How To Use The Leaping Literacy Site

How do the books work?
Laurie Stor-E BooksTM!
You can open and read the PDF files on any computer.
When you are using the site, you click on a book title icon and the book will open.
You can read it online or easily save it to your computer to read anytime.
As with any PDF, they are read with an Adobe Acrobat Reader.
If you don't have one, it can be downloaded for free at:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
What if the book doesn't open?
You may need to go back to the site, re-click the icon and open it again.
What if I can't see the whole page on my screen?
You can adjust the viewing size of the book!
The Acrobat Reader will display the book with another screen on the left that lists the book pages. This window should be closed out by clicking on the X. That way, the book page(s) can fill up your screen. You can adjust the size of the book page by choosing the % in the tool bar. We suggest finding the size that best fits your screen; you can "turn the page" by clicking on the page numbers listed or you can just scroll down to read through the book.


Most of our books have an MP3 sound file that can be downloaded separately. Download times can vary due to file size and length of story or song. Once they are downloaded and saved on your computer, you can you access them repeatedly without having to be online. The sound files play independently of the book because they are separate files.
How can I play the sound with the book?
Whatever sound system you have, like Realplayer, it should automatically open the first time you click to open a sound file. You may need to open your sound player through your programs so that it stays open and ready to play. All systems work a bit differently but ideally, you want your system to remain open so that sound files can play independently of anything else that's happening on your computer.
Does the sound file match the text in the book?
We have just re-recorded many of the audio books to match the pdfs exactly. Because of Laurie's performance style and the grassroots evolution of this work over the years, different versions of a particular story have developed. We are now making sure that what is here are a 100% match visually and auditorially.

If you see this "To be recorded", the audio book is soon on its way!

There are hundreds of Laurie Story books set for illustration and new books will be added frequently for our Deluxe Members. Watch our Content Counter to know when new ones have been added.
Laurie Story Character Pages
How do the character pages work?
All of the hundreds of interactive character pages are like cyber work sheets that you access while on line; these are great for building computer literacy while having fun with grammar and spelling. You can set your browser or bookmark pages in your Favorites ahead of time if you want to plan ahead to use particular pages. Many of these character pages have places to type in answers and check them. These characters have a yes or a no page that appears when you submit your answers.
What about the answers?
All of the answers must be given in order or a no response comes up, it's just a downside to the program we use. We try to adjust for this and set up the question so that the answers will flow in the proper order. There are answer keys so that you can check for answers ahead of time or if you're having trouble with any.
What do these pages cover?
These pages are referenced from the Laurie Story Books and focus on word meanings, spelling, and grammar. Each character has a specialty like Silas the Silent Letter Lamb or LuLu Bell the Compound Cow. You can meet all of the characters and link to their "home page" to meet them; there is a downloadable coloring sheet for each of them. Your Acrobat Reader will allow you to view and print the coloring sheets. Following the list of characters, is a developing table of the words/lessons that each offers on the site. So, if you want to play with homophones and Delores the Hoarse Horse on a given day, you will be able to easily see what words/lessons she offers and where they are.
How does the sound work with these pages?

We have recently replaced all the character wav files with mp3 files that are higher quality as well as smaller so that they download faster. The characters all have sound files with their pages that play automatically. Additionally, you can start and stop their sound when you click on the HearMe button. Your sound system, like MediaPlayer, should play the file. Again, you may need to open your sound player so that it will be ready to play the sound without disrupting the viewing and interaction with the character page itself. On the pages where there is a yes or no page that appears when you check your answers, the sound will automatically play as the yes or no page opens. Obviously, if the sound is turned off on your computer for any reason, you will not be able to access our sound files!
Links
There are 14,000+ links on the site and we are continuing to test and retest them to insure accuracy. Please let us know if you find a mistake! Contact Us! If images are missing, you may need to simply click your refresh button to give your computer/server a chance to catch up with all of our graphics!

Let Us Hear From You!
Please Contact Us! with any questions, concerns, or comments. We want your Leaping Literacy Laurie Story experiences to be great. We will do whatever we can towards this aim. We thank you for joining us.

Leaping Literacy! Because learning is FUNdamental and literacy lasts a lifetime.