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* * * My Little Realm, v2.0 * * *
- Read More/sa -
____________________________________________________________________
General Information
____________________________________________________________________
Important
This is the evaluation version of Read More/sa. It is a fully
functioning, full-featured program that comes with a trial-size file
of 100 book titles so you can test the look and feel of the program.
The Registered version of Read More/sa comes with more than 1,500
book titles! For readers from ages six months (they might need a
little help with the program and the reading) to young adults ...
and even those who aren't so young. Note: The registered version
of Read More requires approximately 250 KB of disk space and 364 KB
of RAM.
Thank you for trying Read More.
____________________________________________________________________
Introduction
Note: Read More is quite useful to readers of all ages.
For literary focus, however, this document is addressed
to parents of young readers.
The Read More goal.
Read More/sa entices and encourages young readers by helping them
keep track of those books they've read. This provides positive
reinforcement to children by giving them tangible proof of their
accomplishments. Read More lets readers select and print out those
titles that they'd like to look for at their favorite library or
bookstore. Then, after they've read their books, readers can check
them off and a smiley face will be displayed next to the titles.
The titles offered in the Read More program are to be read for pure
enjoyment. When reading is fun, interesting, and exciting, young
people will simply want to read more. Who doesn't? Most kids lose
interest because the only works they're exposed to are those that
are foisted on them by their teachers. Quite frequently, these are
works the kids just don't understand until their teachers explain
them.
There is nothing wrong with those intellectual works, but a steady
diet of forced reading material quickly dulls the literary appetite
of many a young reader.
Summer vacations, long weekends, and lazy holidays are great times
for pleasure reading. Don't feel your children have to be brought
up on a regimen of the literary luminaries found on their teachers'
recommended reading lists. Everyone needs a little play time ...
for the body and for the mind. And once your children get hooked
on reading, even a teacher's recommended reading list won't diminish
their new-found passion.
Encourage your young readers to read for fun. The more they read,
the more proficient they become at it, and the more they retain.
Without even realizing it, they'll absorb more of what they read for
school simply because they'll be better readers. A goal all parents
share.
____________________________________________________________________
The Interface
Windows.
Read More's screen has three types of windows: a Working Window, a
Viewing Window, and an Options Window. If you are using a color
monitor the Viewing Window is always green, the Working Window red
and the Options Window blue.
You choose processes (such as printing a list of titles) in the
Options Window. You respond to Read More's queries in the Working
Window, and you find your book title records in the Viewing Window.
When you use the Help EPO, <?>, Read More tells you if you're in
the Working Window or in the Options Window so you'll know which
EPO's are accessible to you at that moment.
----------------------------
Extended processing options.
Several processing tasks, called extended processing options or
EPO's, are not listed in the Options Windows because they are
functions that only occasionally need to be performed. EPO's are
used to "extend" a program's power and functionality.
To find out what EPO commands are employed by Read More/sa, enter
<?> (the question mark) in the Options Window. The EPO's of Read
More are defined near the end of this document.
----------------------------
Quickeys.
The Quickeys for Read More are the names of the young readers who
will be using the program. Up to six are allowed and the maximum
length of a name is twelve characters.
Associated with each reader's name is a code called a Drop Factor.
It tells Read More if it should display the entire file, or just a
portion of it. This allows the more advanced readers to skip the
book titles whose age group categories are inappropriate to their
reading level. The next section explains how to set the Drop
Factor.
____________________________________________________________________
Getting Started
Creating the Quickey name list.
When you start Read More the very first time, it will know that
there are no reader names in its Quickey list. Before you can
continue, Read More will ask you if you want to create the Quickey
list. Press <Y> or <enter>. When you finish creating your Quickey
list, press <esc>.
Logging on.
Read More will then display the following prompt in the Working
Window:
____________________________________________
| |
| |
| Enter your Reader Quickey: _ |
| |
|____________________________________________|
The Reader Quickeys and their respective names will be displayed in
the Reader ID Box on the lower right side of your screen.
Once you have identified yourself to Read More, called logging on,
it will set up the files it needs as they pertain to the identified
reader. This is important to understand. As an example, suppose
Quickey 1 is for Bob (who is 5 years old) and 2 is for Paula (who
happens to be 14). If Paula logs on, only her records will be
accessible. Bob will have to wait his turn to peruse the book title
file or update his records.
So when can Bob log on? When the cursor is in the Options Window
for Paula, press <esc>. Read More will ask for the next reader's
Quickey. Enter <1>, and Read More will create the necessary arrays
specifically for Bob.
To exit the Read More program, press <esc> when the cursor is in
the Options Window and once again when the cursor is at the "Enter
your Reader Quickey" line.
