardcopies of the picture books illustrated by David.

Privacy and Child Safety

At Udovic Design LLC, we take privacy and child safety seriously.
Crater Moon Stories™ does not collect or share personal information. No login or subscription is required. There are no advertisements and no links to any other websites or web pages outside CraterMoonStories.com.