August 17th, 2010 | posted by: Lynette

Is it a book? Is it an app? It’s a bookapp!

What is a bookapp? With the advent of new digital technologies, publishers, authors and readers are revisiting the definition of a book. Does a book have to have a cover and paper pages? Is it the physical format, the content, or the way the material is read that makes a book a book?

A “bookapp” is a term that we have coined within the MomsWithApps group to describe a book that is downloaded as an app (from iTunes) and displayed to be read on the iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. Some bookapps have animations and other interactive features. Most have audio recordings.  Over at MomsWithApps we have used the term “bookapp” to distinguish apps that are books (storybooks, picture books) from apps that are games on the iPhone. We have been spreading the use of the term within the group and beyond the group through Twitter and conversations with the Media.

photo by Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post

With the growing popularity of iPhones, the iPod touch and the now extremely popular iPad, publishers and app developers are recognizing the advantages of publishing books on the iPhone platform. These bookapps can take a variety of different forms and sport different features. They may be previously published books (that is, you can also buy them in print versions), or the books may be specifically made for the iPhone. The large majority of PicPocket Books’ titles are previously published books: they are also available in traditional print form. Most of our bookapps have audio recordings, animations, interactive features and personal settings. Bookapps are available in digital form through the iTunes App Store from PicPocket Books and also other bookapp publishers like Lyn and Line LLC, Touchoo, Winged Chariot, Watsomaflip, Out To Play, and others. With the digital platform, publishers are able to take advantage of a number of additional dimensions that are just not possible in a print book. Because the digital interactivity is new and different it does draw some criticism and skepticism from some traditional publishers and educators, but others are definitely embracing the new possibilities.

We’re entering into a new interactive art form,” says Rick Richter, formerly the president of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing and now a digital media consultant. Freed from rules about page count and paper weight, digital creators enjoy great flexibility. In the process, they can appeal to nonbookworms, such as computer and game geeks. “If anything, it will lead a lot of kids to books,” says Richter.

"I Can Do It Too!" originally published by Chonicle Books. Bookapp published by PicPocket Books.

I predict that the future will bring a much greater acceptance and familiarity of bookapps. After all, reading is so much fun, and if having  bookapps available on your iPhone means more exposure to stories and enthusiasm for reading, especially for kids, then we consider that a success!

July 3rd, 2010 | posted by: Lynette

Celebrate Independence Day with some picture books!

A cute family of bears on a road trip across America brings Irving Berlin’s classic song, God Bless America, to life. Reading level ages 4-8.

America The Beautiful, by Katharine Lee Bates

This book also uses the lyrical of a classic song, America the Beautiful, to give a new and unique interpretations of the well-known song. There are wonderful and moving images of the Statue of Liberty, Pike’s Peak, immigrants, the Apollo II, the firemen of Sept. 11th, and the WWII Tuskegee Airmen. Ages 4-8

Apple Pie Fourth of July by Janet S. Wong

Apple Pie 4th of July explores a girl’s experience as a first-generation Chinese-American as she watches the parade preparations from her parents’ Chinese restaurant. In vain she tries to tell them that no one wants Chinese food on the 4th of July, but evening does bring a steady flow of customers, and concludes with fireworks and sharing American apple pie with the neighbors. Ages 4-8

Fourth of July Mice by by Bethany Roberts

This rhyming book with its clever and humorous illustrations is perfect for little patriots. Join in with the fun as the mice celebrate the 4th of July with a parade, a picnic, a baseball game, and of course, fireworks. Ages 4-8

Cordoroy's Fourth of July, by Don Freeman

Cordory, the beloved storybook bear is here to celebrate Independence Day! The colorful board-book illustrations are great for the youngest readers. Ages Baby- Preschool

June 30th, 2010 | posted by: Lynette

Wordless Wednesday

My 10-year-old son's reading material for the week. Gotta love the public library.

June 24th, 2010 | posted by: Lynette

Happy Birthday to celebrated children’s author, Eric Carle

One of my heroes, a champion of childhood in general and picture books in particular, celebrates his birthday on Friday, June 25. Eric Carle started his illustration career in the 1950s with a position as a graphic designer in the promotion department of the New York Times. One of his ads caught the eye of author Bill Martin, Jr., and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? was the result of their collaboration. Many beloved classics followed, including The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

From Head to Toe, by Eric Carle

The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, by Eric Carle

The Official Eric Carle website describes his illustrations as “distinctive and instantly recognizable. His art work is created in collage technique, using hand-painted papers, which he cuts and layers to form bright and cheerful images. Many of his books have an added dimension—die-cut pages, twinkling lights as in The Very Lonely Firefly, even the lifelike sound of a cricket’s song as in The Very Quiet Cricket – giving them a playful quality: a toy that can be read, a book that can be touched. Children also enjoy working in collage and many send him pictures they have made themselves, inspired by his illustrations. He receives hundreds of letters each week from his young admirers.”

Not only is Carle’s artwork playful, fun and inspiring, but the man himself has a beautiful message. If you’ve ever read one of Eric Carle’s books, or even if you haven’t, it is worthwhile to watch this video in which he discusses the origin of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and describes his love of color.

Thanks, Eric Carle, for your books that have entertained kids for generations!

Eric Carle

Oh, and if you are traveling to or through Massachusetts this summer, you may want to consider a visit to The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA.

June 16th, 2010 | posted by: Lynette

Wordless Wednesday

The new Huggybird app from Viva la Media via PicPocket Books will be available in English, Dutch and Spanish.

