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!