April 18th, 2011 | posted by: Lynette

Time to plow and plant!

Springtime is here (at least in our part of the world), and it’s time to start up the tractor and get plowing and planting. When it comes to plowing, there’s no one better to turn to than good ole Tractor Mac. He’s a hard worker, a true friend, and a great storyteller. Here’s an excerpt from a recent review from Christopher Lay all the way from Beijing, China:

If your children are like Reina [the reviewer's daughter], they churn through storybooks. Whether a paper bound edition or a digital one on the iPad, Reina goes through phases where she reads through everything one week and fixates on one or two stories the next. Here are some reads she has recently been flipping through on screen.

PicPocket Books continues to add to its long list of dependable titles with the Tractor Mac series written and illustrated by Billy Steers. This wonderfully drawn set of stories captures the spirit of farm life as it recounts the exploits of the tractor named Mac and the animals on Farmer Bill’s Stony Meadow Farm. With lessons on fitting in, working hard, patience, winning, and losing, there is much to be gained by reading and exploring these stories with a child.There is added authenticity in Billy Steers’ tales as he is a farmer himself and his voice delights as he narrates Tractor Mac Arrives at the Farm, Tractor Mac You’re a Winner, and Tractor Mac Builds a Barn.These books are rated 4-8, but I enjoyed them too; it’s true, I’m a little bit country.

Download Tractor Mac on iTunes or go to www.picpocketbooks.com to browse our titles.

March 2nd, 2011 | posted by: Lynette

PicPocket Books Celebrates Reading: Great Offers and Free Book Apps for Kids!

March 2nd is Read Across America, an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on March 2, the birthday of beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss. For more info visit: NEA’s Web site

March 3rd is World Book Day in the UK and Ireland. World book day is a celebration of books and reading, a partnership of publishers, booksellers and interested parties who work together to promote books and reading for the personal enrichment and enjoyment of all. For more information, visit world book day:worldbbokday.com

PicPocket Books champions books and reading aloud to kids, whether from print books or digital versions while on the go.
To help you discover great book apps for kids, PicPocket Books is pleased to announce:
4 Free Book apps on iPad for a limited time only!

I Can Do It Too!

To a very young person, big people seem so capable! Daddy pours juice and never spills a drop, Grandma bakes a cake effortlessly, and a next door neighbor rides a bike as if he were born on one. Whatever the activity, this little heroine “wants to do it too!”
And so she does – thanks to the love and support of those around her. Is it any surprise that soon she is big enough to pass on loving encouragement to someone even younger?This simple cadence of the words and the direct-to-the-heart art result in a book that recognizes how satisfying growing up surrounded by love can be.

I Can Do It Too! for iPad is available for download via the iTunes App Store – iPad App

Far to the North
“Far to the North” takes young readers on an enchanting journey to the snowy Arctic. Under the magical, starlit sky of the Far North, polar bears roam. This lyrical picture book offers a glimpse of a young polar bear as he learns to swim, fish, and play in his wintry home.

Far to the North for iPad is available for download via the iTunes App Store – iPad App

The Lucky Escape

In an imaginative adventure through the digestive system, Human Body Detectives Merrin and Pearl tackle their first case. The girls’ little brother has swallowed a penny. Now through magic and imagination they find themselves on an adventure through his digestive system where they must grab the penny, save Robbie, and narrowly escape his poopy diaper.

The Human Body Detectives series highlights the girls’ adventures through the different body systems, and teaches kids the importance of a healthy diet and lifestyle. If children understand how their bodies work, they are more apt to make healthy food and lifestyle choices.

The Lucky Escape is available for download via the iTunes App Store – iPad App

A, My Name Is Andrew

A My Name is Andrew is a winsome and whimsical, tongue-twisting journey through the alphabet and across the country. Imaginative and artistic illustrations combine with an engaging alliterative verse in this original and refreshingly multi-cultural alphabet picture book. Look out for those happy, hula-loving hamsters!

A, My Name Is Andrew is available for download via the iTunes App Store – iPad App

Special Price offer: 50% off to celebrate reading
from March 2nd to March 5
Books Apps for iPhone and iPod Touch

The Crystal Mountain

When the Fairies of the Crystal Mountain steal Anna’s tapestry, she sends her three sons to get it back. With the help of three magic horses, her youngest son, Perrin, goes through fiery plains and icy seas and at last reaches the Crystal Mountain. Will he succeed in his task?

The Crystal Mountain is available for download via the iTunes App Store – iPhone and iPod Touch

Tractor Mac Arrives

Join the adventures of Tractor Mac and his friends as they work and play at Farmer Bill’s Stony Meadow Farm. Tractor Mac has many friends, including Sibley the workhorse, Margot the cow, Fetch the dog and Sam the ram who all help Tractor Mac learn about friendship, teamwork, the joy of winning, and how to lose gracefully. In this first story of the Tractor Mac series, we meet Sibley the workhorse who can do the work of two horses.