How can you tell who's currently logged on? In the Reader ID box
on the lower right side of your screen, Read More identifies the
reader who is using the program. It will also display the Drop
Factor, if that user has specified one.
Okay, you've logged on and you're in the Options Window. What now?
Install color mode.
The very first thing you'll want to do is enter the pound sign, <#>,
in the Options Window if you have a color monitor. That installs
the color mode. If one of the readers in your realm prefers to work
in black and white, entering the <#> EPO again will restore the b/w
mode.
Why Read More?
The driving force behind the development of Read More was the
desire to encourage young readers to read more. Hence the positive
refinforcement in the form of smiley faces displayed next to the
titles of those works you and your children have read. A secondary
goal was to entice the children at the very earliest ages. To this
end, Read More has been made as easy to use as possible.
There are basically three functions in Read More. The first is to
select and print those titles you and your children would like to
look for in your favorite libraries or bookstores. The second is
to check off those books you've read so that Read More can keep
track of your children's accomplishments. The third function lets
your children view their accomplishments.
Option # 1, printing title selections.
Press <1> in the Options Window. Read More will display those
titles that fall in the range defined by your Drop Factor, if you
have specified one. Use the directional keys, <pageup>, <pagedown>,
<home>, and <end> to peruse your Book Title file. When you find a
title that looks interesting, enter its record number and Read More
will highlight that entry. Choose as many titles as you want. If
you inadvertently highlight the wrong title, enter its number again
and Read More will turn off the highlight. After you've chosen
those you want to look for (at your library or bookstore), press
<enter> or <esc>. Read More will display the following prompt in
the Working Window:
____________________________________________
| |
| Press <enter> to confirm your print. |
| Press <esc> to abort the print function. |
| Press <backspace> to recheck selections. |
|____________________________________________|
Press <enter> to print your listing, <esc> to return to the Options
Window without printing the selected titles, or <backspace> to
change the selections you made.
Option # 2, checking off the titles you've read.
Once a reader has finished a book, press <2> in the Options Window.
Using the same technique as described above for printing your
selections, highlight the titles of those works you've read. Press
<enter> or <esc> to end the selection process.
Read More will display a prompt in the Working Window that is
similar to the one shown above. Press <enter> to confirm your
selections to update the file (that is, to "check off" those titles
that have been read), <esc> to return to the Options Window without
updating the Book Title file, or <backspace> to change any of your
check off selections.
Note: The smiley face will not appear next
to the titles until after you have left the
Check Off function.
Option # 3, viewing all of the records in the Book Title file.
Press <3> in the Options Window. Every title is displayed. You
can highlight titles by entering their record numbers if you want
to focus on them.
This function is handy for advanced readers who might want to take
a quick look at the dropped categories to look over their prior
accomplishments. It's also useful if you feel your child is too
young to use options 1 or 2 since the printer could accidentally
be requested or the Book File altered by an inadvertent keypress.
Letting a child view its own records in option 3, however, is
perfectly safe. Just restrict them to the directional keys, <home>,
<end>, <pageup>, and <pagedown>.
To return to the Options Window, press <esc> or <enter>.
-------------------------
Setting the Drop Factor.
Drop Factors can be set for each reader. A Drop Factor tells Read
More that it should ignore the specified and all preceding levels
in the Book Title file when setting up the program's arrays for the
logged on user.
After Read More is started the first time, the identified readers
are each given a null Drop Factor. That tells Read More to display
the entire file to each reader listed in the Quickey name file.
If a reader is beyond the A and B categories of book titles, he can
instruct Read More not to display them when he is using the program.
To adjust the Drop Factor, press <-> (the minus sign) in the Options
Window. It's one of Read More's EPO's. Read More will tell you
the current Drop Factor for that reader if he has one and ask for
the new Drop factor.
Refer to the age groups below. There are seven:
Age Group Category
0 - 2 A
3 - 4 B
5 - 6 C
7 - 9 D
10 - 12 E
13 - 15 F
16 - 18 G
If a reader's age group category is C, entering a Drop Factor of B
tells Read More to ignore all of groups A and B. You can only
enter Drop Factors of A through F. A thirteen-year-old reader
would be in category F. By specifying a Drop Factor of E, he can
instruct Read More not to show him the first five categories of
titles. By doing so, he doesn't have to wade through all of the
works that are not of interest to him or are inappropriate for his
age.
To delete an old Drop Factor without entering a new one, press
<enter>. This is equivalent to the null Drop Factor that is
associated with a Reader's name when Read More is first started.
All book titles will then be shown.
Returning to our earlier example, Paula, who is fourteen, would be
in the "F" group and would enter a Drop Factor of "E". Bob, who is
five years old, would be in the "C" group and would enter a Drop
Factor of "B".
Remember, Read More already knows who is currently using the
program when you invoke the Drop Factor function, so the Drop
Factor can only pertain to the user who is currently logged on.
