dot.Momming

App Review: Chinese New Year With a Dragon

2012-01-25T05:05:00.000-06:00

Hearty "gung hei fat choi" to everyone out there, and happy Year of the Dragon. In honor of the turning of the Chinese calendar, to 4710 for those keeping track, we're taking a look at a brand new picture book app from Mobad Media called The Year of the Dragon.

The tale of the Chinese zodiac and that smarty-pants rat makes a fun story, whether for children or adults. And interpreting the characteristics of each of the twelve symbols can be a hoot for kids. My family is fascinated with the zodiac animals, and they often chalk up the behavior of others to the sign under which they were born. "What do you expect, Mom? He's a Tiger!"

And as with any reading of the zodiac, we are quick to lay claim to the positive attributes associated with our own symbols. I'm a sheep (observant! artistic! ingenious!), and I live with a couple of monkeys (self-assured, competitive innovators), one horse (cheerful, quick-witted talker), and a bunny rabbit (elegant and compassionate artist). And when we meet someone who shares our sign, there's immediate sympathy. It's like finding the kinship of another Bears or White Sox fan without all the messy logos.

The Year of the Dragon is a sweet, simple story of Baby Dominic, a newly hatched dragon whose parents remind him of what makes their kind so special. "Who blows the winds? Who commands the rain? Who advises the Emperor? We do!"

When Baby Dom and all his friends from the zodiac team up together to win a race, he uses his own special dragon traits to save the day.

With fun interactivity that doesn't let tapping fingers get too distracted and vivid illustrations, The Year of the Dragon feels like a traditional book. And Mobad keeps the focus on literacy, as kids can choose to hear a narrator tell the story and follow along as each word is illuminated, or read to themselves. And if a child stumbles across an unfamiliar word, Mobad has made learning new vocabulary easy: she can just tap on the text and hear it pronounced.

The age range for Year of the Dragon is broad, as the youngest app set will adore Dom and the interactive features, and emerging and confident readers will enjoy the storyline, the other Chinese zodiac characters, and the hidden surprises.

Priced at $4.99.

Quality Kids Apps: Beyond the $0.99 Download

2012-01-18T05:05:00.000-06:00

I wanted to share an interesting post over at Wired's Geek Dad about the future of apps for children. The author, Daniel Donahoo, talks about a push toward app development for children that is purposeful rather than just profit-driven. And while it might sound like an idealized world he's seeking, it is one worth striving for: quality products geared for kids that can harness all that finger-tapping energy for good.

Donahoo imagines "medium-sized independent and corporate developers of children’s apps existing side by side, all pushing each other to produce better digital tools for kids' learning and development. But I believe it has something to do with the crowd and also educating and supporting parents to make the best consumer choices and to support a breadth of apps and digital tools – not just the same old franchised apps from movies and books that we see everyday."

A key point Donahoo notes, among many, is pricing. "If we are to sustain the vibrant and dynamic number of children’s app developers we need to move beyond the 0.99c app. Consumers are currently downloading content for children that is at bargain basement prices and the problem is that could drive some of the key innovators out of their own development studios and over to larger players, or away from children’s apps and into more profitable digital arenas."

I think of this as the Organic Milk Approach. I pay a little more for organic milk because I believe it's better for my kids' developing brains and bodies, I want to support organic farmers and keep them in business, and I want to ensure that higher-quality products like this stay in the mainstream market.

Same for quality children's apps.

Donahoo and Andy Russell, co-founder of Launchpad Toys and the much-lauded children's app Toontastic, have put forth The Children's App Manifesto and begun pushing educators, marketers, investors, app developers, and most importantly parents to think about ways to best support quality educational digital content.

After my first-grader asked me just a few days ago to wake him up at 5 a.m. so he could harvest his Smurf pumpkins -- and purchase a few Smurfberries too -- two Manifesto items hooked me right away:

Play should not be over-commercialized by consumable goods nor advertisement.
Apps should not disguise costs nor manipulate children’s emotions to entice spending.

Magic School Bus: The Future of E-Learning

2012-01-16T05:05:00.000-06:00

My first-grader was excited to use a coupon at his school's paperback bookstore the other day, and I stopped him. He had in his hands a copy of The Magic School Bus: On the Ocean Floor, and I, as if moving in slow motion, pointed back toward the bright yellow bookshelf and told him to pick another book. I was experiencing a complete out-of-body moment, hearing my voice from some far away place tell him, "We can download this book. It will be way better on the iPad."

And it is.

Bypassing a paper book for a digital one is still a new thing to me. And I am squeamish about it sometimes, fearing that my favorite neighborhood haunt, 57th Street Books, will disappear because I opt for an app instead of a former tree. So moments like the one at my son's school make me itchy.

But let's face it, digital books can do things that paper cannot. And in some realms, such as the informative, nonfiction picture book world where Magic School Bus dominates, the digital version is unbeatable. One look at the Oceans app, and the future of e-learning becomes clear.

The first real interactivity comes when young readers tap the bubbling water near an illustration of a sea urchin. A screen rolls down, and quick-hit bulleted points about sea urchins appear beneath a short video clip of an actual sea urchin. Budding naturalists can watch a spiny purple creature scoot along the ocean floor -- not just an artist's rendering of it, but actual undersea footage.

Interactive games demonstrating how various sea life swims teach the difference between a whale's means of locomotion vs. a squid's vs. a jellyfish's. Detailed photographs of sea stars, limpets, periwinkles, and others offer real-life examples of sea animals kids might not otherwise get to know. More video clips of flounder drifting among rocks drive home the benefits of camouflage.

Aside from showing kids the habitats and behaviors of undersea life, as well as showing phenomena like hot water vents and ocean waves, the app offers a variety of entry points for literacy learning. The read-along narration illuminates each word in red as it is spoken. Little fingers can tap the dialogue bubbles and hear the kids and Ms. Frizzle ask questions or comment on the scene as they read the words in the speech bubble. Whether a pre-reader or a confident one, the app is accessible to many levels.

Priced at $7.99, $1 more than the paperback, this book is packed with opportunities for interactive, exciting learning. Consider it a kid-friendly Jacques Cousteau adventure, right at young readers' fingertips. Magic School Bus: Oceans presents the best digital media has to offer young learners. Worth checking out immediately.

Cinderella : Our Top Picture Book App of 2011

2011-12-21T05:05:00.000-06:00

We've kissed a lot of toads this year in app-land. Or maybe a more apt metaphor for this post would be along the lines of wedging our feet into a lot of ill-fitting slippers.

And while we've also stumbled across some real gems (see last week's post on the Best Picture Book Apps of 2011), our heart belongs to one big winner for the year. I'd like to devote this space to my No. 1 picture book app for 2011 with a few reasons why. So let's cut to the chase and reveal our winner. Drumroll please. . .

Nosy Crow's Cinderella takes a familiar tale and makes it extraordinary. Young readers can follow along with the text, then take a few moments on each page to interact with the story:

Help Cinderella clean up the kitchen by clicking and dragging fruits into the fruitbowl, stacking up the cups and plates, and throwing logs onto the fire.
Get a little silly with the Stepsisters by dressing those soft-headed tyrants in ridiculous outfits for the ball.
Work with Fairy Godmother in the garden to turn the mice into footmen, the pumpkin into a carriage, and all the familiar ball-preparations. These tasks require real skills and include some fun surprises, which keep my young readers completely engaged.

But best of all is the ball itself, where Cinderella gets a few minutes alone with her prince. Nosy Crow does a great job making their books fun and a little unpredictable, and their Cinderella is no exception. Readers can have the happy couple dance a traditional waltz, break out their disco moves, or even go Bollywood. My first-grader comes down with a serious case of the giggles every time we get to the dance scene.

What appeals to me about Nosy Crow's apps is the emphasis on building literacy skills. These are, after all, books. And the audience is beginning readers. Nosy Crow's app hits the mark at many age levels and abilities, as more savvy readers can explore some of the nuanced humor throughout the story and early readers can tap on the characters to generate more speech bubbles that give clues about surprises on the page.

So what makes Nosy Crow's Cinderella No. 1? It's the perfect balance of a variety of factors:

Top-notch illustrations
Lively writing that puts a fresh spin on a familiar story
Original interactive features
A commitment to early literacy
Strong sense of fun

This sets the bar high for other app producers breaking into this new medium of children's literature, where the lines between book, movie, and game are often blurred in the push to attract kids. Hats off to Nosy Crow for getting it right, and having so much fun in the process.

Best Picture Book Apps of 2011

2011-12-12T05:56:00.000-06:00

DotMomming apologizes for the November hiatus, but we were working on a bit of longer writing that required all our brainpower. But we're back in business, just in time for the holidays.

Both Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal are great resources for finding helpful reviews not only of apps for kids but for all kinds of reading, like those things with paper. Their "Best Of" lists are rolling out for 2011, and we're hoping to see some of our favorite apps on there.

Here is dotMomming's rundown of our favorite picture book apps of the year:

For the youngest iPadders, Chronicle's Animal Show is adorable. With a festive, circus vibe in the visuals and audio, little swipers can learn to identify 31 animals -- tap on the sheep and hear it bah-bah-bah -- play matching games, test their memory, and work on counting skills. A definite keeper that they'll want to go back to again and again. ($1.99)

We also love the bedtime app Nighty Night! HD ($1.99) from Shape Minds and Moving Images and created by Oscar-nominated animator Heidi Wittlinger. In this beautifully rendered app, young readers get to put the animals to sleep all around the farm by turning out the lights. This is a perfect example of the magic apps can conjure -- the child is the actor and gets to decide when to make the bedtime call on every page. And though I missed the merging of text with narration, my first-grader did not. Parents who want their kids reading or at least having literacy awareness might find the lack of words on the page disappointing as well. But still, the visuals and interactivity more than make up for it.

For parents who want their wee ones interacting with words, check out Sandra Boynton's The Going to Bed Book ($3.99), which allows for a great deal of fun but keeps wee readers focused on the task at hand -- getting under those covers and calling it a day. Created by the wizards over at Loud Crow, the Boynton apps are not to be missed. Every one is a gem, offering kids the choice to have the story read to them or letting them read it themselves. Boynton books are for the youngest readers who are developing literacy skills, so the highlighting of words to flow with the narration and the subtle cues to move us along through the books go a long way in teaching kids the basic mechanics of reading. Loud Crow is a name you can trust.

And while there are plenty of big names in the App Store now -- from Mo Willems' Don't Let the Pigeon Run This App to the Fancy Nancy franchise -- we like what's coming from the smaller producers, too. Teddy's Night ($0.99) from Auryn is an adorable app about what a teddy bear is up to at bedtime. The soft, pastel illustrations set just the right tone, the child's narration is charming, and the interactive elements are surprising and entertaining without taking away from the story.

We've written before about Crab Hill Press, and their My Dad Drives a Roller Coaster Car ($1.99) is still one of our all-time favorite apps. Two words: rollicking hilarity! Forget about minivans, the little boy in this story has a family that drives wild ride rides from the amusement park, like a merry-go-round horse and a spinning teacup and a roller coaster car. With a beach-blanket-bingo party soundtrack, this app is a gas, and the type of story they'll return to again and again. Here's hoping Crab Hill has more great things to come in 2012.

Next up: A review of our No. 1 pick for 2011. Stay tuned. . .

Children's Picture Book Apps Are Not a Part of the Public Library's Story -- Yet

2011-10-18T05:56:00.000-05:00

As more e-readers are getting into the hands (and under the tapping fingers) of young readers, picture book apps are gaining a wider audience. But not at the public libraries. To understand a bit more about why, dotMomming reached out to Chicago Public Library Youth Materials Specialist Andrew Medlar. This is the last in a series of posts in our conversation about digital books.

"Apps of all types are a significant consideration in our latest Strategic Plan," Medlar says, "and for the book/media industry at large. We can only offer our communities that which is available in the first place, and many of the great sessions and discussions at this summer’s BookExpo America and American Library Association conferences focused on apps and the fact that while they are exciting, and many are fabulous, no one has yet figured out how to make them able to be checked out through libraries."

Among the library's hurdles is that some of the major publishing houses are resistant to making their titles available to public libraries for e-book lending.

"Several major American houses still won’t even allow libraries to buy their e-book titles even though that technology is readily available—and so the logistics of app circulation simply haven’t been satisfactorily developed," Medlar says.

