Television can inform, teach, and entertain our children. Unfortunately, it can also prevent them from playing outside, using their imagination, learning to read, and developing social skills. The following children's books poke fun at our cultural obsession with TV and celebrate the wonderful things that can happen when we turn it off.

Mouse TV, story and illustrations by Matt Novak. The mouse family can never agree about what to watch on TV. They argue about different shows and wake the baby up during commercials. One night when the television doesn't work, the mouse family decides to spend their time actually doing the things they usually watch. They explore, play games, sing songs, perform experiments, make scary faces, and finally listen to Dad read a story. At the end of the evening they agree that this is much better than television. This story shows young children that participating in life can be more fun than watching it on TV. Ages three to six. (Orchard Books, 1994)

When the TV Broke, story by Harriet Ziefert, illustrations by Mavis Smith. Jeffrey watches TV every day of the week. On Saturday, the TV breaks and he is at a loss as to what to do. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Jeffrey just sits around asking his mother whether the TV is fixed yet. Finally, on Thursday, he helps his mother bake cookies. On Friday, after reading a book, he finds some boxes and begins to create an imaginary city. When the TV returns, Jeffery is having so much fun imagining, he is too busy to watch it. This "easy-to-read" book may inspire children to get "busy" themselves. Ages four to eight. (Penguin Books, 1989)

The Wretched Stone, story and illustrations by Chris Van Allsburg. Written as a captain's log, this book describes an ocean voyage. For the first month, the captain is pleased with the talented crew, who spend their spare time reading, dancing, telling stores, and playing music. Everything changes when, on an uncharted island, they find an interesting stone with a smooth glass portion that emits a glowing light. The crew takes the stone onboard and becomes so fascinated by it that they stop working, finally locking themselves in the hold, staring at the stone. When the captain breaks in, he is horrified to see that the crew has turned into apes. Soon after, a storm destroys the boat and blackens the glowing rock. Slowly, as the captain reads to the crew, they begin to turn back into humans-but with a taste for bananas. Children can discover what the "stone" really is. Ages six to nine. (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1991)

The Problem with Pulcifer, story by Florence Parry Heide, illustrations by Judy Glasser. In this humorous book, Pulcifer is a boy who prefers to read despite living in a TV-obsessed world. His fondness for reading frustrates everyone around him. At school, his teacher shows the class television programs and is disappointed that Pulcifer makes no TV-watching progress. His parents are worried about him. They set a good example by always watching television and owning the nicest TVs. Even a psychiatrist can't convert Pul-cifer to television. Finally everyone is forced to accept that Pulcifer is just different and love him anyway. The amusing story can lead to discussions about what it would be like to live in Pulcifer's world. Ages seven to ten. (Harper-Collins, 1982)

Library Lil, story by Suzanne Wil-liams, illustrations by Steven Kellogg. In this tall tale, a fantastically strong librarian named Lil works in a town with no readers. When the television lines go down one stormy night, she pushes a bookmobile from house to house and converts all of the TV addicts into avid readers. In her new book-loving town, Library Lil stays busy reading and loaning out books until Bust-'em-up Bill and his motorcycle gang arrive. When they can't watch wrestling on television, they decide to confront Lil. Using her strength, she converts even them, and soon she has a new assistant, Bookworm Bill. Written by a librarian, this heroic tale celebrates libraries, books, and readers. Ages four to eight. (Dial Books for Young Readers, 1997)

Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair, story and illustrations by Patricia Polacco. All the citizens of Triple Creek love their TV sets (some even keep photos of them on their mantels). All, that is, except Aunt Chip, the town's old librarian, who took to her bed over 50 years ago when the TV tower was built, warning everyone that "there will be consequences." When Aunt Chip realizes her nephew Eli doesn't know how to read and that books are being used by the townspeople as chairs, as tables, and even to build the Triple Creek Dam, she teaches Eli and his classmates to read. The consequences finally do occur when the children accidentally destroy the dam, unleashing a flood that knocks down the TV tower and sprays the books up into the clouds. The townspeople are angry with the children for destroying the TV tower until the books "rain" down upon them. This "miracle" inspires the townspeople to re-learn how to read, rebuild the library, and rehire Aunt Chip as the town librarian. The book concludes with a note warning that every time a library is closed, "there will be consequences." Ages four to eight. (Philomel Books, 1996)

Fix-It, story and illustrations by David McPhail. One morning, Emma wakes up early to watch television, only to find that it doesn't work. While the fix-it man works on the TV, Emma's parents try to entertain her by blowing up balloons, singing, and playing horse. When they read her a book, she wants it read again. Afterwards, she goes to her room to read it to her doll. Even when the television is fixed, Emma is too busy reading her book to watch it. This is a board book that very young children could read to their dolls if they ever wake up to no television. Ages two to five. (Dutton Children's Books, 1984)

The Best Way to Play, story by Bill Cosby, illustrations by Varnette P. Honeywood. Little Bill and his friend Andrew love to watch Space Explorers with Space Captain Zeke. When the show is not on, they join their friends in the yard and pretend to be space explorers. One day, while watching the show, they see an advertisement for the new Space Explorers' video game. When one child convinces his parents to buy it for him, Little Bill and his friends go over to that kid's house. They spend the afternoon playing the video game but soon get bored, realizing that is more fun to pretend to be space explorers with each other than to sit around playing a video game. This book doesn't criticize TV, but shows how it can be a springboard for more creative play. Ages four to eight. (Scholastic, Inc., 1997)

More ideas

An Illinois organization, the Winnet-ka Alliance for Early Childhood, suggests the following books for TV-Turnoff Week (see p. 8-9).

For preschool and beginning readers:

• Berenstain Bears: Too Much TV, by Stan and Jan Berenstain

For grades 2-3:

• The Magic Box, by Barbara Brenner
• The Day Our TV Broke Down, by Betty Ren Wright
• The Boy with Square Eyes-A Tale of Televisionitis, by Juliet and Charles Snape

For grades 3-5:

• The Week Mom Unplugged the TVs, by Terry Wolfe Phelan
• The Boy Who Turned into a TV Set, by Stephan Manes