Interactive Stories

What would you think if you were reading a wonderful story when--all of a sudden--the page turned blank and the main character turned to you and asked, “So now what should I do?” Interactive stories provide unique opportunities for the reader to decide what should happen next, or even dream up the next segment of the story. Step into the world of interactive fiction and show off your brains and imagination through these direct links at the Launch Point site: https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint.

Level 1

TheCase.com For Kids! Who is the Sneaky Sneaker thief that stole Mr. Reed’s silver dollar collection? Put your investigative abilities to work as you solve cases, write mystery stories and learn to perform magic tricks.

https://www.TheCase.com/kids/

Daisy and the Intergalactic Traveling Salesman: If a salesman from the planet Pinkerello shows up at your door and asks you to join him as he sells and collects inventions from different planets, what would you do? Decide where Daisy will go in this site created by elementary school children from all over the world.

https://kotn.ntu.ac.uk/daisy/

Wacky Web Tales: Whether “It’s Things That Make Me Go Bonkers” or “The Great Dough Disaster,” see what kind of crazy stories are created when you suggest specific parts of speech without knowing about the plot. You can also submit your own wacky tale to add to the story collection.

https://www.eduplace.com/tales/moretales2.html

Level 2

Ace on the Case: Secrets @Sea: Learn about whales and the ocean as you embark on this interactive mystery.

https://www.secretsatsea.org/

Art Journey: Learn about art throughout history as you take a journey and talk with artists ranging from a prehistoric man to such well-known painters as Georgia O’Keefe and Salvador Dali.

https://library.thinkquest.org/3059/

Escape Your Disaster: Adventure Island: Imagine you’re boating with your family and there is a terrible storm. A wave tosses you overboard. What do you do next? This interactive story puts you in the center of the story as you figure out your own rescue.

https://www.planetzoom.com/eyd/eyd.htm

Level 3

Clicking Anastasia: An Internet Adventure: Learn about Russian history and try to discover what happened to the Romanov fortune.

https://www.lostsecrets.com/

Access Excellence Mystery Spot: Can you help a mother find out why her baby became ill? Or why the frogs are dying at Slow Water Park? Choose from an assortment of illustrated interactive stories and see if you can solve biological mysteries.

https://www.gene.com/ae/tbs/

The Never-Ending Tale: What is the magic of Moodara? And what happens when a sea serpent grants you three wishes? Explore this collection of interactive stories and add your thoughts to the plot.

https://www.coder.com/creations/tale/

EXPLORER’S QUEST

The answer to this Internet quiz can be found in the sites at right.

What did the Pinkerellians think was the best invention in the universe?

CLUE: See Daisy and the Intergalactic Travelling Salesman

Find What You Need to Know: Have a project on California history? Need help doing a math problem? Launch Point now covers more than 100 topics for getting your schoolwork done. Go to https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint/ for the full list of subjects and direct links to the best Internet sites.

Answer to last week’s Quest: Julius Caesar ordered the posting of the first newspaper, called the Acta Diurna, in ancient Rome in 59 B.C.

Launch Point is produced by the UC Irvine department of education, which reviews each site for appropriateness and quality. Even so, parents should supervise their children’s use of the Internet. This column was designed by Kymberly LeMon, Jeanne Lu, Christopher Brude and Anna Manring.