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 30th, 2010 | posted by: Lynette

PicPocket Books and MomsWithApps in the News!

Huffington Post: iPhone Apps by Moms, for Moms

Never underestimate a mom with an iPhone. While most mobile developers are men, a growing number of opportunistic women are venturing into app development to create apps catered to other women. And many of these women are part of a group called Moms with Apps, a collaborative group of family-friendly developers who share best practices on making and marketing mobile apps.

BabyMedBasics published by PicPocket Books

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 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 17th, 2010 | posted by: Lynette

Tools that build – not sever – connections

With a lineup of over 100,000 apps, Apple has an app for most needs among its iPhone-carrying customers – that is, the adults. As it turns out, app developers are creating more and more apps for children, which raises a number of interesting questions. Is even more screen time good for kids? What are apps offering to kids? How much learning and growth can be triggered by the use of iPhone apps? Is it all about video games in the end?

Playing video games

As an iPhone app developer, mom of three growing kids, and a member of MomsWithApps, I deal with this question every day, professionally and personally. In my mind, the child/iPhone combo often conjures images of images of kids playing video games for hours on end, and that’s often the case. At the same time, there are also some fantastic educational apps and benefits that come from mobile devices. So what might be some characteristics of apps for kids that make them worth downloading?

What limits do you set before you hand your iPhone over?

As a parent, I am looking for apps that start with the iPhone but encourage engagement with the world beyond the device, like sparking conversations with family and friends, exploring “real world” sites and phenomena through maps and geocaching. I applaud apps that truly require strategic and creative thinking, not just mindless repetition. The latest hot app is not necessarily good for kids just because they like it. In selecting apps, parents should look carefully for ones which are gateways back into the “real” world, not just a highway to the couch.

“Educational” means not just math facts, drills, and phonics, but also activities and content that encourage and develop social and communication skills: like PicPocket Books’ picture books, Tales2Go’s audio library or the conversation starters from the Family Matters App. By expanding horizons, these apps become tools for engagement rather than a drug for tuning out.

A pause in the play to check the storyline of Sleeping Beauty

As responsible parents, we must look closely not only at the content we allow our children to experience on the screen, but also how, when, how often, and where they are plugged in to mobile devices or other screens. One of the best ways to practice moderation and to set enforceable limits is to model the right example for your kids. Recognize that technology can be addictive – not only for kids but for adults too. If you don’t want your kids to zone out in front of the screen, then stop constantly checking your own devices. Set boundaries and limits that work for your family, and enforce the rules.

In our household, computers and mobile devices are kept on the main living level so parents can monitor online behavior in terms of content and time spent on-line. We have the kids tell us which games they are playing, what they like about them, and have them show us how they play as well – maybe even play with them, all to ensure that communication and engagement come with the virtual fun. We also make an effort to stay current with new communication platforms and technological developments.

Down the road, knowing how to navigate that world – and engaging in it creatively and actively -  will keep doors open longer for communicating with kids.

Thanks to MomsWithApps’ Lorraine Akemann and Jill Seman for collaborating and contributing to this post.

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?

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

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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