And while it's the publishing houses dragging their feet, some perceive public libraries to be the staid institutions clinging to the paper era. But that's certainly not the case in Chicago, where the Chicago Public Library's flagship Harold Washington Library is leading the way with its teen-centric YOUmedia space. Through YOUmedia, teens turn to the library to check out tools ranging from digital cameras to laptops, and to collaborate and create with new media.

"The Library is always evolving in how we support Chicagoans in new ways of reading, learning and discovering," Medlar says, "and this is a key area of strength in our past, present and future Strategic Plans.

"The expansion of YOUmedia from its internationally renowned success at the Harold Washington Library Center into more neighborhoods across the City is a prime example. The role of the public library has always been to provide access to information – the ways in which patrons now demand that information has changed (and is constantly changing), so it libraries are adapting to those new formats."

It's an exciting time for libraries as they make the changes necessary to stay relevant in a digital age. And I imagine that doing so under anemic budgets is all the more challenging. So whether it's a book in paper form or electronic, the library is working hard to satisfy the demands of a changing audience.

"Content trumps format, and reading, in any way, shape or form, is a positive, educational, fun, and lifelong activity," Medlar says. "As far as the physical form of the text, for young people it’s not an either/or proposition; they move back and forth between e-books and p-books without a problem."

"Let’s just give them the freedom to pick from all of the great stories out there in the world, however they’re told."

Young Readers, e-Books, and the Public Library

2011-10-11T07:25:00.000-05:00

Like Clifford the Big Red Dog, interest in e-books has grown exponentially over the past year. Figures from June show e-book sales rocketing 167 percent, to $80.2 million, at the 15 houses that reported figures to the Association of American Publishers monthly sales report. And according to Publisher's Weekly, for the first half of 2011, e-book sales were up 161 percent to $473.8 million.

This red-hot streak should continue as new reading devices continue to enter the market and consumers turn on to digital books. So as e-book sales reach the stratosphere, dotMomming was wondering what's happening at the public library. We reached out to Andrew Medlar, Youth Materials Specialist for the Chicago Public Library, to find out.

Numbers for trade paperback sales dropped off in June, down 64 percent, according to Publisher's Weekly, while children’s hardcover sales fell 31 percent. And for the first half of 2011, sales in all the trade segments were off by more than 10 percent. So the trend seems to be clear in bookstores -- digital books are on fire. Is the library seeing the same spike in e-book demand?

"In a word: yes. In four words: yes, very much so," Medlar says. "Interest, requests, circulation, and budgets for e-books continue to grow exponentially.

"The subsequent challenges then include balancing this with continued strong demand for the many other formats CPL provides, and working with publishers and distributors to make more e-content available to the library market in the first place."

So where are the kids? The adult market seems to be out ahead of children's books, which makes sense as adults have the buying power to make use of reading tablets. But as more schools try out e-reader technology, demand for kids e-books will rise. Are Kindles, Nooks, iPads, and beyond capturing tween and preteen attention?

"Ten percent of e-book requests placed on our website are for teen titles," Medlar says, "and about 1 percent are for materials for kids up through age 13."

So what are the trends Medlar is seeing at the Chicago Public Library?

"Well, in the interest of user privacy, of course, we don’t track who is checking out what," he says. "But it is clear that many whos are checking out a lot of whats.

"Circulation of e-books has been consistently rising, and leading the charge is teen-directed literature, such as series by Meg Cabot, James Patterson, Maggie Stiefvater, Kristin Cast, Suzanne Collins, and more."

And what's ahead?

"Regardless of the age of the reader selecting these titles, this is definitely where the bulk of youth e-publishing and use is," Medlar says.

"This will continue, and the production of e-titles for tweens and younger will certainly grow itself, especially as more schools embrace e-readers. Interestingly, many of the tween titles immensely popular in paper (authors such as R. L. Stine and Erin Hunter, to name just two) are not seeing the same demand in e-formats, so this is likely still to take a while to catch up."

How e-Books Can Save Your Marriage

2011-10-04T05:05:00.000-05:00

DotMomming is celebrating a glorious alignment of stars over here, and we want to share the joy. It has to do with a few of our favorite things -- the public library, the iPad, and our Spousal Unit (in no order of preference).

Many readers already know the ins and outs of checking out e-books from the library. But for those who do not, we're going to help you get into gear with OverDrive, the library's e-book vendor. And in the process, perhaps we'll restore harmony to your household just as we did at our own.

No more fighting over the bedside lamp being on all night, since you can read books in the dark using your e-reader's black screen and white type!
No more enduring your darling's cranky sighs at the sound of your pages turning, since your e-reader's digital pages turn noiselessly!
And need we remind you? These books are free!

What's not to love?

And for Kindle users out there, OverDrive is now available for use for the first time. Until last week, digital lending was limited to iPad, smart phone, Sony Reader, and Nook.

To help explain the process, dotMomming contacted Andrew Medlar, Youth Materials Specialist for the Chicago Public Library, to talk about e-books, the library's digital bookshelf, and where the kids are. We'll devote the next handful of posts to our conversation.

But first, the basic mechanics of how to check out an e-book through the public library.

"Patrons are invited to visit the Library’s downloadable media catalog at OverDrive to search and/or browse through our rich e-book collection," Medlar says. OverDrive offers several e-book formats, such as EPUB, PDF, mobipocket, and now Kindle Book. Before attempting to download a book, however, iPad users need to download the free OverDrive app. If you're using a Nook, you'll need to download the Adobe Digital Editions software.

"Once you find a title in which you’re interested, you’ll either be able to add the title to your cart or put the title on hold if all of CPL’s licensed 'copies' are checked out to other users." This step is intuitive, as a button to the right of the book information sits waiting for your click.

"If you place it on hold, you will be asked to provide an e-mail address where you will be notified when the title becomes available," Medlar continues. "If it’s currently available you’ll be able to add it to your cart and proceed to checkout, at which point you’ll need to enter a library card number in good standing and your ZIP code."

And there's more. Can you handle it?

No late fees. The book just "disappears" from the e-reader when the checkout period expires. While we love this feature, dotMomming does realize that we are single-handedly supporting the CPL system through our endless late fees. Will e-books put a dent in the library's revenue stream?

"While the automatic return of e-books does result in fewer late fees for the Library," Medlar says, "we actually see it as a great marketing point for potential patrons."

He's talking about you. Good luck -- in your reading and your marriage.

App Review: Trees Are Best FACT

2011-09-27T05:05:00.000-05:00

We have not come across too many nonfiction picture books in the App Store. So when we stumbled upon Trees Are Best FACT, we were excited.

Created by Hedgehog Lab, Trees Are Best is a celebration of all things tree. Told from the perspective of an 8-year-old boy whose friend says "diggers" are best, it is an exploration of what our barky friends can do, from giving us air to breathe to telling us their age in concentric rings.

The interactive components are engaging, beginning on the title page where readers have to shake the iPad to clear a pile of leaves and reveal the text. From dragging on branches to make a tree grow to using a tiny magnifying glass to examine a teensy tree, the whistles and bells on Trees Are Best will keep readers' interest.

There is even an art pad to let young fingers draw their own trees and share them with friends via email. The images can be posted to Facebook pages as well, though the audience for this app is a bit too young to have a Facebook account. But posting on Mom or Dad's page might be the modern equivalent of hanging artwork on the refrigerator.

The narration is solid and sound effects entertaining, though my grownup eyes found the type a bit too small here and there. The visual appeal of Trees Are Best is tremendous -- from collage to video to illustration, with humorous touches here and there that are sure to amuse.

A "coming soon" notice from Hedgehog promises a build-your-own treehouse tool and a tree-spotter's guide, among other upgrades. We look forward to seeing those additions to this lovely, original app. $0.99 for iPad, in English and German

App Review: Let Me See. . . What Will I Be?

2011-09-22T03:05:00.000-05:00

It would be easy to sum up Let Me See. . . What Will I Be? in a single word: adorable. But there's much more to the story about Miss Rosie Red than first meets the eye.

Written by Northern Ireland author-illustrator Trisha Deery and produced by Derry media company Dog Ears, What Will I Be? was released simultaneously as an app and a paper book. It features the curious Rosie, age 3-ish, and her delightful two sidekicks, Baby and a cat named Cooper.

The story is simple. Rosie has been invited to a birthday party and must decide what she wants to be for it. An astronaut? A fairy? A dinosaur?

The narration is sweetly performed by a young child, and my three kids could not get enough of it. The book is geared for the youngest appsters, but older readers will get a kick out of this toddler's antics. My six-year-old ate it up, taking joy in what the young whippersnapper Rosie was up to.

Darling illustrations of Rosie and her friends dressed in each possibility offer just the right amount of interactivity without letting little fingers lose track of the story. The emphasis is on Rosie and her excitement about going to a birthday party, and the resolution is spot on.

Miss Rosie has a strong appeal, and her charming companions Baby and Cooper create an irresistible triple-threat. Dog Ears reports the possibility of a TV show in the works, along with more books. What we liked best about Rosie was that her dress-up choices were not stereotypically girlie. Sure, the fairy option was a sparkly pink froth, but it was balanced by Rosie as a dinosaur and as an astronaut.

There is an air about this character -- resplendent in her striped red tights -- that is reminiscent of a certain pig with a big personality. Here's hoping we see more of Miss Rosie Red. With all this potential, who knows what she will be.

$2.99 for iPad and iPhone; paper book available in English and Irish

JibJab Brings Its Sense of Fun to Kids Books

2011-09-20T06:58:00.000-05:00

JibJab's Starring You holiday and birthday greetings have been cracking us up since 2007, when the first e-cards that allow users to put the heads of loved ones into hilarious videos made their debut. Now brothers Evan and Gregg Spiridellis -- Jib and Jab themselves -- are dipping their toes in the waters of children's apps with JibJab Jr.

The first title -- The Biggest Pizza Ever -- comes free when you download the JibJab Jr. app. If you like, you can buy the other titles currently offered in the app's home screen, Alphabet Wrangler and Ocean Commotion, each for $7.99. Or go for the monthly JibJab Jr. plan at $3.99 and receive a new book automatically each month.

Personalizing the JibJab line of books is incredibly simple. In a few keystrokes, you can upload a photo of your wee one and type in her name, then sit back and enjoy the rollicking ride. Prepare yourselves for some fun.

Because dotMomming has enjoyed JibJab over the years (spending countless hours creating wacky holiday cards for everyone she could think of), we reached out to Gregg Spiridellis about the new children's book line, what's behind this latest move, and what's ahead for JibJab.

DotMomming: Among the hilarious features to JibJab cards is the audio. My writing group still chuckles over the fabulous JibJab holiday card they received last December, set to Jose Feliciano's Feliz Navidad. With the JibJab Jr. books for kids, there is no audio, no gentle piano accompaniment, no "read to me" feature as with many apps. Was this a deliberate decision to focus on the story and the printed words?

Gregg Spiridellis: Yes, it was a deliberate decision and, yes, it was a mistake. We were so focused on making this about the parent reading to the child that we missed the opportunity to insert subtle sounds that enhance the experience. We are working on it now, and it will be the first major feature enhancement for us.

DM: Many picture book apps include interactivity where kids tap on puffy clouds to make it rain or swipe a tree to make it grow taller. With The Biggest Pizza Ever, the interactivity is in creating characters. With a few simple steps, kids can import their own picture and feature themselves as the hero of the story. Can you talk about the decisions that went into the book's interactivity?

GS: Our mission is to enhance the time parents spend with their children sharing stories at bedtime. As parents, my brother and I find it frustrating when we are trying to tell the story and all the kids want to do is click the screen. There is nothing wrong with interactivity, especially for learning games, but for bedtime reading, we think it distracts from the storytelling experience. We may do some experimentation with this in the future, but unlike sound, which we are adding as quickly as possible, we are holding off on interactivity beyond the creation of the book itself.

DM: Picture book apps are exciting new creatures, and they are very much in their infancy. Can you talk about why JibJab decided to venture into this world and what you hope to do?

GS: The fact that there is so much room for re-invention of the bedtime storytelling experience with new technology is what excites us! We hope to leverage technology to create products that enhance the time parents spend telling stories to their kids!

DM: JibJab has a very particular sense of humor, and it comes through in the first example of your books, The Biggest Pizza Ever. Where or from whom does this sensibility come? Gregg? Evan? Is one brother funnier than the other? And what can we expect to see from you guys in the coming months?

GS: Everyone at JibJab is funny! That’s our business! While my brother and I decide on what stories get produced, The Biggest Pizza Ever is written by one of our very talented employees, Scott Emmons. In the coming months you will see more books with that JibJab sense of humor, aged-down for the 2- to 6-year-old people in your life!