So, if Paula is using the program, Bob can't set his Drop Factor,
and vice versa.
____________________________________________________________________
Program Information
____________________________________________________________________
Parents of young readers frequently find it difficult to come up
with new books and authors for their children. Read More attempts
to alleviate that problem by offering a large list of titles and
authors from which you and your children can choose right in the
comfort of your own home. (You won't have to go to your local
library and roam the stacks anymore.)
Read More lets you highlight the books you've chosen to look for
at your library or bookstore and to print the selections you've made
in checklist form. Take that form to your library or bookstore when
you and yours visit the library so you don't forget what you're
looking for.
Once you and your children have read a book, you can check off that
title in Read More, and Read More will display the title with a
smiley face next to it. Young readers can keep track of the books
they read this way and actually feel a sense of accomplishment as
they watch the smiley faces add up.
-------------------------
The Options Window.
______________________________________
| |
| 1 Print selections |
| 2 Check off titles Choice: _ |
| 3 View all titles |
|______________________________________|
You have two EPO's available from the Options Window and two from
the Working Window. Refer to the section entitled "Extended
Processing Options" at the end of this document.
____________________________________________________________________
Option # 1, printing a list of book selections.
Young readers are given a chance to browse through the Book Title
file and highlight those titles they would like to look for at
their library or bookstore.
When they leave the Print Selections function, Read More asks if
they would like to print a checklist of the book titles they have
highlighted. They can then take this checklist to their library or
bookstore to help them find their selected titles.
Select titles.
To highlight a particular title simply enter its record number
(shown on the left side of the Viewing Window) when Read More asks:
"What is the record number of the book you wish to print?". (Don't
forget to press <enter> after you've typed in the record number.)
If you hightlight the wrong title, reenter the record number to turn
off the highlight.
Confirm print.
To end the Print Selections function, press <esc> (or you can press
<enter> without keying in a record number). Read More will then
display the following confirmation prompt in the Working Window:
____________________________________________
| |
| Press <enter> to confirm your print. |
| Press <esc> to abort the print function. |
| Press <backspace> to recheck selections. |
|____________________________________________|
To print your highlighted selections, turn on your printer and press
<enter>.
If you decide you don't want to print out your highlighted
selections after all, simply press <esc> to return to the Options
Window.
Should you decide to delete one of your selections or add another,
press the backspace key, and Read More will allow you to make the
necessary changes.
____________________________________________________________________
Option # 2, checking off the books read.
Select titles.
Highlight those titles you (or your young readers) have read by
entering the record numbers of the works you've finished. Press
<enter> without entering a record number when you've finished.
If an incorrect title is highlighted, the highlight can be turned
off by reentering the record number, as in the preceding option.
Confirm checkoff.
Press <esc> (or <enter> without entering a record number) to advance
to the next phase of the Check Off function. Read More will display
the following prompt in the Working Window:
___________________________________________
| |
| Press <enter> to confirm your updates. |
| Press <esc> to abort the update. |
| Press <backspace> to recheck selections. |
|___________________________________________|
If you don't need to change any of the titles you've highlighted,
press <enter>. Read More will update them accordingly.
If you want to exit the Check Off function without making any
updates whatsoever, press <esc> to return to the Options Window.
Finally, if you find you've highlighted the wrong title or left
one unhighlighted, press the backspace key and Read More will let
you correct the problem. Then press <esc> (or <enter> without
keying in a record number) to return to the confirmation box
described above.
Smiley faces will be displayed next to the appropriate titles after
the file has been updated, which is when the reader exits this
function. To see the smiley faces, then, bring up any of the
functions in the Options Window after you have left the Check Off
function. (Option # 3, View All, is safest for young readers.)
Erasing a smiley face.
On occasion, an enthusiastic young reader might put smiley faces
on a great many more books than he or she has actually read. If a
smiley face appears next to the title of a work that the current
reader hasn't read, it can be removed by highlighting that title
before he or she leaves the Check Off function. When Read More
updates its records, it will see that the book had been highlighted,
and since the work already has a smiley face next to it, Read More
will assume it is to remove the smiley face this time.
____________________________________________________________________
Option # 3, viewing all the titles in the Read More file.
This option allows any reader, regardless of Drop Factor, to peruse
the entire Read More file. To return to the Options Window, press
<esc>. You can highlight titles by entering their record numbers if
you want to focus on them.
This function is handy for advanced readers who might want to take
a quick look at the dropped categories to look over their prior
accomplishments. This is also the safest function for very young
fingers since no printer can be called up or the Book Title file
altered should nimble, inquisitive fingers stray beyond the
directional keys.
To return to the Options Window, press <esc> or <enter>.
