Parents are busy. Most have jobs, chores around the house, errands, and some have fussy toddlers. On occasion, like many parents, Woody Sears  and  Graham Farrar  have surrendered their mobile phones to distract their toddlers. It wasn't just the buttons and beeps on those devices that attracted their kids -- it also was the music and video clips that turned the phones into instant toys.

"But we always felt guilty about doing that," Sears, a 31-year-old father of two who lives in Westchester, Calif., told Alex Pham of the Los Angeles Times.

So Sears and Farrar came up with  iStoryTime, a platform for creating children's books for the iPhone or iPod Touch, for those in northwest Kansas, where the device can entertain their kids during shopping trips, airplane hops or long car rides to grandmother's house for a holiday weekend.

They recruited  someone to help them develop the software and pooled $10,000 from their savings. It took the three partners four months, working in their spare time, to start their business from scratch in January to launching their first app four months ago, a 99-cent book called "Binky the Pink Elephant."

Readers can choose either an adult or child narrator, whose voices professionally were recorded for each book. So far, "Binky" has sold more than 2,000 copies and ranks in the top 30 books sold on Apple's iTunes app store.

The self-funded startup, FrogDogMedia, now has six titles. Four are in the top 100 book apps. And with another 40 books waiting in the wings, the Santa Barbara publisher is on track to add a title a week, Sears said.

But the best part about iStoryTime? "Our kids love the books," Sears said. "It's really exciting when we can show them the books. That's the best reward."

If you do not own an iPhone, the Hays Public Library still has story hours in the children's department each week, or you can always check out a book and read to your toddler.

For additional information on library activities this week, go to www.hayspublib.org

Second Sunday

film series

Today at 1:30 p.m. in the Library Gallery, we will show Wall-E. The Heartland Social Justice Commission sponsors the movie. Refreshments will be available. Discussion will follow.  All are welcome

Friends of the Hays Public

Library

Books, Etc, the bookstore of the Friends of the Hay Public Library, is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Monday and Tuesday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Members of the Friends receive a 10-percent discount on all book purchases from the store.

Children's department

Story hours

Fall story hours begin Monday and continue until Dec, 10. Parents can enroll their children in one of the following sessions by calling the library at (785) 625-5916. The schedule is as follows:

Story hours will be in the Children's Department through July 30.

* 3- to 6-year-olds: 10 to 10:30 a.m. Mondays and Thursdays; 7 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays.

* 2-year-olds: 10:45 to 11:05 a.m. Mondays and Tuesdays; 7 to 7:20 p.m. Tuesdays.

* Toddlers -- under the age of 2: 10:45 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays.

* All ages -- 4 to 4:30 p.m. Mondays; 2 to 2:30 p.m. Thursdays.

READ Hays (reading

tutoring program)

If your student needs help with reading, call the children's department, (785) 625-5916, for a day and time for tutoring.

Book in a bag

The Hays Public Library and the K-State Research and Extension Family Nutrition Program sponsor the Book In A Bag program. Children enjoy a special book and a nutritious activity and snack.

Tuesday at 4 p.m.: "Build A Burrito."

Get stuck on leadership

See if your leadership skills are made to "stick" during this special series for fourth- and fifth-graders on Wednesday and Thursday. Snacks, duct tape team building, cool duct tape creations and more. Brought to you in part by Ellis County 4-H.

Special moments through the ages

Join us at 10 a.m. Friday. Foster Grandparents will share stories, crafts and snacks with preschool children using the circus as the theme. Must register to attend, with a limit of 20 participants.

Chess lesons

At 4 p.m. Fridays, Randy Brull is the instructor. Register to attend.

Adult department

Feed and Film

The films begin at 12:05, Wednesdays in the library's main floor gallery. They last about an hour. Bring your lunch and a cup -- coffee is provided. This week, join us for "Sitcoms."

Gallery exhibit

The Kansas Interpretive Traveling Exhibit Services "What My Mother Did, I Did Too: Kansas Quilt Traditions" in framed photographs is on display through Oct. 31.

On Thursday, join the Big Creek Quilt Guild for a demonstration on using crayons on fabrics at 7 p.m. in the library gallery.

YA department

Weekly programs

Mondays: STAGE Drama Club, board games and snacks.

Tuesday: Video games on Wii and PS2.

Waverying Wednesdays: Something different each week.

Make-and-Take Thursdays: Crafts and more.

Fridays: Movies and snacks.

Kansas Room

A book display this month will feature ghost stories. There also will be a displays on Kansas' ghosts and UFOs in Kansas.

Norleen Knoll is the children's department librarian at the Hays Public Library.