February 1st, 2010 | posted by: Lynette

Celebrate the Chinese New Year!

Chinese New Year is celebrated in late January or February, usually on the second full moon after the winter solstice. This year, the Chinese New Year falls on February 14, 2010. The tradition has its roots in the story of the mythological beast Nien, which came on the first day of the New Year to devour crops, livestock and even villagers, especially children. One time, people noticed that the Nien was sacred away by a child wearing red. By this, they understood that the Nien was afraid of the color red. From then on, the people would hang red lanterns and scrolls in the streets and shoot off firecrackers to scare the Nien away. Eventually, the Nien was captured by a monk and became his mount.

Red lanterns help scare away the mythological beast Nien

New release from PicPocket Books, now available on iTunes

Round is A Mooncake, A Book of Shapes, by Roseanne Thong and illustrated by Grace Lin, is a delightful journey through the neighborhood of a young Chinese American girl. A mixture of traditional Chinese and universal objects define her environment.

What better way to welcome the New Year than by honoring the traditional while embracing the new? What traditional cultures and objects have a place in your life?

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January 23rd, 2010 | posted by: Lynette

Have you seen the list of 2010 Newbery Award Winners?

Where The Mountain Meets the Moon

Grace Lin (photo by Alexandre Ferron)

We’re thrilled that Grace Lin, the illustrator of PicPocket Books’ most recent release, “Round Is A Mooncake,” just won the 2010 Newbery Honor Award last week for her Young Adult novel “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.

Check out her beautiful work on her website.

Watch as author Grace Lin discusses her award winning book with a group of young readers in this video from The Today Show: Grace Lin on the Today Show

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January 21st, 2010 | posted by: Lynette

Are our kids spending too much time consuming digital media?

Are you concerned about kids spending too much time “plugged in” and not getting enough good old-fashioned unstructured, creative playtime? As a mom who works in the field of digital media for kids publishing children’s picture books to the iPhone and iPod touch, I have thought a lot about balance in my kids’ media diet. One of the reasons I developed PicPocket Books for the iPhone was to give parents and their kids an educational, kid friendly alternative to video games and movies on the mobile devices. Reading a story book on a screen is a very different experience from playing a repetitive video game on the same screen. It has the same educational, mind-opening benefits as reading a traditional print book: it increases vocabulary, improves concentration and focus, and expands horizons.

Creative play

Everyone loves a snow day!

Unstructured outdoor playtime

I also encourage year ’round outdoor play time for my kids.

They ride bikes, start pick-up soccer games, make forts in the neighborhood and engage in elaborate make-believe games with their neighborhood friends.

We do not allow them to watch TV or movies during the school week. That is just a hard and fast family rule and the kids don’t even ask for media time during the week – although election night is an exception – and maybe the upcoming winter Olympics, too!

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January 20th, 2010 | posted by: Lynette

Wordless Wednesday: What’s on your bookshelf?

Photo courtesy of my daughter, who filled up my camera chip with pictures of her bookshelf

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January 11th, 2010 | posted by: Lynette

Age Appropriate and Educational Screen Time for Kids

Some people complain that their kids already get lots of screen time. What is PicPocket Books’ stand on this issue?

Why do kids get a lot of screen time? Because they are really drawn to this kind of media. The technologies that are new to us are very intuitive to them and will be a significant part of their lives for years to come. I don’t see PicPocket Books as replacements for print books or the valuable time parents can spend reading to their children, but as educational and culturally valuable alternatives to video games or movies, especially for families on-the-go.

Many families are short on time and e-books can be read any time, any place. I believe that if reading picture books on the iPhone means that more families are reading together and more kids have more exposure to storybooks, then they are a great option for tech-savvy families of today.

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December 29th, 2009 | posted by: Lynette

Mobile devices vs. Personal Computers for educational programs

Just when we were used to educational programs on the PC, suddenly all the new educational programs for kids are going mobile. There are hundreds – no, thousands – of educational iPhone apps in the iTunes App Store. Are they any better or different from programs for the PC? Is the touch screen of an iPhone hard for kids to learn to use, in comparison to a keyboard and a mouse?

PicPocket Books always uses kids as testers for our new applications, and it is wonderful and amazing to see how intuitive the iPhone controls are even for children as young as 2 and 3 years old. Young kids are naturally curious and they don’t have the initial fear or hesitation towards a new technology device that some adults display.

The iTunes store offers a number of free apps, and free programs are available for PCs. Paid iPhone apps usually top out at $5, whereas you can easily pay close to $100 for an educational program for your PC (think Disney’s new digital library for $79, foreign language tutorials, etc.)

A strong appeal of the iPhone is that it is mobile, and perfect for entertaining kids when you are away from home and caught in an unexpected wait.

So yes, I think kids can use mobile devices like the iPhone for effective learning, and many of the available quality apps are perfect for taking advantage of times when you are caught in a wait. So pull out the iPhone to practice some math facts, foreign language vocabulary, or just to read a good picture book.

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December 8th, 2009 | posted by: Lynette

Are digitally enhanced ebooks books or games?

In his article “How the e-Grinch Stole the Book,” Jason Boog asks “When is an eBook not a book?”

grinch_small

"I Can Do It Too!" picture book for the iPhone

"I Can Do It Too!" picture book for the iPhone

Are digitally enhanced e-books books or games? It depends on the individual application and how faithful the app stays to the original work of the book. Some apps are games that are based on characters from a book, but have nothing to do with the original book or with reading. Reading a story book on a screen is a very different experience from playing a repetitive video game on the same screen. Reading an e-book has the same educational, mind-opening benefits as reading a traditional print book: it increases vocabulary, improves concentration and focus, and expands horizons.

