Contact: Doug Gleason, 972-618-3025, dlgleason1@verizon.net, Skype: grumpypoppa

DALLAS, Jan. 4, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- The recent holidays, and those yet to come, are times that bring families together from great distances away. But they're too brief and, often, a sense of void is felt when the family again disperses.

New software just created by a grandparent couple from Texas who travel extensively is specifically designed to help people stay close to the ones they love, no matter how far away they live. Produced to bridge the relational gap caused by business travel, military commitments, geographic distance, and complicated relationships -- situations affecting potentially 30 million people -- Storycorder (Storycorder.com) makes it possible to simply and inexpensively create a recording of a favorite storybook.

According to creators Doug and Sherry Gleason, Storycorder "makes it simple to record yourself reading any book out loud, burn that recording to a CD, and create a CD/book package to send to your loved one." They say the software can also be used in reverse, by children to record their voices to "warm the heart of their long-distance relatives."

Storycorder software is downloadable from Storycorder.com  to be placed onto a personal computer. It will soon be available for the Mac operating system.

Studies show reading aloud to children is one of the most important actions to build literary skills and to ensure proper childhood, educational, and relational growth. The American Academy of Pediatrics "strongly recommends reading to children" because "reading stimulates the development of the brain, language, and a closer emotional relationship with a child." And the National Center for Education Statistics reports that children who are read to become better readers and perform better in school than those who are not read to.

"Our over-riding goal in creating Storycorder was to make it as easy as possible for a person to record the reading of a book so the child can clearly follow along," says Doug Gleason. Storycorder allows the narrator to listen to each page as it's recorded and re-record it if necessary until the results are satisfactory. It also embeds a selected sound effect that signals the child to turn the page.

"Other read-record books might be available, but Storycorder is software you can use to record any book -- and any number of books," says Sherry Gleason. "It frees the parent and grandparent to send their little loved ones a reading from their favorite books, making it extremely personal."

System requirements:
Operating system: Windows XP (SP-2), Windows Vista (SP-1), .NET Framework 2.0 or greater
RAM: 1 GByte (free)
Hard Drive memory: 1 GByte (free)
R/RW CD drive
Windows compatible microphone

About Doug and Sherry Gleason:
Based in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, Doug is an independent electrical engineer, a position that requires the couple to travel the world, frequently separating them at great distance for long periods of time from their grandchildren. They created Storycorder (Storycorder.com) out of their own desire to remain emotionally close to their loved ones.