Remember those classic children’s books you read as a kid?  Would you like to read them again?  Or what if you got the chance to actually live them…?

Booksurfers is an exciting new series (and one of those ideas I’m kicking myself for not having thought of!) by top children’s author, David Gatward (nightmare giving writer of the terrifyingly brilliant The Dead, The Dark and The Damned).  Published exclusively as ebooks (you’ll see why in a moment), the adventures feature Jake, Ryan, Becca and Harriet in their quest to save their parents from the quite despicable Dr Crookshanks and his ‘Cruella De Ville’ style accomplice, Professor Kaufman.  In order to do so, however, they will have to use a fantastic device known as the Nautilus to plunge inside some of the world’s greatest books and steal an important item from the plot.  How important, you ask?  Well – in the first adventure, the Booksurfers have to somehow acquire the actual treasure map from Treasure Island!

All well and good, I hear you cry – but why publish the stories exclusively  as ebooks?  Because, dear reader (and this is the genius part), scattered throughout each of the Booksurfers’ adventures are hyperlinks that, one clicked, take you to the exact moment our heroes are experiencing in the original book!  Now, I’m as much a fan of the paperback as the next guy but – when this is what ebooks can do – this is why they’re soon to explode in popularity.  What better way to introduce a classic tale than to have the reader explore it as part of a parallel adventure?

What’s that you say?  Don’t have a Kindle or other compatible eReader? No problem.  Head on over to the Amazon website and download the kindle app for your computer, smartphone or tablet PC for free.  In fact – I’d recommend using one of these apps over an actual Kindle when enjoying Booksurfers as jumping between adventures is as simple as a click of the mouse or a tap of the finger.

With two titles available now – Treasure Island and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – and more promised soon, I urge you to give this amazing series a go especially as, with instant download of both the Kindle app and all Kindle books, you could be shaking hands with Jim Hawkins in a matter of minutes.

My only gripe – why can’t we get those awesome covers as desktop wallpapers?

Tommy

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