May 12th, 2010 | posted by: Lynette

My new iPad

For a number of reasons, a year ago I never dreamed that I’d get an iPad for Mother’s Day, but I was thrilled this past weekend when one of these

PicPocket Books' "A, My Name Is Andrew" on the iPad

ended up in my hands. Well, actually, those are my husband’s hands, since he was kind enough to be a hand model for me.

From my few days with my new iPad, I have to say it is a pretty nifty device. Illustrated children’s books look beautiful on the iPad. In fact, an AOL News story recently reported that 81%, or 13 of the 16 top book applications for the iPad, are children’s titles.

While in Los Angeles over the weekend, the iPad sure did come in useful for us while navigating a new city, and looking up car dealerships and comparing prices and reviews on the iPad when we were on the go was very helpful when we accompanied my brother-in-law who was buying a car.

I wouldn’t consider myself a big gamer (I’m more the literary type), but I admit that some of the game apps that I’m discovering on the iPad are pretty compelling. I’ll have to set some limits for myself if I want to still get work done!

What do you think about the iPad?

April 12th, 2010 | posted by: Lynette

Spring is Sprouting Up and Out! ~from Breezy Bunnies, by Margie Blumberg

In the garden with Breezy Bunnies

Flowers blooming, baby animals, sunny weather, and some showers. Spring is here, and as always, we like to celebrate with a picture book. Margie Blumberg’s Breezy Bunnies, the first of a seasonal series, is the newest release from PicPocket Books. This endearing rhyming tale is a delight from start to finish.

The iPhone book is filled with audio surprises. Make sure to touch the squirrels in the tree, the pigeons under the bench in the rain, and the cuckoo clock on the wall. How many interactive spots can you discover?

Listen to the cuckoo clock chime in the app!

Download the Breezy Bunnies application from iTunes and enjoy it this Spring.

March 17th, 2010 | posted by: Lynette

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

In our household, author/illustrator Tomie de Paola is a favorite with parents and kids alike. Tomie de Paola is half Italian (his Dad’s side of the family) and half Irish (his Mom’s side of the family). My kids often choose de Paola’s Italian folklore Strega Nona stories at bedtime, but this time of the year we tend reach for some of his Irish stories like JAMIE O’ROURKE AND THE BIG POTATO, and my favorite, FIN M’COUL, THE GIANT OF KNOCKMANY HILL.

A story to read again and again...

Tomie de Paola says that growing up, St. Patrick’s Day was a really big deal, with a special meal (corned beef and cabbage) and “theatricals.” This year, he says, “on March 17th, I’ll be wearing my green underwear and socks and I’ll start the day with a hot cup of Irish Breakfast tea. I’ll raise my cup to honor my Irish relatives and shout “Erin Go Bragh!”

How will you celebrate St. Paddy’s Day?

Green undies to celebrate St. Partick’s Day.
Illustration by Tomie de Paola.

March 12th, 2010 | posted by: Lynette

Kids’ Books on the iPhone

We love books. We love the feel, the smell, the sound of the gentle crack of the binding as we open a new book for the first time. Printed books have been treasured and cherished for hundreds of years, and they work just fine. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”… does the simple, straight forward, classic printed book really need updating and improvements?

One way to choose a picture book...

More and more, literature is being consumed on electronic devices like the Kindle, iPhones, and the soon-to-be-released iPad. How do we, as readers, authors and publishers preserve a love for reading and literature, and encourage more reading, engagement, and exposure to books in the face of these developments?

Kids grow up surrounded by digital media and technology. From a young age, kids are very curious about electronic gadgets. Why not capitalize on that fascination to grab their initial interest? Whether we’re talking print or digital books, reading is an active mental process: something to encourage at every opportunity.

Another way to choose a story...

I am, have always been, and expect that I always will be a huge fan of books. I think we are a long way off from digital books actually replacing print books, but I do believe that digital books will become more and more visible and popular as the tech savvy generations accept them as obvious options at home, in schools, libraries, in businesses and on the go. I believe it is important to make quality literature available on electronic devices because the fact is that they will find their way into kids’ hands.

What are some considerations in producing kids’ books for mobile devices? Because of the crucial marriage of text and illustrations in children’s books, the artistic rendering of a book in mobile format is particularly important.

Fidelity to original print version: PicPocket Books places a priority on fidelity to the original picture book. The beauty of many classic and contemporary picture books lies in their simplicity.
Interactivity: PicPocket Books has added some interactive audio hot spots to selected PicPocket Book titles like Oh, Crumps, Peterkin Meets a Star, Monster Trucks, Tractors, Rescue Vehicles, and Round Is A Mooncake.

"Peterkin Meets A Star," by Emilie Boon

Animations: The animations in PicPocket Books are subtle, like snow falling or stars twinkling. The intent is to encourage curiosity by adding elements of interactive discovery to some books. We are consciously NOT creating video games, but hope that PicPocket Books can offer a gentle alternative to games for parents who want to offer their children mobile digital books.

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. Reading helps children become engaged, rather than passive learners because books demand that kids to use their imagination to paint living mental pictures, rather than having images passively communicated to them through the picture on a television screen.

The technologies that are new to us are very intuitive to kids and will unquestioningly be a significant part of their lives for years to come. It’s important to introduce our children to quality and age-appropriate content on the screen, whether we’re talking mobile digital technology, desktop computers or other media.  Above all, digital books should not be viewed as a replacement for 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.

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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