Amanda Wood: The Ology Book Series Captures Kids’ Imaginations

Pick up a book in the Ology series and the first thing you might notice is what it feels like - the embossed foil lettering, the embedded jewels, the thick pages filled with tabs and flaps.  That rich tactile stimulation isn't lost on a child.

"Children reinforce their learning through using all of their senses.  It's not just looking at the pictures or reading the text," says Amanda Wood, Managing Director and Creative Director of Templar, publisher of the Ology series.  "It's feeling the jewels on the cover, feeling the texture of the dragon's scales, lifting the flap to find something hidden, opening the envelope to see what surprises are inside." 

The idea for the Ology series came from the Templar staff's observations of their own children, as they became too old for pop-up and picture books but not yet mature enough for text-only novels with smaller type.  The Ology books are built around rich, imaginative conceits that draw kids in - Spyology is Spencer Blake's 1950s complete book of spycraft, while Dragonology is Dr. Ernest Drake's personal dragon journal, supposedly penned in Victorian times. 

The books are also perfect for the new generation of web-savvy kids, who are used to hopping in and out of stories and interacting with content.   The freeform narrative allows a child to open the book onto any page and still be able to enjoy the text.  And the physical interactivity can help children engage with the text and absorb what they're learning.

Still, Amanda never imagined the book would find such a stronghold with teachers.  After a lecture Amanda once gave, she recalls one teary-eyed teacher thanking her for helping to inspire one formerly-disengaged young man to pick up reading.  "So often the books that are given to help children who have difficulty reading look like books for remedial readers, so they don't want to be associated with that," Amanda explains.

Dragonology, the original Ology book, was first published in 2003.  Since then, the series has sold over 18 million copies worldwide.  And they're now entertaining children all over the world, with foreign language and English titles available in 33 different editions. 

In November 2009, Templar will be hosting a hunt for the Ultimate Ologist, a quiz final for entrants between the ages of 6 and 16, being held at a special Ology Day in London.   And in the fall, Templar will publish Oceanology, the true story of the voyage of the Nautilus.

The series has a robust following on the web thanks to Ology World, a Web site with quizzes, extra downloadable materials and mini-movies.  Dragonology will also be released as a Nintendo DS game.  But don't expect the Ology series to migrate completely into the digital world.

"What is it that makes a book different?  The one thing that you could not replicate with other media is the physicality of the book," says Amanda.  "Children love treasure.  They love that sense of something precious."