With its color screen and ability to run multiple=

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With its color screen and ability to run multiple applications, Apple’s iPad holds great promise for creating multimedia work that can redefine the nature of a book.

One new attempt to do so is “Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy,” an iPad version of the well-received children’s book that brings to it what the publisher, iStoryTime, says is a first: an iPad book complete with sign language for deaf children.

The $3 app offers three versions of this charmingly illustrated work: one that children can read themselves, one that would be read to them and one signed by a woman who stands off to the side of the screen, with the reduced-size book running next to her.