But then Mac, a shiny new tractor, arrives at Stony Meadow Farm. Poor Sibley! Just when he’s worried he’ll be put out to pasture he saves the day when Tractor Mac runs into a big problem.

Tractor Mac Arrives is available for download via the iTunes App Store – iPhone and iPod Touch

Three Blind Mice on Vacation in Africa

Wooleycat is a musical poet who adds inventive twists to the classic Mother Goose rhymes. With this app, you are invited along on Safari in Africa with the three blind mice. Dennis Hysom’s lyrical voice finds perfect accompaniment in Christine Walker’s paintings.

Their award-winning album is now an engaging app. Your ticket to rhyme awaits!

Three Blind Mice is available for download via the iTunes App Store – iPhone and iPod Touch

Mico

Mico the Mouse Who Was Afraid of the Dark: Mico is a little mouse with a big fear. A special friend helps him make discoveries that open up a whole new world for him! Mico’s story encourages kids to take new steps that lead to positive experiences.

Mico is available for download via the iTunes App Store – iPhone and iPod Touch

Sleeping Beauty

The beautiful illustrations in this classic rendition of Sleeping Beauty bring new details and style to this favorite fairy tale. Vibrant watercolors relate the timeless story of the princess who sleeps for one hundred years. From an emerald frog to the cascades of roses that twine their way through the story, the rich colors of these painted pages are bound to please!

Sleeping Beauty is available for download via the iTunes App Store – iPhone and iPod Touch

Wednesday Is Spaghetti Day

Do you ever wonder what your pet cats do when you leave them home alone? Catrina and her cat friends cook, feast, sing and dance the whole day long. No one can remember having so much fun. But all too soon the family returns home. Will the cats get the house back in order without being discovered?

Wednesday Is Spaghetti Day is available for download via the iTunes App Store – iPhone and iPod Touch

Earth Grows Warmer

Eric can’t understand why the polar bears and penguins at the Brookfield Zoo are unhappy. When the animals don’t know what’s wrong, Eric wishes to talk to Sophia, the sky fairy, who first gave him his enchanted leaf.

Sophia takes Eric on a journey from the Arctic to the Antarctic to the Amazon to help him see the effects of Global Warming and the human aspect of the problem. Through the story, young children will see that while no one can do everything, even they can do something to help put less carbon dioxide into the air.

The Earth Grows Warmer is available for download via the iTunes App Store – iPhone and iPod Touch

BlueBeary

Blue Beary is a book about belonging. Everyone needs a primary place of belonging from which to grow. We all need someone who loves us best of all and cleans us up when we fall down. From that place of belonging we wander out and forage through life, discovering the world around us.

Join Samantha and Beary on their first colorful adventure in the Open Eyes series as they grow, learn and explore the world.

BlueBeary is available for download via the iTunes App Store – iPhone and iPod Touch

Happy Reading and enjoy these precious moments with your kids.

February 3rd, 2011 | posted by: Lynette

Chinese New Year 2011: Year of the Rabbit

"Boy Dumplings" for the iPad from PicPocket Books

PicPocket Books is proud to offer Boy Dumplings, a unique story from Ying Chang Compestine with elements of Chinese folk tales, for the iPhone and iPad for the Chinese New Year.

(…from the Holiday House Book Page)
Get ready to gobble up this fun-filled tale of a crafty youngster’s hilarious efforts to avoid the cooking pot.

Begin with one hungry ghost. Add a plump, delicious-looking boy. Sprinkle in some Chinese folklore and a healthy dash of humor. Now sink your teeth into an exciting story about a ghost eager for his next meal—and a boy who must think fast if he doesn’t want to get turned into dumplings! Includes a fantastic, child-friendly recipe for dumplings.

Watch the author give simple step-by-step instructions for delicious dumplings in this video. Then go get some dumpling wrappers and make your own at home tonight! Easy and yummy!

February 2nd, 2011 | posted by: Lynette

Who’s Your Valentine?

Are you thinking about Valentine’s Day? Will you make homemade cards?

If you are looking for some Valentine’s Day inspiration in the form of a children’s picture book, check out A String of Hearts, by Laura Mallone Elliott and illustrated by Lynn Munsinger.  A String of Hearts is lovely Valentine story about the real meaning of friendship.

The story illustrates that popularity isn’t everything and a steady, loyal companion who is there when needed is what we really cherish. A historical note about the origins of Valentine’s Day makes A String of Hearts a clincher for a February fourteenth storytime. (Reading Level: Kindergarten-3rd Grade)

String of Hearts, by Laura Malone Elliot

January 19th, 2011 | posted by: Lynette

Fireside Stories: Tales for a Snow Day

We woke up this morning to the entire neighborhood covered in a sheet of ice – and, much to my son’s delight – no school! What could be more conducive to a cozy morning reading by the fire with a cup of hot chocolate by your side?

