Digital Picture Book Award

  An awards ceremony for digital picture books was held.

  This award goes to a digital picture book that is displayed to children on smartphones, tablets, or digital signage rather than on television or a personal computer.

 The sponsors of the event are NPO “CANVAS” and Digital Picture Book, Inc.

 The center of attention this year was “My Glasses Yearn to be Butterflies” by middle school student Yusuke Uno. In this story, his eyeglasses become entranced by a beautiful butterfly and through a variety of means attempt to become one. Currently Mr. Uno is building a 3D car race game. He’s also studying English so that he’ll be able to release English versions of his software as well. He’s a very powerful young man.

 The jurists commented on the works.

 The first comments were to draw attention to the possibilities of digital picture books.

 Psychiatrist Rika Kayama said that, “At first I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to make one by myself, but I was rapidly drawn into the world of digital picture books.”

 Mr. Sugiyama , president of Digital Hollywood, said that, “Digital picture books are a new form of expression that jumps from the frames of smartphone and tablets, and will entertain everyone from children to adults.”

 Game creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi claimed that, “parents can now participate in the creation of a picture book. It’s a new way of doing things and is diversifying the field.”

 President Kadokawa of KADOKAWA publishing stated that “the field is growing rapidly, and those who are currently paving the way are great.”

  Pediatrician Noboru Kobayashi offered up an assignment. “From the moment when a child let’s forth its first cry, it looks around for information. People crave information. Information feeds the heart and soul. I hope that this year’s winner will look into this phenomenon. Japan is falling behind the US and Korea in the computerization of education. For the sake of the future of Japan, I’d like them to think about ways to develop ‘Children with the ability to gain information.”

 Kouji Ishikawa, creator of picture books, said, “In the 90s, multimedia works failed to deliver that which was expected of them. They mostly required the use of a keyboard. Smartphones and tablets allow for a more analog method of interaction. I’m glad to see that a junior high school student took home the top award.”

 Yuichi Kimura, also a picture book artist, said, “A digital picture book is more than just a picture book that has been digitized. There are more possibilities. Three years from now I don’t want to be a jurist, I want to be an award recipient.”

  Finally, neurologist Kenichiro Mugi offered these words of encouragement: “Some people misunderstand the word ‘digital.’ Those who argue that a picture book must be on paper have no foundation for their argument. Digital means ‘interactive.’ If you think about it, kamishibai (picture-story shows) were interactive. One could think of digital picture books as an evolution of kamishibai. However, Japan has been slow to adapt. We’ve been asleep for 20 years. We need a sense of urgency. YouTube has become a great force, even without awards. Digital picture books must become great as well; with-or-without awards ceremonies. I’d like to see digital picture books advance not because they were chosen by jurists, but because they are chosen by everyone.”

　Let’s give it our best!