DM: In a recent USA Today interview, you described the opportunity to "disrupt" children's publishing. What does that mean?

GS: We think new technology creates new opportunities to tell stories that will be far more immersive and engaging than what is possible on printed paper. The traditional publishers have built a business printing things on paper and distributing that paper to wholesalers (Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc.). We think the skills required to be a world-class children’s publisher in the future will be very different than the skills required to be a leader in the past.

DM: As parents yourselves, can you talk about your own kids' reading habits and what you see as the future in book publishing? Do your kids prefer digital over paper, both? What do you prefer as a parent?

GS: Both Evan and I prefer reading iPad books to our kids at night, and they prefer it as well! The reason we prefer it, as parents, is that we can turn off the lights and crawl into bed and read the stories in the dark, which really helps wind the kids down for bedtime.

DM: Tapping, swiping, games, animation. What are your thoughts on a book as a tool for early literacy? Where are the boundaries? When do they become a movie or a game? And does it matter?

GS: There is no doubt that the iPad is an amazing early learning tool (some of the Bob apps are great for early learning). While we are focused on the bedtime reading experience right now, we think there are obvious opportunities to expand into learning apps in the future.

App Review: Finn's Paper Hat

2011-09-15T03:09:00.000-05:00

It's no surprise when wee ones these days look at a VCR tape and wonder what in the world to do with it. Ditto phones attached to walls, CD racks, and the handles that roll car windows up and down.

What breaks the heart of newspaper lovers everywhere is the notion that this same under-40-inches set will not know what you can do with a newspaper. Roll it up and train the dog. Wrap dishes and coffee mugs in it and pack for a move. And best of all, fold it up and make a hat.

That's why Finn's Paper Hat caught our eye. Produced by Tizio Publishing, the same folks who created the enchanting Fierce Grey Mouse, Finn's Paper Hat is the second app from talented author-illustrator Chantal Bourgonje.

In this story, Finn creates a newspaper hat and embarks on some exciting adventures. When rain pours down, he doesn't worry about the water drenching his hat. He turns it over and sets sail. With engaging animation, Finn's journey moves from ocean waves to a bumpy encounter with a whale.

Readers can tap the page to add snowflakes at the North Pole and drag their fingers across the page to run the whale aground. More encounters with a seal bring other adventures as Finn makes the best of every situation. And his creative uses for the paper hat celebrate imagination.

While many apps can be heard in a variety of languages from Mandarin to Dutch, Finn's Paper Hat offers options I've not seen before: Readers can choose to have the narration performed in Australian English, American English, U.K. English, and beyond. I chose English narration with an Irish slant, and I felt like Colin Farrell was snuggled in the chair with me. Sigh.

Finn's Paper Hat offers extras that include a how-to guide for making your own paper hat, as well as coloring pages. $1.99 for iPad

Crab Hill Press Enjoys the Wild App Ride

2011-09-13T05:05:00.000-05:00

We're always on the lookout for a good time over here at dotMomming. So when we discovered the fast-paced, downright thrilling picture book apps created by Crab Hill Press, we got a little weak in the knees. Their Nash Smasher! app, about a boy with a certain amount of joie de vivre and a hammer, made our top picks for summer. And My Dad Drives a Roller Coaster Car still has us reeling.

Of course we had to reach out to Crab Hill and meet the imaginative minds behind such madcap fun. Bill Doyle serves as chief writer and Rachel Ericson is creative director.

DotMomming: I see on one of your pages that you have "30 years combined experience in kids publishing." Can you elaborate? You come from book backgrounds. What made you make the leap into apps and digital books?

Bill: Rachel and I both come out of the print world. We became friends at Sesame Workshop in the '90s. I was editor of a magazine called Kid City, based on The Electric Company, and Rachel was art director of Contact Kids Magazine, based on the show 3-2-1 Contact. After Sesame, we had a blast freelancing on different projects together and had always talked about working on our own thing. We’re both gadget geeks—so when apps first appeared on the radar, we knew we wanted in.

It helped, too, that I’d been writing for different websites and different interactive publishers like LeapFrog. I was itching to apply some of what I was learning to our own projects.

DM: The joys of running your own app development business likely are many, including having complete control of the content and look of the books you're creating. Can you explain the appeal of Crab Hill Press and what you enjoy most about it?

Bill: I love working with big publishers. You can’t beat the editors I’ve worked with, the illustrators I’ve been paired with, or the support and distribution the big companies can offer.

It’s exciting, though, for us to go out on the tightrope on our own…either we do some cool acrobatics that gets the crowd going…or we might fall. Either way, it’s a rush just knowing that it’s all up to us.

At Crab Hill Press, we have a rule: we only do something if we’re having fun. It sounds like a cliché or something you might say during an interview, but it’s absolutely true. If a project starts meandering out of the realm of “wow, we’re having a good time,” we’ll pull back and take a breather until it’s fun again. Everyone has enough going on in their lives that they don’t need something that might feel like more work.

Rachel: We seriously only do what we enjoy. Bill is super enthusiastic, which makes it more fun, and the chain of command is pretty short. There's me, and there's Bill. And usually we agree. Of course, we hope that it will translate into being rich and famous one day, but mostly we're making apps we really believe in. And we focus on quality, originality, and content. There is no one in the process disputing our gut feelings or diluting an idea.

I also love being able to work with great people. Troy Cummings and Daniel Guidera are both illustrators I've worked with extensively in the past. Together with Mark Arenz, the fantastic programmer of our apps, we not only have a really talented and creative team, but also one that's really FUNNY. It's definitely my policy to only work with people I like, and these guys crack me up all the time.

DM: The flip side of the coin is that you assume all the risk and all the expense: developing the platform your apps run on is costly, you have to sell a lot of books to see a profit. Can you talk about the stresses and nail-biting moments of running Crab Hill?

Bill: I think the two days after we released our first app, Nash Smasher!, were a little harrowing and when I chewed up the most nails. That second after we were approved for the App Store and went on sale, I thought, “Oh, we’ve put out an app and there are millions and millions of people with devices…we’re going to be HUGE immediately.” That wasn’t the case. While Apple has always been amazing to us and featured us in New & Noteworthy and What’s Hot, at first we kind of sank unnoticed into the huge pile of apps. We tried running ads on Google and Facebook...those didn’t work out. Lucky for us, Apps4Kids.net was the first site to notice us. And, a couple months later, when The New York Times named Nash Smasher one of the Top 10 Kids Books for the iPad, things really started to move.

Rachel: I think the approval process for each app has been the only moment where I bite my nails. That's when you send your baby out in the world and it's out of your hands. It was also a bit of a cold shower to see that we didn't automatically sell thousands or even hundreds in a day. But I've adjusted my expectations, and we're exploring new ways in order to better the sales figures for our current and upcoming projects.

DM: For authors and illustrators considering going this way, I think it's important for them to understand profit margins in the two publishing realms (app vs. traditional). Can you give a sense of what's in it for authors and artists once a platform is set up -- from what I can see, there is real money to be made despite the low price of apps.

So let's talk profit margins and sales. Both of your picture book apps sell for $1.99 in the App Store. Can you break down (in general terms) the costs involved in bringing a picture book app to life -- from idea (and you have had fabulous book ideas!) to finished product? What percentage are you taking home for each app downloaded? In the traditional book market, a picture book needs to sell about 10,000 copies to be deemed a success. How many sales do you need to "make it" as an app? And to "make it BIG"?

Bill: Print is a big part of both of our lives, and individually we have great relationships with big companies. For example, I’ve got a book with Scholastic that sold about 450,000 copies in a year. Those kinds of numbers are extremely hard to beat—and so is the support and talent you can access.

Because we’re small, we don’t have the overhead of big publishers. So we can charge a little less for our apps. And when it comes to margin, the 70/30 split that Apple has established is incredibly fair.

Speaking of fair, that’s something I’ve learned from publishers and book packagers I’ve worked with: Be fair to the people you’re working with. Give illustrators the credit and percentage they deserve.

Rachel: I'm not really sure what that number would be to consider your app a success. We're doing our best to make sure that the people involved in our app production get compensated fairly. But we're not Angry Birds…yet.

DM: Production time is one of the major differences between picture book apps vs. picture books with paper pages. For an author, it might take more than a year to see your book make it through the editorial process and onto a bookstore shelf. For a picture book app, the process can be just a matter of months. Can you talk about Nash Smasher! and My Dad Drives a Roller Coaster Car and how long the creative process took for those apps?

Bill: One of my favorite print books out now is Attack of the Shark-Headed Zombie which took about two years to go from idea to shelf. I thought our apps would be much, much faster. But time gets eaten up in different ways, and both Nash Smasher! and My Dad Drives a Roller Coaster Car took about half a year. It helps that we work with one of the best and most creative programmers, Mark Arenz—he keeps us moving at just the right pace.

Rachel: I’d agree. I think it took about six months from concept to launch. It might have been faster if Crab Hill Press was my day job, but luckily we didn't have the stress of a hard and fast deadline hanging over our heads.

DM: There is a sort of gold rush happening in app-land as authors, illustrators, and publishers flock to this new frontier. How do you avoid getting swept up in the frenzy to throw as many apps out there as you can and see what sticks? How do you ensure quality -- in story content, illustration and interactive features?

Bill: I think creating apps is a little like dating. You don’t want to rush things, promise too much, come off as desperate, or seem greedy. Because Rachel and I both are still working in the print world with other publishers, we have the luxury of time right now. Plus, as someone who’s wanted to be a writer his whole life, I have a file cabinet full of ideas and it’s fun to sift through them and find just the
right new project.

One quick quality suggestion: Don’t skimp on sound in your apps! I had a teacher at NYU who said if you only have a little money for a film, spend it on a good microphone. The same idea is true for apps. Good sound will take you a long way. Oh! And respect your reader. Don’t oversell in the iTunes description and be very careful not to talk down to kids in the books.

[Check out a clip of Crab Hill's My Dad Drives a Roller Coaster Car to get a sense of how important audio is to the app experience.]

Rachel: Working with the right people, remaining enthusiastic, and respecting your audience are the best ways to keep your quality high. Busy with all sorts of things in life, we choose our projects carefully, and don't have time to throw out a bunch of apps to see what sticks. So that helps. In addition to that, I have a five-year-old and feel responsible to create things I'm extremely proud of: if it’s not good enough for her, it’s not good enough.

DM: Coming from traditional books and now venturing into apps, how do they compare for you -- creatively speaking? Where does your heart lie? And what do you see for the future of picture books?

Bill: With the more traditional print books I write, I find this wonderful focus…where each and every word is an important brick in the mental picture and character composite you’re building for readers.

The book apps are different kinds of productions. I can bring in a few more of the
things I picked up at NYU, and combine even more of the things I love: design, art, story, lighting, music, and voice talent.

What’s exciting about the future of kids book apps is that no one is completely sure where it’s going. We attended the incredible Dust or Magic App Camp in May and met all sorts of developers from one-person companies to those working with Disney…and it seems we’re all on the same terrific ride: trying to figure out what will be the next big thing!

Rachel: I love paper, I’m always going to be creating things for print… but an app is just wide open as far as what you can do with it. It’s a very exciting time for designers, and it makes my brain hurt trying to think of ways to be more creative!

There will always be a future for picture books though; the market may change, but it won't go away. If anything it will make the market for quality books stronger. Think of movie theaters… everyone thought they would die once we were able to watch films at home, but in actuality it's motivated the industry to make better movies and made going to the movie theater something special. Holding a book in your hands will always remain something special.

Another Card-Carrying Member of the CPL

2011-09-08T05:05:00.000-05:00

I stopped by the Blackstone Branch of the Chicago Public Library the other day with the kids in tow. It was one of many stops on a hot day full of errands to the dry cleaners, the grocery store, the pet store, and the coffee shop.

"Why are we sitting down?" asked my six-year-old, resting his head on the wooden table.

"Because we need to fill out this form," I explained. "You're getting a library card today."

He wasn't going for it. He was hungry, he was tired, and he was desperate to get home and back to playing with the dog or staging battles with his knights. Anything but having to sit quietly at a table and perform some writing task.

And as with many young boys, reading and writing are not his default settings. Neither activity comes easy to him. Despite a summer spent immersed in books, he's not a confident reader. And as for his writing ability, fine-motor skills are not his strong suit.

"Why can't we go to the library where you bought me Bad Kitty?" he argued.