Fireside Stories, from Barefoot Books. Available from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Fireside-Stories-Caitlin-Matthews/dp/1846860652

Even though this beautiful collection of stories is entitled Fireside Stories: Tales for a Winter’s Eve, my son and I can attest to the fact that these are darn good stories for any time of the day. This children’s book is a collection of traditional tales, beautifully illustrated, with handsome borders and colorful images. The eight tales in Fireside Stories, retold by Caitlin Matthews, come from Scotland, Russia, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Canada.

Drawn from countries and cultures around the world, these wonderful wintry stories express the magnificence of the season. From a group of courageous Russian animals to a legend about a bag of warmth that can keep winter away forever, these cozy stories will keep out the winter chill. So next time there’s a snow day, cuddle up and share a story by the fire!

January 10th, 2011 | posted by: Lynette

iPads Gaining Ground in Schools

A sixth grader uses his new school-issued iPad in the classroom in Scottsdale, AZ. Photo by Joshua Lott.

With the beginning of the new year, a growing number of schools are turning to iPads as a powerful and versatile educational tool of choice for students from Kindergarten through high school and for subjects from math to history.

A recent article from the New York Times explains that, “educators laud the iPad’s physical attributes, including its large touch screen (about 9.7 inches) and flat design, which allows students to maintain eye contact with their teachers. And students like its light weight, which offers a relief from the heavy books that weigh down their backpacks.”

The Times article cites examples of teachers using the iPad as replacements for textbooks, apps for illustrating step-by-step animation of complex problems in math, and apps that include all of Shakespeare’s plays for Literature classes.

Many of the school districts are paying for their iPads through federal and other grants, including money from the federal Race to the Top competitive grant program, which administrators in Durham, N.C., are using to provide an iPad to every teacher and student at two low-performing schools.

“It’s not about a cool application,” said Dr. Brenner, a Roslyn Heights, NY superintendent. “We are talking about changing the way we do business in the classroom.” He said the iPads would also save money in the long run by reducing printing and textbook costs; the estimated savings in the two iPad classes at his school are $7,200 a year.

“It’s not about a cool application,” Dr. Brenner said. “We are talking about changing the way we do business in the classroom.”

December 22nd, 2010 | posted by: Lynette

When the Earth Grows Warmer – the hottest year on record

A page from Eric and the Enchanted Leaf: When Earth Grows Warmer, by Deborah Frontiera

2010 was the hottest year on record, according to NASA, which uses data going back 131 years, and the 2001-2010 decade was also the hottest on record. In 2010, more than a dozen record high temperatures were set, including a high of 128.3F in Pakistan in May of this year. Wow, that’s hot!

Our newest title in the Eric and the Enchanted Leaf series by Deborah Frontiera is When Earth Grows Warmer. An accessible introduction to the problem of global warming for kids, this app offers some practical suggestions of things that even young readers can do to help the environment. Frontiera’s story, coupled with great pictures of the polar regions, tropical rain forests and cities illustrate the importance of taking care of our earth home. The app is available for the iPhone or the iPad in English and Spanish versions.

December 15th, 2010 | posted by: Lynette

Read Early, Read Aloud, and Read Often!

Reading opens doors to new worlds!

Read early, read aloud and read often – PicPocket Books always encourages children and families to follow this advice – whether you’re reading print books or books on mobile devices like the iPad or iPhone. Other proponents of literacy and reading also echo these recommendations to read early, read aloud and to read often.

The well-established Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) book distribution and reading motivation program has given over 300 million new books to children who might not otherwise have books to call their own.

Read Early, Read Aloud is also the goal of a new campaign sponsored by the First 5 Commissions of Southern California.

The Family Child Care Language and Literacy Project targets child care centers to promote more early reading opportunities in day-care type settings. Specialists modeled ways that care providers can work with children; they offered tips for reading to infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers; they encouraged providers to set up dramatic play areas where they can engage children in conversation; and they demonstrated ways to build youngsters’ comprehension skills and vocabulary. The 15-month project brought about a 20 percent increase in the number of times a day child-care providers read to children; and a 29 percent decrease in the number of hours the TV was on.

Let’s keep reading!

October 16th, 2010 | posted by: Lynette

New Halloween Release from PicPocket Books: “Boy Dumplings” by Ying Chang Compestine

PicPocket Books is proud to bring this unique ghost story to the iPhone just in time for Halloween.

(…from the Holiday House Book Page)
Get ready to gobble up this fun-filled tale of a crafty youngster’s hilarious efforts to avoid the cooking pot.

Begin with one hungry ghost. Add a plump, delicious-looking boy. Sprinkle in some Chinese folklore and a healthy dash of humor. Now sink your teeth into an exciting story about a ghost eager for his next meal—and a boy who must think fast if he doesn’t want to get turned into dumplings! Includes a fantastic, child-friendly recipe for dumplings.

Watch the author give simple step-by-step instructions for delicious dumplings in this video. Then go get some dumpling wrappers and make your own at home! Yummm!

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!

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