I've just finished working with Lisa DeSpain of ebookbookconverting.
com to convert The Monster on Top of the Bed, a picture book for children, to the new Kindle format that lets children read and listen to the book.
It took a lot of work, but parents can now give a gift of joy that will last for months, maybe even year.
Children love it because it is filled with features that they find fascinating to use when they read it on a phone or on a tablet like a Kindle or iPad.
It was a challenge creating a fixed-layout book, but finally it was converted into an electronic book that's filled with special features like (1) text magnification, which makes it easy to read even on a small device like a Droid or iPhone; (2) Text-to-speech which reads the story to the child if they are using one of the Kindle Fire devices; (3) Links to download the story read by narrators in English, Spanish and Italian-for free; (4) The ability for several children to read the story at the same time using different devices like a Kindle, phone, iPad; or laptop-at no extra charge.
(5) Discussion questions; and more.
In addition to being a great story, The Monster on Top of the Bed provides a mantra that children use to banish bedtime monsters.
("You're welcome to stay, until I say, 'Nay,' then it's time to go, and you can't say, 'No.
'" As Suzy (a little girl) and Karrit (a "monster" that lives under her bed) become best friends, the story children intuitively discover that the secret of creating an enduring friendship is to live out the values of The Golden Rule.
This special e-book can be read on a Kindle; an iPhone; most smartphones, including Droids; an iPad; a Microsoft Surface, and many other tablet PCs as well as a most laptops and desktop computers because you can download a free Kindle App.
Like the printed version of the book, The Monster on Top of the Bed features Italian ice-cream parlor delicious artwork by illustrator Manuela Pentangelo of Sardina, Italy.
Here are some of the challenges that needed to be addressed:

• The words did not scale properly with the device being used.
  Solution: Use layers.
  The artwork without words is the background.
  Words are overlaid so they resize.
  
• Fonts didn't look good on some devices.
  Solution: Code the book so that it always presents a serif font style, Times New Roman.
  
• The name "Karrit" was being pronounced "Car-it" not carrot when text to speech read the book.
  Solution: Use a dictionary's phonetic spelling in some places.
  
• The book didn't look right when read in portrait mode.
  Solution: Code the book so that it automatically displays in landscape mode.
  

These were the big four issues.
There were over a hundred little issues in converting this book to a Kindle book or a book for Apple Store.
But, it was worth it.
It's now a work of art and I watch the smiles spread as the children read (and maybe listen to) the story.
I also watch parents glow as they watch the kids read the book and see the children's excitement turn to joy as they grow more animated every time they read the story.