"Because that's a bookstore, and we have to buy the books there," I said with a peppy voice, though he was not so swayed by my enthusiasm. "A library is where you get to read the books for free."

Clearly I need to work on money management with my kids. Because "free" doesn't seem to have the same motivating effect on them as it does on me.

We got in line and waited for our turn at the desk. Big sister and brother joined us, heaving their own deep sighs and obviously wishing they were somewhere else, too.

Until Elbert.

Elbert Patterson is the head clerk at the Blackstone Branch. He has been the friendly face of the Chicago Public Library system for me over the years -- always pleasant and never once scolding me for my shameful accumulation of fines. But on this day, Elbert Patterson was bigger than that. On this particular day, Elbert Patterson was the embodiment of all that is wonderful about public libraries.

"Gabriel," he said in a deep and somber voice. Then he paused for a few beats, reading over the application form my almost-first-grader had placed on the counter. "Gabriel, you did a wonderful job writing your name."

Suddenly, Mr. Cranky Pants stopped slouching. He stood a little taller in his sneakers. His brother and sister quit their fidgeting and gazed up at Elbert, too. Both seemed keenly aware that Gabriel was having A Moment.

"Sometimes, people fill out the forms, and they are messy," Elbert continued. "Your G is perfect, and both your Ss are facing the right way. Not everybody gets that right."

Gabriel nodded with a gravity I'd never witnessed in him before.

As Elbert explained the borrowing privileges Gabriel was now granted, I looked around at the cathedral-like setting that is the Blackstone Library -- the first branch in the city's library system. Unlike the contemporary design of many suburban libraries, patrons stepping through the doors here are met with a stunning rotunda flanked by four murals depicting labor, literature, the arts, and agriculture.

And like a cathedral, it inspires a sense of reverence.

The line behind us began to stack up, but Elbert didn't rush us along. He printed Gabriel's name out in bold block letters and had him check it for mistakes. Then when it was ready, Elbert presented the green and white plastic rectangle to Gabriel with all dignity and respect it deserved.

There are few cards as powerful as a library card. Not only because libraries play such a crucial role in maintaining a democracy and supporting an educated populace -- all highfalutin notions. But for a child, it instills their first sense of community and belonging.

"Congratulations, Gabriel," Elbert said. "You are free to use the Chicago Public Library."

Now, the reverence I feel isn't just for our beautiful library building. It's for the Elbert Pattersons of the world.

App Review: Winken, Blinken, and Nod

2011-09-06T03:05:00.000-05:00

One of my earliest recollections is of trying to memorize the Winken, Blinken, and Nod nursery rhyme from my beloved Bumper Book when I was 3 or 4 years old. So when I spotted Larva Labs' take on this adorable classic, I was all over it.

Their version of Winken, Blinken, and Nod for the iPad is beautifully presented in paper cutouts. Made from real, used-to-be-a-tree paper, every aspect of the visuals is breathtaking. Little Nod wears a folded newspaper hat, and his pals Winken and Blinken are no less charming. With a bright red sail in their textured wooden shoe, they are a gorgeous team.

What makes this Winken, Blinken, and Nod stand out from the app pack is the voice-recognition feature. Read the story aloud, and the words become illuminated and trigger more action. I found the sound effects perfect -- the gentle splashing of our wee boat as it sailed through the twinkling foam was soothing for a nighttime read. And the distinct sounds that identify our three characters -- a babyish giggle for Nod, a froggy croak for Blinken, and a saxophone blast for Winken -- added a bit of finger-tapping fun.

But there were a few moments during readings of this bedtime story with my three kids that produced unintentional bouts of laughter. On spots where the voice recognition failed, the kids and I would shout at the iPad as if it were a deaf uncle. One minute we were snuggled on the pillow, wrapped in the lulling rhythm of this timeless rhyme:"All night long their nets they threw. . " And the next we were repeating the text again and again to no avail, ". . . to the stars." "To the STARS!" "TO THE STARS!"

Overall, the voice recognition worked well. What was most successful for me was to read the text slowly and smoothly without a lot of monkeying around with silly inflections. Once I discovered that playing it straight led to a seamless read, I had no problems.

My little guy preferred to tap the words as he read them aloud himself, then watch what animation resulted from his progress. This approach is fine, too. For emerging readers, associating specific text with images reinforces their understanding of the story. In a very tactile way, they are extracting meaning from every word they tap.

Winken, Blinken, and Nod is a beautiful app with an interesting tech twist, that's pretty much perfect for a bedtime reading. $1.99 for the iPad

Part 4: Glowing Screens As Zombie-Makers, and Other Digital Media Fears

2011-09-01T05:05:00.010-05:00

In this fourth and final installment of our conversation with Patrick Cox, who teaches Children's Literacies, a Rutgers University course about learning to read in the digital age, we address attitudes about digital books and their utility. A recent Christian Science Monitor article dismissed narrated picture book apps as an annoying diversion to keep kids occupied at restaurants. While I like to rope off family talking time from screen time, I don't have a problem with a book in whatever form it might take. But there are many, like the Christian Science Monitor writer, who disagree. Giving a child an e-reader "walls them off from the social connections that are part of why we go to restaurants in the first place."

DotMomming: Picture book apps have come under recent criticism as just another toy to divert impatient kids. I think that is completely overlooking their value: How can picture book apps best be used in early literacy development? I like to see my six-year-old work his way through them on his own, as he deciphers the words solo and experiences the interactive surprises nestled into the book for himself. There is also a school of thought devoted to shared engagement between adult teacher and child learner. What is your take?

Patrick Cox: The author makes one of many assumptions people make about picture book apps and other forms of digital literature: once a child gets their hands on an electronic device, he or she will cease to engage with other human beings. This is another age-old argument. Similar moral panics have erupted in the past around books – that too much reading is bad for children, is somehow unnatural, cuts them off from “real” communication, and makes them lazy or “soft.”

The truth is, and I think most people know it, sometimes kids engage with books in interaction with parents, and sometimes kids engage with books on their own. What seems to be a difficult leap to make is that the same holds true for digital reading. The current “new thing” is digital reading in many different forms (many of which are enjoyed by adults), so the current moral panic is that the dreaded glowing screen is turning our children into zombies who don’t know how to communicate. It’s an easy, breezy topic for a magazine column or discussion board post.

But the question isn’t, “What are we to do in the face of this debilitating technology?” but rather, “How can we use it to enable our children (and us!) to communicate better?” Apps, like books, are merely tools, and we have more control over how we use them than they have power to control us. A recorded narrator’s voice needn’t eliminate parent interaction with a child while reading. Parent and child can enjoy together, can still talk about the text and images, a child can ask questions about the content of the app, a child can later relive the story through imaginative play. . . Indeed, a child can engage with an app alone, and an app can keep a child busy or quiet at a restaurant. . . which is also just like a book.

I think shared engagement is absolutely essential, not only for learning to read but for parent-child bonding! These technologies and formats are as new to me as they are to my four-year-old-son: we both saw a picture book app for the first time together! And we figured it out together – how to use it, what we like about it, what we don’t like about it, what we’ll use again. The new platform hasn’t kept us from engaging with one another while reading. It’s given us something else to utilize as we engage with one another.

Part 3: Fun & Games Since John Newbery's 'Pretty Little Pocketbooks'

2011-08-30T05:05:00.002-05:00

This is the third in a series of dotMomming's conversation with Patrick Cox, who is teaching Children's Literacies, a course at Rutgers University in Camden, New Jersey, about learning to read in the digital age. Patrick is a Ph.D. candidate in Rutger's childhood studies program.

DotMomming: The term "book" has become a loose thing as app developers include games and other whistles and bells with their digital stories. Often a parent wonders, "Is this a book? a game? a movie? all three?" What is your take on these new beasts?

Patrick Cox: I think it’s great to be prompted to such questions, and to hopefully conclude that books, games, and even movies needn’t be mutually exclusive. Perhaps it’s OK for reading to be fun. . . it always has been. Adding a few bells and whistles to reading is nothing new. John Newbery’s Pretty Little Pocketbooks are often mentioned as a starting point of children’s literature, at least as a marketed product. He published them in 1744, and they were accompanied with balls and pincushions. Children’s books and toys have always gone hand-in-hand.

One can argue that children’s literature has always crossed a line between “reading” and “playing” in such a way and to such a degree that should really force us to always consider fun, play, and even “gaming” as part of it. Digital enhancements are just the next development.

And the questions and concerns about digital reading are age-old as well. Nowadays, people can’t tell if the latest reading device is a toy or a book, but in the past, people have asked, “How can this be serious reading if the rhymes and rhythm are so bouncy? Won’t the colorful pictures distract from the reading? Aren’t these pop-up images just a little ‘too much’? Isn’t it enough to just read?” But the truth is, reading is supposed to be fun.

I think it’s also worth pointing out that there’s very little evidence to suggest that either:

No one is reading any more, or
No one is reading books anymore.

The presence of these new types of experiences with reading are not spelling the end of reading – to the contrary, I’d argue they enhance and encourage it! And to those who ask, “What’s wrong with just reading a book?” I’d reply: absolutely nothing, and the sales figures suggest that most people – especially young people – agree! These new creations really ought to be embraced for their ability to bring new people to reading and new experiences to reading, and not feared as some sort of enemy of literacy.

Part 2: Digital Literacy and Learning to Read

2011-08-25T05:05:00.000-05:00

This is the second in a series of posts in which we'll hear from Patrick Cox, a Ph.D. candidate in the childhood studies program at Rutgers University. Patrick taught a summer course on learning to read in the digital age, and he will repeat it in the fall and spring. In exploring how digital readers are impacting early literacy development, Patrick is engaging his students in better understanding technology and how young children are learning about it and with it.

DotMomming: The digital natives born into the iPad world are experiencing reading and learning in a whole new way. I don't mean this as a plug for Apple, just in the sense that books are a fluid thing now. Kids can toddle over to the bookshelf to sit down with a paper book, or they can tap their fingers on a reading tablet and read a digital one. Is one experience better than the other?

Patrick Cox: Of course not! Certainly the experiences are different from each other, but it gets a bit sticky to ascribe words like “better” or “worse” to one experience over another. Apart from whatever text is being read in each medium, both media also teach valuable skills to young readers. “Book awareness” starts very young, and the book is itself a technology anyone in the United States really needs to learn how to use.

We don’t really think of it, but at some point we had to learn the difference between the cover of a book and the back of a book, or which direction to turn the pages, or that we read from left to right. These are all skills that are developed from a very young age and will serve us throughout our lives . . . unless books completely disappear, which I don’t think is likely at all.

Similarly, reading tablets and other hi-tech manifestations of books teach other useful skills we might call “tech awareness.” As unromantic as it sounds, these days we need to learn a connection between pushing buttons and things happening on a screen, or “swyping” a screen to move an image. In my state of Pennsylvania, naming and having some understanding of how to use computer parts like keyboards, a mouse, a touchpad, and a cell phone is part of the pre-kindergarten education standards. The fact is, like it or not, it behooves us all to learn how to use these new devices.

I’m very interested in this phrase “digital native.” I’ve heard it before and understand what is meant. But there’s an implication about it, it seems, that there’s something natural about kids’ connection to technology that people who aren’t “natives” can’t ever fully learn or become a part of. “Native” means some people are “not native,” so there’s a separation being made in the phrase between children and adults. “You grow up with it or you don’t; you’re a part of it, or you aren’t.” Children and adolescents have been classed as “separate” in different realms before. (There’s actually a book about teenagers called “A Tribe Apart,” another term that both primitivizes children and separates “them” from “us” – the presumably less primitive adults.)

I’ve heard children’s picture book apps on iPads described as perfect for young children because “kids these days are wired differently.” I think there’s a growing belief that children “just know this tech stuff” as if it’s not learned but natural to them, as if children are somehow at one with technology and its accompanying gadgets; “wired differently” as if part of the computer’s circuitry.

What’s troubling in all this is the perception that using reading tablets and other techie gadgets is somehow not reading. And that the gadgets – the digital books and apps and so forth – are cutting us off from “the natives.” We often hear a critique of e-readers along the lines of, “Yes, but it’s just not the same as curling up with a book and turning the pages.” People talk about the feel of paper, the smell of books. Indeed, a Kindle is not the same. But I’m not sure the difference is such as to affect a young reader’s comprehension or engagement with the story being read or their connection with the characters. In other words, reading hasn’t changed; just the device has changed. But that seems to be fraught with a lot of other meanings for people.