PicPocket Books has a growing list of children’s picture book titles that are very faithful to the original published books that are available on iTunes: full color illustrations, full text, plus and audio track and other options, and you can take it anywhere!

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November 20th, 2009 | posted by: Eva

Wild Things: a Children’s Movie but Not Just for Kids

Have you seen “Where The Wild Things Are”? What did you think?

The film (released October 16th in the U.S.) tells the tale of Max’s visit to “where the wild things are,” and is based on Maurice Sendak’s classic picture book by the same title.

I love the book, I enjoyed the movie, too. It’s understandably different from the book (to make a long-enough movie), but I thought it worked. The Wild Things looked just like I remember! I was also impressed with Max Records’ performance as Max in the movie. His acting was natural and didn’t seem artificial or forced.

For a movie based on a children’s book, the film seemed surprisingly geared towards an older audience. Perhaps it is intended for adults who read the book as children as much as it is intended for children today. I think a child would enjoy the movie a lot, but an adult could appreciate it on a deeper level. Themes around change and family dynamics would probably go over most children’s heads.

Thoughts? What other favorite picture books from your childhood would you like to see turned into a full-length movie?

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November 5th, 2009 | posted by: Eva

How the Brain Handles Screen-Reading

Amazon Kindle

Have you ever wondered how our brains deal with digital reading?

Think about it: for years, centuries, we humans have been reading primarily from paper. Now, reading from a screen is becoming as popular, if not more popular, than reading print! Many of us read the news, magazines, blogs, and of course our mail on our computers or mobile devices. E-Books are becoming widely available too.

How do our brains handle this new medium? The New York Times Opinion article Does the Brain like E-Books? has a couple of explanations. In the article, experts address such issues as the balance between focal and peripheral attention (which, incidentally, is disrupted in reading whether from a screen or from traditional print). Do you think people read faster on screen or paper? How is comprehension affected?

Jonah Lehrer, in his article, Reading, E-Books and the Brain, reminds us that the brain is extremely adaptable and that “we excel at developing new habits.” He speculates that “before long, digital ink will feel just as easy as actual ink.”

Check it out! It’s pretty interesting to think about reading from the perspective of your brain.

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October 25th, 2009 | posted by: Lynette

Picture books for Halloween

If your kids are like mine, they are counting off the days ’til Halloween and can hardly wait for the big night to arrive. Here are some great Halloween-themed picture books for the 4-8 year-old crowd to help you get in the Halloween mood. This list includes mildly spooky tales, familiar classics, and some new-found treasures, but none are too scary. Enjoy! And of course, if you have a favorite you’d like to share, please comment and let us know!

Halloween Kittens

The Halloween Kittens


The Halloween Kittens

Written & illustrated by Maggie Kneen

Lift the flaps and discover all sorts of sneaky fun with the mischievous kitten brothers Trick and Treat as they prepare for Halloween.
- from the Publisher

For more information, see Chronicle Books

Ivy + Bean

Ivy + Bean

Ivy and Bean and the Ghost That Had to Go

By Annie Barrows

This book for beginning readers is another entertaining installment of the popular Ivy and Bean series, with a spooky twist.

For more information, see Chronicle Books

Ghosts In The House

Ghosts In The House

Ghosts in the House

By Kazuno Kohara

This relatively new book (published just last year) is masterful in design. The optical illusion of the effervescient ghosts on black and electric orange pages will have you reaching out to touch them to check if they are actually textured.

It is also a great story, with a no-nonsense approach, and not scary at all. I mean if you had ghosts in your house you’d catch them and put them in the washing machine, right?

For more information, see Amazon.com

The Very Busy Spider

The Very Busy Spider


The Very Busy Spider

By Eric Carle

A simple, yet delightful story by classic author and illustrator Eric Carle. This books describes the day of an industious spider as she spins her web. The embossed details combined with Carle’s trademark collages make for an engaging tactile experience.

For more information, see Amazon.com.

Where The Wild Things Are

Where The Wild Things Are


Where the Wild Things Are

By Maurice Sendak

Be sure to revisit this popular, classic picture book this Halloween. Get in the mood and roar your terrible roar, roll your terrible eyes, gnash your terrible teeth and show your terrible claws.

For more information, see Amazon.com

Too Many Pumpkins

Too Many Pumpkins


Too Many Pumpkins

By Linda White

Pumpkins remind Rebecca, the elderly woman in this book of the Great Depression, when she and her family had nothing to eat but pumpkins. When a pumpkin smashes in her front yard, Rebecca covers it up and forgets it. However, the seeds from that forgotten pumpkin turn her yard into a pumpkin patch, and Rebecca is once again surrounded by pumpkins.

For more information, see Amazon.com

Child Of Faerie

Child Of Faerie


Child of Faerie

By Jane Yolen

According to certain tales, faeries leave the underworld once a year to join in a faerie ring beneath the moonlight. On this magical night, a faerie boy meets a child of the earth and the two become friends forever. Luminous full-color paintings by award-winning artist Jane Dyer add to the magic.

Age Range: 5 to 8 years old

For more information, see Amazon.com

Moonlight

Moonlight


Moonlight: The Halloween Cat

By Cynthia Rylant

Softly padding through the darkness, Moonlight explores the world on her favorite night, Halloween. The town and countryside glow with shining stars. The wide yellow moon lights pumpkins, racoons, and children out having fun. . . . Told in eloquently simple, lyrical words, with dazzling, luminous paintings, Moonlight evokes not just the excitement of Halloween, but something more — the reassuring warmth and friendliness that is a special part of this special night.

For more information, see Amazon.com

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