A new wave of kid-geared interactive storytelling avenues is coming to tablet computers. “The Winston Show,” from a company called ToyTalk, is a good example. “The Winston Show,” now in its second season, interacts directly with the child watching: Characters ask viewers questions, and how the viewer responds can impact the show’s direction. Parents receive emails with taglines such as, “Your kid said something awesome,” and it includes the digital sound file of what the child said.

“The Winston Show” is not alone. The Cartoon Network is planning to launch a micro-network, designed to be watched on smartphones. DreamWorks hopes to launch its own tablet for kids.

“We’re not just figuring out what to program onto these devices,” says Chris Waldron, Cartoon Network Digital’s vice president. “We’re figuring out the interface, how it should be construed, and it’s basically as if we’re going back in time and inventing the television set and inventing the cable network.” (New York Times)

Paul Asay has covered religion for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for Plugged In and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He lives in Colorado Springs with wife, Wendy, and his two children. Follow him on Twitter.