Rutgers Scholar on Reading in the Digital Age

2011-08-23T05:05:00.001-05:00

As we explore the role technology plays in early literacy development, we’re always on the lookout for cool happenings in the realm of kids books. Imagine our surprise when dotMomming stumbled across an undergraduate course being taught this summer at Rutgers University in Camden, New Jersey, about learning to read in the digital age.

Titled simply Children’s Literacies, the coursework examines how literacy has expanded beyond the basics of reading and writing to include technological literacy as well. We reached out to Patrick Cox, who taught the summer course, is a Ph.D. candidate in the childhood studies program at Rutgers, and is clearly passionate about digital books and their effect on early literacy.

We'll devote the next many posts to exploring digital books and learning with Patrick.

DotMomming: Can you talk about the Rutgers course? Who was your audience? What were your topics? What did you hope to accomplish with the program?

Patrick Cox: The course is taught in the Department of Childhood Studies at Rutgers. Previously, the only children’s literature courses taught on this campus were offered through the English department, a discipline that takes a particular approach to literature. My department wanted some sort of children’s literature course that approached the literature in a Childhood Studies sort of way, which meant, first, it had to be a multi-disciplinary course, and second, it had to keep “the child” at the center of the study in some way.

So in a very important way this course is a children’s literature course that deliberately includes media other than books: e-readers, toys, CD-ROMs, websites, transmedia texts, cell phone novels, vooks [combination of books and videos] – we even looked into stories told through clues on T-shirts! People are really doing some amazing things with how they tell stories. And children’s and young adult literature is leading the way.

I wanted students to end the course with a greater awareness of and appreciation for some of these other forms. But we also read novels, short stories, picture books, comic books, graphic novels, because none of these things have been replaced; they’re part of children’s literacies too.

On another level, the course is about literacy itself: how it has developed, why it’s been taught, what has the spread of literacy meant for our culture, how has it been used as a “gatekeeper,” and what has it meant for those who have been left out. So my students also read about cognitive development as children learn to read, pedagogical approaches in classrooms, educational theory, ethnographies conducted in schools, scholarly work on incorporating popular culture into literacy instruction, and popular writing from newspapers and magazines to get a feel for the general cultural discourse and controversies around these new forms of literature. We also spent a good deal of time discussing the role of the marketplace in new literacies.

The course is open to any undergraduate student at Rutgers, and I hope those majoring in Childhood Studies find it fits with the rest of their courses: a one-of-a-kind course in a one-of-a-kind department. That to me is very important: it should be a course people can’t find anywhere but here.

I always hope for a certain number of students to come from the Teacher Prep program as well, to bring their expertise to the classroom and, hopefully, think in a different way about their role and approach as literacy instructors. Also, the undergraduate population is not a bunch of 18-year-olds anymore. Most of them are older (some quite a bit older), and half of my students have kids of their own.

I love teaching parents, as a parent myself, exchanging new ideas and materials and hoping they leave the course with an understanding that there are multiple forms of literacy, multiple ways to teach children to read, that literacy instruction these days begins at home and at a very young age, and that it’s OK to have fun while doing it. Also that not having the latest technological device will not doom your child to a life of illiteracy.

I’ll be teaching [Children’s Literacies] again this fall and then again in the spring. Enrollment for the fall session is already at capacity!

Author-Illustrator Elizabeth O. Dulemba Conjures Up Adorable App with "Lula's Brew"

2011-08-16T05:05:00.000-05:00

In getting to understand picture book apps, we've heard from app developers about what it takes to bring their ideas to market. But what about the author-artists themselves? What's it like to see your illustrations and stories come to life as a digitally animated book?

DotMomming reached out to Elizabeth O. Dulemba, author-illustrator of the darling picture book app Lula's Brew. Aside from illustrating over a dozen traditional books, she is the Illustrator Coordinator for the Southern region of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, an adjunct professor of illustration at the University of Georgia, and also sits on the board of the Georgia Center for the Book. And we cannot overlook this incredibly cool resume footnote: she created the laser show on the side of Georgia's Stone Mountain one summer (which I think I attended back in 1991 when I worked for a South Carolina newspaper).

DotMomming: You have a strong background in traditional books and art, but you've begun to dip your toes in the land of picture book apps. How's the water?

Elizabeth O. Dulemba: Interesting. I've always been a bit of a geek -- taught myself html, do my own website, illustrate digitally. So when e-books came along, of course I was intrigued. I love that we have this new media in which to share our stories, often in interactive new ways. It opens even more possibilities for storytelling.

DM: Lula's Brew is a gorgeously illustrated book. What is your creative process in making your art? And how does it look to you on the iPad, Nook, and other digital formats?

EOD: Thank you! I usually start with pencil sketches which I scan, arrange, and then color digitally (mostly in Photoshop). I'm thrilled by how Lula looks on these devices -- exactly as I intended, with light from behind. The viewer can see every brush stroke, every nuance of color. Fantastic!

DM: How does this compare to the paper books you've produced? Do you prefer one medium over the other?

EOD: I originally got into this business because I love books. Paper and cardboard and color. I will never lose my love for the turned page. So while I love digital formats, I will first and foremost always want to hold a finished book in my hands.

DM: Can you take a moment to talk about the production process with Lula's Brew? How long did it take you to go from "ah-ha" moment with the story idea to "wow" moment when you could download the app? How does this compare with traditional?

EOD: Lula's Brew had a tumultuous journey. I actually created the story and the dummy years before. One of the illustrations even won me a Grand Prize in the SmartWriters competition. And although it got close, the story was never picked up by a major publishing house. When apps came along, I searched my archives for something that I could adapt, and Lula was the one. It had received great feedback, was short, funny, the sketches were done...

But with a Halloween theme, I had a short window in which to complete it. That was two weeks of late nights, and then I sent my files to my app developer. I did a voice recording in a mock sound studio at his house, he put it all together and submitted to Apple. The app was live two weeks later - just before Halloween.

Traditional publishing is a completely different animal. I usually have months to a year to illustrate a book, and of course, I don't have to record a soundtrack. I'm also working under contract with a publisher. The app was on my own.

DM: As an illustrator of traditional books and now with app experience under your belt, could you speak in general terms about profit margins. For a picture book to be deemed a success, it needs to sell about 10,000 copies. Lula's Brew, which was released in April 2010 and retails for $2.99 in the App Store, has already marked more than 10,000 downloads. Despite the lower price, are your profit margins better than for your traditional paper books? Can you elaborate?

EOD: Lula's Brew has done remarkably well in downloads, however the profit margin is still nowhere near a traditional book contract. It's done better than I thought, but I currently wouldn't look to apps as a true money-making venture. Especially now that the field is growing so crowded. The advantage I had of having one of the first picture book apps out there is no longer, so marketing is yet again the grand beastie challenge.

DM: Could you take a moment to gaze into your crystal ball? What do you see as the future for picture books in five, ten years? Of course digital does not have to wipe out print -- as with movies, there's still room for big-screen film experiences along side video-watching at home. Do you see the market preferring one over the other?

EOD: I do think digital picture books will cut into the paper book market, however I don't see it replacing it. Nowhere close. Picture books are still a child's first foray into reading, into loving books, and I don't think parents will be eager to replace that experience with electronic devices. Yes, iPhones are great on the fly, but not as much at bedtime. And the prices of various devices are still too high to make them accessible to all families.

I see the two media working together over the next few years, giving our young ones so many options, they become bigger readers than ever. Doesn't that sound nice?

DM: A worry I have as the mother of young kids is that picture book apps can sometimes blur the lines between book and movie, or even book and game. What are your thoughts about young readers and their early literacy experiences with apps vs. traditional books?

EOD: I agree with your concern. I think it's important for parents to introduce books not only for reading, but as a concept. The world flies at us these days, and children need to know they can find refuge in a simple book, in a story that uses their mind as the interactive element.

DM: What's next for you? Are you illustrating more picture book apps? Are you writing them as well? What about traditional books? What do you hope to be doing three years from now?

EOD: I don't have any picture book apps in progress right now. In my opinion, it's not efficient from a budget standpoint to spend time on them from scratch. It's just too dicey as to whether or not they'll earn enough revenue. Truly, I think the best use of the media is to bring out-of-print picture books back to life -- giving them a new audience. Although, I am curious to see how Lula's Brew does as a Nook Book through Barnes & Noble. Maybe that will change my mind. It's still too new to tell.

I currently have a new picture book dummy being shopped by my agent to traditional publishing houses, as well as a middle-grade novel. In three years, I hope to have them published and be creating more!

Dublin's Ideal Binary Living the Fairy Tale

2011-08-09T05:05:00.014-05:00

Among the many interesting things about app-land is that businesses can pop up anywhere you can imagine: a loft in downtown Chicago, a yurt in outer Mongolia. When we read about Dublin-based Ideal Binary and their award-winning adaptations of Grimm's fairytales for the iPad and iPhone, we wanted to find out more about this Irish business (not to mention we have fantasies about moving to the old sod someday). So we contacted Aidan Doolan, who started Ideal Binary with his twin brother, Kevin Doolan.

DotMomming: Who is Ideal Binary and why did you decide to enter the app business? Do you produce books for kids exclusively? Or are you game developers as well? Why Dublin?

Aidan Doolan: Ideal Binary was founded by my twin brother and me in 2008. We were born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and that's where we live with our wives and families. Location isn't so much of a barrier to doing business globally any more.

We have a long background in the games industry, and have worked on many games titles for companies like Sony, Disney, Konami, and others in the past, and our chairman, Barry O'Neill, also brings extensive commercial experience to the business from companies like Bandai Namco.

We decided to enter the app business because we could see an opportunity to create something no one else had created before - and we set about building the technology platform PopIris to allow us to realise this goal. Our experience in the games industry building high-performance 3D graphics engines and 3D physics engines, along with our experience as artists and animators, has given us a technological advantage over others in this space.

We are currently focused on family-friendly book apps, and we see this as continuing to be the focus of the business - but as we grow we'll expand our products, targeting into different family interest areas aimed at a wider age base.

DM: The picture book app market has changed dramatically since you entered the scene in 2010 with Grimm's Rumpelstiltskin. While there were just a handful of app producers then, it's a very different ballgame now. More and even bigger publishing houses are putting books out there now (Scholastic and other heavyweights). How can a small house like Ideal Binary compete?

AD: It's true, there seems to be an ever growing gold rush with numerous small and large book app producers entering the market every day. Survival rates are very low, however, with many of these (even some of the large ones) under-performing or even generating losses for their publishers. All of our apps so far have been highly profitable. One of the reasons for this is that we focus on producing unique, high-quality book apps that provide a significant wow factor. It's the wow factor that gets people talking about our apps. This helps us tackle the problem of app discovery to a large degree, and it means we have a competitive advantage. Our technology allows us deliver the "wow factor" at a reasonable production cost.

DM: How do you reach parents about your books? When I slog through the App Store, I have a hard time deciding on what books to consider for my kids. Do you have suggestions for weary parents trying to connect their kids to quality picture book apps?

AD: Thankfully, we have built a very large satisfied customer base for our interactive book apps. When we release a new product, we are able to get the word our very quickly to an audience that knows and trusts our work.

The problem of app discovery for parents is a difficult one. First and foremost, I would recommend that parents talk to their friends about what book apps have impressed them. There are also numerous review sites and blogs, such as this one, that offer good information. This will help provide parents with all the information they need to make good, informed decisions about which kids book apps to purchase and which ones to avoid.

DM: When I was reading your apps with my kids, I was pleased to see my 6-year-old taking his time with the text pages in between the pop-up activity pages. I thought it was a great balance and was pleased that I didn't have to compete with his little fingers tap-tap-tapping on clouds and stars, etc., when he was supposed to be reading. Can you talk about what goes into your decision-making in producing books. How do you strike a balance between whistles and bells vs. literary content?

AD: Above all, the most important component of any kids book app is the story, and the entertainment and educational value that can be drawn from it. We only add interactivity at key points in the story where there is an opportunity to weave the reader into the story itself. We avoid adding bells and whistles interactivity to the text pages because it simply distracts the reader from the story. There are exceptions to this, of course. You may see some examples of this in our upcoming book apps. Again, the interactivity is only added where it can enhance and not distract from the story. We see a lot of apps that try to achieve too much onscreen and overwhelm the user. Design of these aspects is key.