____________________________________________________________________
Extended Processing Options
EPO Definition
<\> Change the Reader Quickey names for Read More. Do not
enter this EPO in the Options Window, but rather, in the
Working Window when you log on (i.e., when Read More is
asking "Please enter your Reader Quickey ==>". Once
logged on, you (as the reader) are put in sole control of
your portion of the Read More files.
You can tell when someone is logged on in two ways: the
Options Window's commands will be displayed and the Reader
ID Box will contain the name of the current user. In
between logon sessions, when you can enter the <\> EPO,
the Options Window is empty.
Reader names can be twelve letters long.
<-> Set Drop Factor. Enter this EPO (the minus sign) in the
Options Window.
In the Working Window, Read More will display the
following information:
______________________________________
| |
| You currently have no Drop Factor. |
| Drop Factors range from A to F. |
| Indicate new Drop Factor: _ |
|______________________________________|
Refer to the age group listing below. To determine your
Drop Factor, find your age group. Then note the category
associated with your age group. Your Drop Factor is the
category immediately above yours. For example, if you are
twelve years old, you would be in the 10 - 12 age group
and your category would be "E". Your Drop Factor would be
"D". [Note: You can set the Drop Factor to whatever you
wish. You are not required to observe the guidelines
listed here.]
Age Group Category
0 - 2 A
3 - 4 B
5 - 6 C
7 - 9 D
10 - 12 E
13 - 15 F
16 + up G
<=> Display the abbreviations used in the book title file.
The titles used on children's books tend to get a trifle
long, especially those works with a popular heroine or
hero. Titles can sometimes get longer than the eighty
characters to which most computer screens are limited!
Only six popular names have been abbreviated to date.
They are:
BT Bobbsey Twins
EB Encyclopedia Brown
HB Hardy Boys
HH Happy Hollisters
ND Nancy Drew
TB Trixie Belden
Press any key to return to the Options Window after
you've finished the abbreviations.
<!> Reset a reader's array. This EPO is accessible from
the Working Window (when no readers are logged on).
It is used to erase the smiley faces from all of the
titles a reader has marked as read. You can erase
the smiley faces one by one using option # 2 in the
Options Window, but if there are a lot of them, that
method takes considerable time.
The <!> EPO is handy when there is a change of readers
for a given Quickey. The first reader may have read
dozens of the works. Enter <!> in the Working Window
and give Read More the Quickey of the reader whose
titles you want to clear. Read More will ask for
confirmation.
<$> Print an order form for the registered version of the
Read More/sa program. This EPO is only available from
the Working Window.
<?> Display EPO's for the Read More program. May be entered
in either the Working or the Options Window.
____________________________________________________________________
About the Book Title file.
Every effort has been made to compile a useful listing of titles
for readers of all ages. However, the author can in no way assume
liability should you be unable to procure or borrow any of the
listed works.
Some of the titles might be out of print, but they should be
available from most libraries. If you can't find a listed book, ask
your librarians for help. They might know of inter-library loan
programs that you could use to acquire it.
Many of the books for very young readers can also be purchased from
stores that sell such works. They don't have to be bookstores.
Ofttimes department stores and even large grocery stores will sell
a wide variety of books for children who are so young they would
rather devour them literally than literarily.
Typographical errors are sure to creep in, as well, although the
titles and authors' names have been double and triple checked.
Age group classifications are highly subjective. What one person
reads at age nineteen, another might read at age fourteen. Please
understand that the classifications are estimates only and are
intended to simplify the use of Read More. They are not an
indication of the reading ability of the reader.
After a time, you will find that your very young children will want
to reread books that you used to read to them ... only now, they'll
want to read to you. Encourage this behavior. Repetition is the
best way to learn at that early age.
Ask your kids to read to you once in a while. Even if they can't
read the words, they'll be able to "read" the pictures. You'll be
surprised by how much they retain. Don't forget to remind them on
occasion that as soon as they can read the words, they'll have an
even better idea of what the pictures mean since the words help
to explain the pictures.
And finally, remember that Read More is just the beginning. There
are millions of works out there for everyone, covering every subject
and fulfilling every need. Use Read More as a launching pad. If
you find an author whose works you like, try to find more of that
person's work in your local libraries.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Is our file missing some of your old favorites? We've tried to
include a wide variety of books, but we're sure to have missed
a good many of your favorite titles and authors. If you'd like
to send us a list of your favorites, please include their titles,
authors, and the approximate age groups of the intended readers.
We'll try to include them in our next release of Read More.
Thank you!
Mail your list to:
My Little Realm Enterprises
The Read More Program
22 Church Street #103, Suite 376
Ramsey, New Jersey 07446
____________________________________________________________________
+ + The End + +
____________________________________________________________________
(c) Copyright 1992 John L. Salisbury
