* * * My Little Realm, v2.0 * * * - Read More - ____________________________________________________________________ General Information ____________________________________________________________________ Important Read More is protected by copyright. It is not freeware, and it is not in the public domain. This is the Shareware version of Read More. It is a full-featured, fully functional program that comes with 105 book titles. You are legally permitted to evaluate Read More for thirty days without obligation to buy it to determine whether it is useful to you and compatible with your computer system. If you wish to continue using Read More, you are required to buy the registered version. To purchase Read More, print the order form REGISTER.TXT and mail it in along with your payment. The Registered version of Read More comes with more than 2,500 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 300 KB of disk space and 512 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 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, 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 or . When you finish creating your Quickey list, press . 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 . 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 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, , , , and 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 or . Read More will display the following prompt in the Working Window: ____________________________________________ | | | Press to confirm your print. | | Press to abort the print function. | | Press to recheck selections. | |____________________________________________| Press to print your listing, to return to the Options Window without printing the selected titles, or 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 or to end the selection process. Read More will display a prompt in the Working Window that is similar to the one shown above. Press to confirm your selections to update the file (that is, to "check off" those titles that have been read), to return to the Options Window without updating the Book Title file, or 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, , , , and . To return to the Options Window, press or . ------------------------- 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 . 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 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 (or you can press without keying in a record number). Read More will then display the following confirmation prompt in the Working Window: ____________________________________________ | | | Press to confirm your print. | | Press to abort the print function. | | Press to recheck selections. | |____________________________________________| To print your highlighted selections, turn on your printer and press . If you decide you don't want to print out your highlighted selections after all, simply press 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 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 (or 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 to confirm your updates. | | Press to abort the update. | | Press to recheck selections. | |___________________________________________| If you don't need to change any of the titles you've highlighted, press . Read More will update them accordingly. If you want to exit the Check Off function without making any updates whatsoever, press 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 (or 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 . 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 or . ____________________________________________________________________ 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 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. Note: If you want to keep track of all of the books you borrow from your public library, check out My Little Realm's Public Library program. It helps you remember what you have on loan, and it keeps a historical file of everything you ever borrow that you can easily search, sort and print. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Is our Book Title 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