The interactivity we add to the pop-up scenes is largely drawn from experience with my own kids. For example, my youngest daughter initially had problems carrying out lists of instructions in the correct order. To help her with this, my wife and I would walk her through simple tasks and get her to repeat them. One task was to first plant some flower seeds and only then water them to help them grow. This of course became the first pop-up scene in Grimm's Rapunzel. After she completed a task correctly, we praised her to help positively reinforce what she had learned. She no longer has any problems with sequencing. This is how we try to present all of the interactivity in our kids book apps.

DM: The lines between "book" apps and games and movies are blurring. What is your take on picture book apps and early literacy? What do you see as the impact these new beasts will have on kids who are born into an iPad world?

AD: While we see a degree of crossover between the different mediums, in reality there's less blurring of the boundaries than some might believe. In the mid-1990s when CD-ROMs started to take off, the media started talking about exactly the same thing. It was forecast that games and movies in particular would merge. Actors like Mark Hammel started lending their talent to game/movie hybrids like the Wing Commander series. Yet here we are almost two decades later, and movies are still movies and games are still games.

We do believe there is a revolution taking place right now with book apps, and that's what we're trying to take the lead on. People (and kids in particular) learn most when they are immersed in engaging experiences they can enjoy. You've heard the Confucius quote, "Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life." The same is true of learning. If you can find a learning experience that isn't a chore for your child, they stand to learn so much more from it without feeling like it's a boring process. It's these kinds of experiences that we try to embody in our interactive children's books. These experiences can enhance skills like literacy (for more than one language), sequencing, understanding the benefits of a healthy diet, obedience, and kindness.

The impact of this type of learning on children will ultimately mean they can acquire these skills sooner. That means they have the potential for a richer, healthier life. As a parent, that means a lot to me, as I'm sure it does to most parents.

DM: You've made a splash with your pop-up Grimm books, which also include Red Riding Hood. What's ahead? Will you continue to put your own spin on classic fairy tales? Or do you plan to take on new authors and original stories? Do you feel that there is money to be made off new talent -- there is risk involved there in taking on unknowns -- is it worth your time and money?

AD: We're delighted with the success of our book apps so far, and we'll be accelerating our development and publishing outputs. We plan on continuing the Grimm's series. We have the next book app well under way, and we're very excited about this one. We also have a second line of book apps under way which focus more on early learning. We plan to continue innovating with new approaches to engaging our growing audience. We'll also be enhancing our technology with new interactive features with each new book release.

We will likely be partnering with established brand holders at some point in the future. We're not opposed to working with new authors, but as you say, the risks are higher with unproven brands and stories.

DM: What's the biggest lesson learned so far in the past year of this rapidly changing business?

AD: The biggest lesson we've learned so far is the realisation that to succeed in this market, a fine balance needs to be struck between features and production efforts and costs. Too many people have entered the book app market dreaming of Angry Birds style success and have over invested in products that have underperformed. There are 58,000 apps in the Books category vs. 73,000 in Games. But Games represents more than 60 percent of app downloads, whereas Books is probably less than 5 percent. That's a massively competitive environment, and you need to scale your efforts and expectations accordingly. We're happy that the approach we're taking to interactive kid's books works and is proving highly profitable even with that huge amount of growing competition in this space.

DM: What's your biggest goal for the next year?

AD: Our biggest goal for the next year is to scale our business while continuing to innovate. We've had a wonderful time making our interactive kids books, and we're very excited about the road ahead. We hope our customers are too.

DotMomming's Top Picture Book Apps

2011-08-02T05:05:00.002-05:00

Summertime means good reads at the beach. And while I'm all for lazy days spent with noses in books, I am not so game for plunking the ole iPad down in the sand. So these recommendations are for reading in big, overstuffed chairs rather than on fluffy towels. And hey, this way there's no gunky sunblock to worry about.

I'll kick this post off with a quick confession: I am easily overwhelmed. Not in the meltdown-in-a-crisis sense -- I'm pretty good to have around when there's blood. But I am fairly worthless in a crowded supermarket. And don't even think about taking me to Macy's. I go catatonic amid all those choices. The same goes for searching for books in the iTunes store. How do parents do it? There are so many choices, I wind up making my decision based on a postage-stamp sized image -- "How cute is that little bunny?" And as we all know, we can't judge a book by its thumbnail.

Yet we do.

I've put together a quick list of my favorite picture book apps and why your wee reader might enjoy them. From tried and true classics to delightful surprises, these are the books my crew has enjoyed and continued going back to again and again. . . when they can elbow me off the iPad and climb into that overstuffed chair.

Before we start, I'd like to share a few websites worth checking out. These have helped me find my way to some good books. Digital Storytime is one -- a husband-wife team devoted to reviewing picture book apps and rating them. I wish there were some sort of categorization to the list rather than a daunting 200+ titles to scroll through. But hey, it's a great start. Kirkus Reviews is the gold standard for book recommendations. They review picture book apps as well as traditional books, and you'll find a few categories here like "iPad Apps Under $5" and "iPad Apps With Animal Characters." Another site we love is GeekDad, which aside from writing wonderful reviews of apps for children also offers terrific insights into all things techie.

Now, a quick list of DotMomming's recommended reading for summer and beyond -- our selection of the best in picture book apps.

1) Best in Show: Our favorite picture book app right now has got to be Hildegard Sings, from One Hundred Robots. In a single word, it is delightful. Waitress by day, opera singer by night, Hildegard dreams of being a big, BIG star someday. But when a bad case of jitters makes her voice disappear just before singing for the queen, she searches for something to help her take the stage. This story is based on a 1993 picture book of the same title. It is a complete hoot, and the imaginative animations heighten the humor. Most memorable moment: Madame Zelda's hypnotic eyes and her crystal ball. A guaranteed crowd-pleaser. $1.99

2) Beautiful: We could not resist the delicious cut-out lettering and illustrations in Fierce Grey Mouse from Tizio, beautifully created by author and illustrator Chantal Bourgonje. It's the story of a little gray mouse who wants to be fierce for an afternoon. He practices his pouncing. He drinks all his milk and eats all his porridge. He roars and lifts weights and dutifully does all his homework. He really does become quite fierce. But he soon learns it's a little lonely when you have that much attitude. Just the right amount of interaction to balance the text. And while the lettering cut from magazines and papers is lovely, it might prove challenge for early readers to decipher. Good for confident readers. $2.99

3) Thriller: We have to go with Nash Smasher for this one. This clever little book from Crab Hill Press is laugh-out-loud funny. We could not get enough of the whacking, smacking, wrecking, and overall mayhem we could unleash with our new friend Nash. And when trying to set things right again, the mismatched toys were a riot. This is a book kids will go back to again and again. The overall tone is lively, the illustrations are vibrant with a retro feel, and the interactive devices are clever: turn a dial to see Nash's spiraling confusion, slide a tab to mix and match toy parts. The narration and music are first-rate. Crab Hill knocks it out of the park with Nash Smasher. $0.99

4) Classics: We like Ideal Binary's pop-up versions of Grimm's fairy tales. Check out Rumpelstiltskin, Rapunzel, and Red Riding Hood from this Dublin app developer. What won us over was the actual reading required -- it feels like a book. Interspersed between the text pages are engaging activities -- planting seeds and watering flowers in a garden, packing supplies into a basket, helping Red tidy up her room. $3.99, in English, French, and German

5) For the Diaper-Set: We've tried to steer clear of the big names and direct your clicks toward some fresh talent. But we would be remiss to overlook Sandra Boynton and the role her books play for the diaper gang. So our pick for the youngest iPadders is the third Sandra Boynton app from Loud Crow, Blue Hat, Green Hat. Young readers get the hang of this book immediately and revel in the chance to call out "OOPS!" when the clueless turkey makes a dressing mistake. With this picture book app, every time the reader touches the “OOPS,” they are rewarded with a surprise. A must-have for any preschoolers' library. $3.99

6) Early Reader: The Zany ABC of Naughty Names from iStoryTime is one of our favorites. It's a great vocabulary builder as readers tap their way through the alphabet, creating amusing three-tiered creatures from a selection of adjectives and nouns, like a "Tyrannical Urban Vulture" or a "Howling Fuzzy Yeti." For my three kids, who at ages 6, 9, and 11 read at significantly different levels, this picture book app allows them to gather 'round the iPad together for some serious laughs. The word choices are not predictable, so the sixth-grader gets a kick out of it as much as her soon-to-be-first-grade brother. Take that, "Lamentably Mealy-Mouthed Inspectors." $0.99

7) Don't Miss: William Joyce's The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore from Moonbot Studios is breathtaking in that it blurs the line between picture books and animated film. It simply has to be seen to be believed. $4.99

What Pottermore Spells for Readers, Writers

2011-06-24T11:16:00.000-05:00

J.K. Rowling's announcement yesterday that Pottermore.com will be the clearinghouse for all things wizardly has been met with mixed response. The Washington Post yawned. Publisher's Weekly said it's "not a gamechanger." Pottermore will offer games along with more writing around Harry, wands, and other aspects of the best-selling books. So what?

Well, for readers, writers, and illustrators, this news is magical. And here's why:

It opens the ebook door for younger readers. Currently, the YA and adult markets have been swept up by ebook revolution. And the introduction of picture book apps has pulled in parents and preschoolers to the world of digital books. But what about the middle-grade market?

This is it. The Harry Potter craze that caught fire with preteens and tweens -- think midnight bookstore release parties with 11-year-olds in capes and round glasses -- and pulled them into stores to buy the latest copy will be happening again. Only this time it will be happening online. And once they've downloaded these ebooks, they'll be hungry for more. Pottermore's ebooks will send them and their parents looking for more middle-grade fare. Anywhere they can get it.

It sets up a new publishing model. And not just the idea of tossing a manuscript on Amazon and seeing what happens. For authors and artists with talent and tenacity, Pottermore.com demonstrates a new route to readers. While the risks of bypassing the publishing houses are clear, there are plenty of benefits.

Say you have written a series of books (middle-grade fantasy with trolls, a killer skateboarding ninja, whatever niche you see for yourself), why not build your own clearinghouse like J.K.? Sell your books in e-format for all major e-readers for $2.99. Post bonus material and back stories sure to thrill your readers. Include a place for fan fiction and interaction with your adoring audience. Offer discussion questions for a curriculum connection with teachers. One-stop shopping for your work.

Sure, you're not J.K. Rowling. But at a $2.99 price point, you're certainly attractive. And in this model, your profit margin is crazy good compared with the traditional publishing formula.

For the risk averse, team up with your colleagues. Perhaps your killer skateboarding ninjas appeal to a similar set of readers who also like surfing samuri. You can work collaboratively to sell your books on your website. Kids learn that your site is the place to go for ninjas and samurais. They tell their friends and return time and time again to see the new books and authors you've brought onboard. You've got an online community, your connecting directly with your readers, you're blowing wizards out of the water.

Who does not come out on top in this model? Clearly it's the publishing houses -- they seem to be caught flat-footed in this change. But of course, when Harry Potter first apparated on the scene 13 years ago, who could have imagined this whole world of ebook rights? But just as newspapers suddenly became unwieldy behemoths, unable to adapt to the fleet-of-foot news websites that emerged overnight, the same seems to be happening with the major publishing houses. Think namelos and a host of other nimble digital publishers.

Armed with a laptop, anyone can be a journalist. The notion that writers and illustrators can be publishing houses as well is not too far-fetched.

The others left behind in this model are the bookstores. Again, beaten up by the market. And this is a real shame. Those midnight book release parties helped stoke the flames of Harry Potter mania, helped ignite a passion for reading for many kids. With Pottermore.com and this new formula, bookstores are nowhere in the picture.

Read this bookseller's lament in Time online:

"It's one thing if an individual sells book on her own, I can understand that," says Ann Seaton, manager of Hicklebee's Children's Book Store in San Jose, Calif. "But it did sort of surprise me that the publisher would cut us out of the loop. That makes it hard for us. We have sold a huge amount of Potter books. And we were one of those stores that had the midnight parties when a new Potter book came out. I don't think we'll be having a party for the e-books."

E-normous Milestone in Book Publishing: E-Books Beat Out Print on Amazon

2011-05-19T11:13:00.000-05:00

This just in. . .

Amazon.com has just announced that it is now selling more Kindle e-books than print book ones—and that is paperback and hardcover combined. The day that seemed to be somewhere off in the future, when we would be hanging our jetpacks on the peg by the office door, has arrived. And sooner than anticipated.

