Sesame Workshop Plans Children's E-Books

Sesame Workshop on Tuesday is to launch a line of digital books for children 2 to 6 years old, in a bid to attract young readers and boost revenue. The move gives Sesame Workshop an opportunity to tap its library of nearly 5,000 titles as electronic books prove to be one of publishing's fastest-growing segments. The nonprofit organization, best known for its flagship preschool television series "Sesame Street," is expected to initially post five free e-books at sesamestreet.org/ebooks, where the works can be read digitally but not downloaded. The titles include Jon Stone's "The Monster at the End of This Book," first published in 1971 and the best-selling Sesame Street title to date. It will be offered in a digital edition along with optional audio-narration and word-highlighting features. The four others, including "Elmo's ABC Book," are available only in the standard e-book format. Each week a new free e-book will be featured as a replacement for one of the five existing titles.