Various news reports quote Jeff Bezos, Amazon's founder and CEO, addressing the speed at which this change is taking place. “We had high hopes that this would happen eventually, but we never imagined it would happen this quickly—we've been selling print books for 15 years and Kindle books for less than four years.”

Amazon is reporting that since April 1, it has sold 105 Kindle books for every 100 print books. The figures do not include free Kindle titles. Amazon's Kindle first debuted on the book scene in 2007. By 2010, e-books sales for the Kindle had passed hardcover print titles. Then by January-ish of 2011, Kindle e-book sales had surpassed paperback titles.

Some book traditionalists are in mourning over this development, fearing the death of the printed book. As a former newspaper gal, I totally get that. I interviewed for a job at The San Francisco Chronicle in 1997 and was asked if I actually believed readers would prefer to get their news on some "digital device" than by the beloved ink-and-paper form. I wanted the job pretty badly, so I said what I knew this editor wanted to hear (and what I wanted to believe) -- that people would always love the printed page. And now here we are. . . You can read more about the development online.

Others are cheering that reading is up and books -- in any format -- are being devoured.

For our kids, this might not register as much of a milestone. But for those of us on the fence, with a foot in either format, it's a moment to pause.

E-Book Author Megg Jensen Skips the Big Six

2011-05-18T07:19:00.000-05:00

The changes in publishing have altered the equation for every aspect of the business, for marketers, editors, agents, and bookstores, as well as authors themselves. Taking a break this week from picture book apps, DotMomming got ahold of Megg Jensen, author of the young adult fantasy Anathema (February 2011, DarkSide Publishing), to talk about e-publishing.

But first a little background on Megg. She has worked as a freelance parenting journalist since 2003 and began writing YA novels in 2009. Along with a few other writing rebels, she runs DarkSide Publishing, a sort of authors' collective that produces e-books. She blogs about writing while juggling freelancing, volunteering, and family life, and lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, two kids, and a miniature schnauzer.

DotMomming: Anathema is your first novel, and instead of going the traditional route of approaching the Big Six* publishers, you published a paperback book through CreateSpace that retails on Amazon for $11 and an e-book for Kindle & Nook that sells for $2.99. Can you tell us about that decision?

Megg Jensen: Anathema is the first novel I've published, not the first I've written. But it is the first novel I felt was worthy to send to agents. I queried it for six months, had multiple fulls requested, but failed to nab an agent. I was told YA traditional fantasy (no vamps or werewolves) wasn't popular and it would be impossible to sell the novel. A few agents even said, "But if you write another novel, please query me again."

When The Sleepers (coming out January 2012, DarkSide Publishing) was done, I sent it out to those agents who'd expressed interest in Anathema. Even more fulls were requested, and there were many more sleepless nights as I waited for a response. In early fall, I attended a conference in Naperville with fellow SCBWI member Karly Kirkpatrick. We skipped the final session and instead had a frank talk about e-publishing. She told me she was seriously considering taking the leap into self-publishing. I thought she was completely insane.

She e-pubbed her novel Into the Shadows in November 2010 and kept encouraging me to join her. I told her "no" so many times! I was set on getting an agent. The Sleepers was still with two agents, and I had sworn to myself I would not consider e-publishing until I had exhausted all of my "real" options. Over Christmas break I started reading more and more about e-pubbing. Then I read a blog post by LJ Sellers where she chronicled her decision to pull her books from a traditional publisher and e-pub. I talked to Karly more, and one day I had a lightbulb moment.

I wanted to choose my own destiny. I'd been told repeatedly that my writing was solid. I'd had agents offer to rep me if I switched genres. One agent even said, "You're a damn good writer." You know what? I finally believed what they'd been telling me. Maybe the market was too small. Maybe I really
was a great writer. If those two things were true, then it was time for me to take my career into my own hands.

I emailed the two agents who still had my full and pulled The Sleepers from them. (Insert gasp here.) One never responded, but the other spent an entire day emailing with me about my decision. She was sweet, helpful, and encouraging. She told me I was making the right decision because she knew that no matter how much she loved The Sleepers, that she'd never be able to sell it to the Big Six.

It's been nearly six months, and I have not regretted my decision once.

DM: While hitting with one of the big houses might make an author feel like she is set, there are countless authors who have received NO PROMOTION from the big guys. So the Big Six is no guarantee of big promotion. How have you promoted the book as an indie author? How is it being received so far?

MJ: Sometimes I feel like I promote 24 hours a day. Other days I take a break from promoting. Really, who wants to be bombarded with ads about my book? No one. What I have done is run contests on my blog, Facebook, and Twitter. I sent Anathema to book bloggers for reviews (yes, there are TONS of bloggers who will review indie novels). I met a lot of authors, particularly on Twitter, started a Facebook fan page, posted on my blog, attended book signings, and told everyone who's ever known me that I published a novel. However, I have only purchased one ad. Everything else has been 100 percent free.

Anathema has been very well-received. All of my sales outlets (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords) have averages of four stars or higher. I have hit multiple bestseller lists on Barnes & Noble and Amazon - lists where Anathema appeared next to authors like Alyson Noel and Maggie Stiefvater. My
Goodreads average is 4.26. I can't complain.

DM: The digital book frontier feels wide open right now. But the quality is mixed. How did you go about the editorial process before releasing Anathema? How did you try to ensure a quality book with
real literary merit?

MJ: My editorial process is the longest part of producing a novel. I wrote a blog post about my editing process, but I'll break it down quickly: My novels run through at least five drafts. I have an SCBWI critique group, no less than four beta readers, and no less than two proofreaders. DarkSide Publishing, the group formed by Karly Kirkpatrick, Genevieve Ching, and myself early in 2011, is known for
its tough critiques - especially with the addition of West Coast author Angela Carlie. We all have mad editing skills. I utilize beta readers from my critique groups (some with MFAs in writing). I also have a children's librarian who beta reads for me. Her insights are invaluable.

DM: Amanda Hocking is on every author's mind right now. (Amanda is a self-published author who, as of March 2011, has sold about 1 million copies of nine books and earned more than $2 million in sales.) What made her books a success, in your opinion? And why does this route appeal to authors?

MJ: I'll be honest, I've not read any of Amanda Hocking's books. I do read her blog, though, and chat with her on Twitter occasionally. She's awesome. What made her books a success? I think it's a combination of things. She has quite a few books out, taking up a lot of virtual shelf space. She blogs
frequently about her life, not her books, which makes her accessible to readers. Word-of-mouth really helped her books skyrocket. Isn't that always the way it works? I heard about Twilight from multiple people. Same with Harry Potter.

This is why e-pubbing is so attractive. You can make a product, package it yourself, and sell it - knowing that what really sells is word-of-mouth. Is quality important? Of course it is! A book won't spread from reader to reader if it stinks. Some people cite full control as their reason for e-pubbing. I think that's a bad reason because if you take full control over your book and don't allow input, then it probably won't be as good. I take input from beta readers, proofreaders, and from my cover designer.

DM: Can you speak to book pricing, profit margins, and trying to make a living as a writer?

MJ: If an e-book is sold at $2.99 or above, it's a 70 percent profit margin. I liked the sound of that. However, 99 cent books and paperbacks make very little in profit. People need to understand that traditionally published authors have much lower royalties because they are paying into that amazing machine that puts out books like The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. There is nothing wrong with it; traditional publishing simply has high costs due to the agent's cut, publicity, promotion, editors, etc. This is the nature of the beast. It does not make it wrong. It's only different.

There is a TON of debate over the long-term financial ramifications of e-publishing vs. traditional publishing, but it's believed that with a higher output (three to four books a year) and consistent sales, an indie author will make more money in royalties over time. So much depends on whether a book hits it big. I will say that I easily cleared my investment in producing Anathema and am making nothing but profit now. According to a recent blog post by Mandy Hubbard, in 2011 I can expect to easily clear
a midlist author's first advance. Easily.

I am not the main breadwinner at my house. I'm blessed to be married to an engineer with a stable job, and we budget solely off his income. So every dollar I make is frosting. We like lots and lots of frosting. I wouldn't recommend publishing a book (traditionally or e-publishing) and trying to make a living off it. That's reserved for those few authors whose names everyone knows: James Patterson, J.K. Rowling, and Jane Yolen. Can that happen? Absolutely, but I don't think it's the norm, and no one should expect
it.

DM: The summer reading season is upon us, and I anticipate a surge in e-book sales as more young people devour books on reading devices -- despite the risk of sand ruining their iPads, Nooks, and Kindles. What is your take on e-reading, traditional books, and the shape of things to come?

MJ: E-books will only increase in popularity. My kids, ages 5 and 9, beg to get their hands on my Nook Color and my iPhone. They can manipulate technology better than some adults. E-books are the future. I'm not a book burning radical though. I love my paper books. I'm reading a hardcover right now (The Dark and Hollow Places . . . okay, so I'm obsessed with Carrie Ryan). I can't imagine ever fully giving them up, and I don't want to. Is the book world changing? Of course, that's the nature of society. Technological advances shape our world.

DM: Do you feel committed to this route into publishing? Or if a big house came knocking, would the traditional publishing routine lure you back?

MJ: Wow, if a big house came knocking tomorrow, would I give up e-publishing? They'd have to offer me an awful lot of money and really good royalties. Haha, so I guess the answer is no. (Insert another gasp here.) I really have no interest in giving up everything I've worked so hard for. I don't think authors who choose traditional publishing are wrong. This is my personal choice and path to follow.

However, I would love to have an agent, and while I've actually spoken with some recently, no decisions have been made. No, I haven't sent one query since last year. Yes, agents are interested in indie writers too.

* For those of us who love lists, here are the Big Six publishing houses. Keep in mind there are approximately a gajillion imprints within each house, but still. The going is tough. We wish you well.

Hachette Book Group
HarperCollins
Macmillan
Penguin Group
Random House
Simon & Schuster

Author & Illustrator Mike Austin Debuts With Digital, Then Shifts to Paper Books

2011-05-10T10:47:00.000-05:00

Mike Austin is a children’s author in an unusual and fantastic position. His first book that came out was a picture book app with Ruckus Media Group called A Present for Milo. It was well-received, and Mike was quickly hit up to make two more books, only this time with paper and a spine. DotMomming talks to Mike about his experiences as an author-illustrator working in digital and print formats.

DotMomming: A Present for Milo was written originally as a picture book app for preschoolers, and then, after it was out, you were offered a contract to turn it into a print book. That's not the norm these days. Could you speak to that highly unusual experience and how it came about? When can we look for the paper books on shelves?

Mike Austin: It's funny but it actually began as a traditional book.

I came up with the story about 15 years ago when my daughter was around two. One evening at bedtime we were wondering what our cat, Milo, was doing all day while we were out of the house. So I grabbed my sketch pad and started drawing the story. I liked the simple concept and character enough that I decided to make a book about Milo and his adventures.

The finished dummy sat on my shelf for years before I was contacted last April by literary agent Rubin Pfeffer, who had seen my illustration portfolio and asked if I was interested in collaborating on some projects. I of course said YES!

A Present for Milo was introduced to a number of different publishers, but it was Ruckus Media Group who saw it and thought it would make a great iPad app. I knew nothing about apps and thought what a great opportunity to learn about the process, thinking how cool it would be to see Milo come to life in an animated, digital form.

I worked with a great developer and art director at Sequel Digital. The project took about three months from concepts to finished app.

The app was launched in early December, and shortly after I was offered a contract to create two new Milo books.

DM: You landed literary agent Ruben Pfeffer? That cannot come out of the blue. Had you been interested in breaking into children's book publishing and been shopping your portfolio around?

MA: I have been working as a graphic designer/illustrator for more than 20 years, my wife Jing Jing Tsong also. And I've been an illustrator full-time for 10. I have portfolios at the I Spot, Workbook.com, picture-book.com, and a bunch of other places. I've won awards and all that. The majority of my work is editorial (newspapers, magazines, corporate publications) for a very diverse cleintele: The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, MIT, Boy's Life, American Express, even the U.S. State Department.

Rubin had actually seen Jing's portfolio first and found me through her. I wasn't actively seeking representation, although I was very interested in children's book publishing from Day One. I have a bazillion ideas in my head, and when Rubin and I had our first conversation I almost exploded. Jing and I have always tried to present a positive, whimsical style in our work. Maybe that's what caught his eye -- I don't know exactly. But I have to say Rubin is a very brilliant and wonderful person who's helped us focus our ideas and make great decisions. It has been an incredible learning experience.

DM: How many print children's books have you done? And how many apps?

MA: A Present for Milo is my first children's book app. I'm currently working on two new Milo books that should be available the end of the year and a new series of apps for young readers that will also be available this fall.

DM: Traditional print books follow standard, 32-page formats, while apps seem to have no constraints. Do you prefer one medium to the other?

MA: I love working in both formats. I think it really depends on the story concept and how well the illustrations will work digitally. I love the flexibility that a digital format offers and also the instant gratification. It was so thrilling to send the page files to the developer and a few days later have a sample app with working clickables. Very cool.

DM: How do you feel kids experience your books? When you're creating a paper book, you have a reader in mind. And when you're creating an app, there are very different considerations. Could you share what your biggest priorities are when creating illustrations and text for the various readers?

MA: I hope that kids are having fun and enjoy spending time with the story and characters. If they are engaged, entertained and learning than I've succeeded. That's my goal, to create something that is meaningful.

DM: Some critics feel that picture book apps blur the lines between a book, a video game, and a movie. What do you say to that?

MA: There are all kinds of apps out there, just like different kinds of books, video games and movies. It's the parents’ responsibility to choose the content that's most appropriate and be engaged in the learning process. Is A Present for Milo a movie? No. Is it a video game? In some ways yes because of the way the reader has to interact and click through each page. Is it a new kind of book? Yes.

DM: How do you think picture book apps are impacting early literacy?

MA: It's an exciting new medium that gives early readers a very fun way to experience both new content and the classics. That's what it's all about, finding new and entertaining ways to help young readers learn. Judging from the popularity of children's book apps, I think it's positive.

DM: What's ahead for you after Milo? Both in terms of digital book making and traditional?

MA: My wife, illustrator Jing Jing Tsong, is currently under contract for a new children's book due out later this year, and we're working together on a bunch of new children's book apps that should be out before Christmas of this year.

DM: Many children's authors and artists are itching to break into this wild and unknown frontier of apps for kids. What advice do you have for them?

MA: It is a time-consuming process, and the development costs can be very high depending on the complexity of the project. For example, if you have 15 pages and each page has backgrounds, lead-in animations, and five clickable elements that each do five random things, you now have more than 500 illustrations! It's a lot of work, but if you have a strong story and a great developer, then go for it!

Nosy Crow's Kate Wilson on apps, print books, and the wisdom to know the difference

2011-05-03T06:59:00.000-05:00

We heard from Loud Crow’s CEO and founder Calvin Wang a few weeks back. So it’s only fair that we jump the pond and speak with the other Crow on the children’s app landscape, Nosy Crow. Managing Director Kate Wilson, who had the wisdom to publish The Gruffalo at PanMacmillan back in 1999, took a few minutes out of what must be an insanely busy schedule to talk to DotMomming about apps, reading, and the shape of books to come.

But first, let’s get up to speed about Nosy Crow, one of the many new publishing ventures on the scene in this rapidly changing world of books – specifically children’s books. Nosy Crow took wing in February 2010 and published its first traditional book in January 2011, the YA Small Blue Thing by S.C. Ransom. By the end of the year, the company plans to have 24 books for sale in the UK and five apps for sale throughout the world. The books are available in the United States and Canada under the Nosy Crow imprint from Candlewick Press, who will begin publishing Nosy Crow’s illustrated books in August 2011.

What sets Nosy Crow apart from many new app producers is the experience of its staff. While many houses see their top talent drawn from gaming and entertainment fields, Kate Wilson brings twenty-five years' experience as an editor.

DotMomming: How many of your books will be apps, how many traditional? And will you produce apps from paper books? And paper books from apps?

Kate Wilson: Twenty-four books will be either print only or (when they’re novels, print and e-book) and five will be apps only. There won’t be any overlap between the print books that we publish and the apps we bring out this year. This is because we believe that there’s little point in squashing a book that works well on the print page onto a phone or a tablet device: We think it’s much better to commission books that work on the page for that medium, and commission new kinds of reading experiences from scratch for digital media.

DM: Most apps on the market right now are digital versions of popular titles – the Dr. Seuss books, Sandra Boynton’s menagerie of board books. But Nosy Crow plans to release new authors and illustrators along with established names. There is some risk in launching new titles, as parents have a hard time wading through the sea of apps to find quality. What’s your strategy for getting the word out about unknown artists and authors?

KW: We really believe that this is a market in which really good products – well thought-through and well-produced, with a strong sense of the child and parent who will be reading the app – will shine out. We are active on Twitter and Facebook, and we talk about apps in general as well as our own on our blog. Our blog posts Appy Days and Digital Natives: Kids and Apps, for example, outline some of our app thinking. At the moment, there aren’t many people making apps that are reading experiences. While we are, to some degree, competitors, and while we have a range of philosophies and priorities, we are, broadly, mutually supportive, amplifying one another’s messages through social media.

DM: How do you find your talent – whether debut authors like S.C. Ransom or well-established names like the prolific Philip Ardagh and illustrator of the Gruffalo books Axel Scheffler?

KW: We accept submissions of writing, art, and concepts directly from authors. We have guidelines on our site. A number of our publications have been and will be the result of authors, etc. approaching us. S.C. Ransom is a good example. We receive submissions from the many agents – mostly U.K.-based as that’s where we are – who represent writing and illustration talent. We know them because several of the people who work at Nosy Crow have been in the children’s publishing industry for many years (25 in my case). And because of our long experience in the publishing industry, some authors and illustrators have had good experiences working with us in the past and want to share the excitement of a new publishing venture. Philip Ardagh and Axel Scheffler are good examples of that kind of talent.

DM: Nosy Crow was in the news in March for signing with Candlewick Press to co-publish the majority of its titles in the U.S. and Canada. Could you talk about what this relationship means for Nosy Crow?

KW: Candlewick Press will publish the majority of our illustrated titles, starting in August. It’s a great thing for our authors and illustrators: They have, on the one hand, the personal, hands-on relationship they have with us in the UK, and, on the other hand, the highly professional advocacy, market understanding, and credibility of Candlewick, who sees the publication of its book in the United States and Canada not as a one-off title but as a longer-term connection. It’s great for us because it gives Nosy Crow a print presence in the United States. And it’s great for Candlewick, who have access to a range of talent that they wouldn’t have access to, while they can make good use of our social media engagement – many of the people who follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook and visit our website are from North America.

DM: When you spoke at the Bologna Book Fair’s “Tools of Change” conference on March 28, you addressed the cost considerations publishers must weigh in app production. Could you speak to the issue of quality and the factors Nosy Crow evaluates before taking on projects?

KW: This is an evolving market, and we want to produce apps of the highest possible quality. At the moment, we are making the best apps we can, and we are not skimping on the quality of illustration, audio recording, or music. We are packing the apps with a high-level of interactivity – and we do our coding in-house. It is expensive, but I think that what matters is that you see every dollar we spend in the quality of what we do.

DM: Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson, whose book has sold gajillions of copies, recently nixed the idea of a Gruffalo picture book app. Donaldson is not alone in rejecting apps, as many authors, artists, and parents worry about the impact of digitizing libraries on kids’ reading and learning. Can you speak to that?

KW: We believe in the importance of reading for pleasure. We love the smell and feel of print books and don’t take any less pride in the terrific print books that we make than in the apps we are creating. We think, though, that there are circumstances in which the portability and interactivity of books on a screen are appropriate, and that, if a child is using a screen, we think that it’s important that there are really engaging reading experiences available on it. I was quoted in the article that Julia Donalson contributed to. I said that I entirely understood Julia’s view. Having published The Gruffalo, I think it’s perfect for the page.

However, I also said, "If parents and children are moving towards screens, I feel really profoundly that it is our responsibility as publishers to provide really compelling reading experiences that are at least as interesting as games. I think it's luddite and refusenik not to embrace where your readers are going. We can't be a worthy antique as an industry – we have to go where people are. If we turn our backs on that, other people will fill the space, and they won't be people who've had 25 years' experience writing, illustrating, and publishing the best children's books."

DM: Some app producers are comfortable blurring the lines, and when they are asked whether their product is a book, a game, or a movie simply reply, “Yes.” Your first app, The Three Little Pigs, shows great restraint in the number of whistles and bells included to tell the story. How do you decide how much interactivity a book needs?

KW: I think that’s a great question, and one we give really careful thought to when we are creating our apps. I think that what we are interested in is creating a reading experience, not a game. So, in The Three Little Pigs, for example, we didn’t want to interfere too much with the linear flow of the story, so there isn’t a point, for example, where you can break away to play a game. Instead, the additional layer of non-linear comments from the pigs deepen the reader’s sense of the character of the individual pigs. And many of the things that you can do progress the story – by tapping, you can help the pigs to construct their houses, or run away from the wolf... though you can also help the wolf to blow down the houses by blowing on the screen too.

DM: I live in a house with three young readers of books, the youngest of whom is learning to read via a screen as well as on paper. These children are digital natives, and they don’t share the same affinity for ink-and-paper books as their parents. They move fluidly from one medium to the next. Would you gaze into your crystal ball and share what you see for their reading futures?

KW: I don’t mind how they read; I mind that they are reading. Our role as publishers is to provide material that is really engaging to young readers, to motivate them to learn to decode as a necessity (it’s one of the key skills they need to be educated and successful) and as a pleasure.

Forget your troubles, c’mon get appy

2011-04-26T06:53:00.000-05:00

For many lovers of neighborhood bookstores, the digital frontier can be a little guilt inducing. How do you shop locally when you want to download electronically? How do you support your beloved local bookseller when you want to read a whole mess of books on a vacation on your tablet?

Well, the answer is simple. As with everything else, we turn to Google.

Google eBooks is a relatively new feature that allows indie bookstores to sell electronic books for a variety of reading devices. Go on a buying bender, and don't worry your pretty little head about where you'll save all those digital files. Google eBooks will store your library in the cloud. All you need is an Internet connection.

What else does it mean for storage in the cloud? You’ll never run out of shelf space since “the cloud” gives you unlimited room. You don’t lose your entire library if you leave your tablet in the seat back in front of you on that American Airlines flight from San Francisco to Chicago. (It happens!) And if you change devices, eBooks allows you to pick up where you left off: Bookmark positions are saved across devices, so you can move from phone to iPad to laptop without losing your place.

To test Google eBooks out, I went to the website of my local indie bookstore, 57th Street Books in Chicago. They featured the Google eBooks tool prominently on their homepage, and the steps I needed to follow were clearly laid out.

I queued up the Newbery Honor winner Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye for my daughter and a few books on Irish history for me. We have an iPad, so once I made my online purchase from 57th Street Books, I downloaded the Google Books app for free. Nice. When the book opened up, it looked great and was simple to use. I was off and reading.

Most e-readers (Sony Reader, the Nook) will be able to go this route, with the exception of Amazon’s Kindle. For a list of devices that support Google ebooks, check out this site.

A few hiccups to keep in mind:

You’ll have to use a Google email account, so if you already use Gmail, you’re golden. If you do not, setting up a Gmail account is free and easy. But it’s another password to remember. Also, the publishing world is still catching up with the technology, so I had to search long and hard to find titles to download.

Obviously, that’s going to change.

For a list of participating bookstores, check out Indiebound’s website.

A Northwestern scholar weighs in on apps, reading, and 'joint media engagement'

2011-04-19T06:59:00.000-05:00

We’ve been hearing from app producers about the new publishing landscape and what these electronic devices mean for young readers. I thought in might be interesting to talk with a media specialist about the changes we’re seeing and how they might be affecting children. So I reached out to Ellen Wartella, a professor of communication studies, of psychology, and of human development at Northwestern University. She is a leading scholar on the role of media in children’s development and has a dozen books to her credit and well over 100 book chapters, research articles, and other writing on children and media.

Wartella currently is working on a five-year research project on the influence of digital media on very young children, funded by the National Science Foundation.

She sounded somewhat qualified to talk with, don’t you think?

DotMomming: As my three young children engage with books, the experiences of my fifth-grade daughter are already somewhat quaint when compared with my kindergartner. She learned to read in the traditional way with paper books and crayons on a page. My little guy, on the other hand, accesses digital books and enjoys "read to me" features available in popular picture book apps.

Can you address these experiences and whether one is more valuable than another in terms of early literacy?

Ellen Wartella: Well, it’s clear that we haven't a track record to know what differences there will be. But theoretically, we can draw on [pioneering psychologist] Vygotsky, who said that cognitive development is influenced by the tools children have available to them.

Some things are the same, of course: learning to decipher letters, learning to put letters together as words and words into sentences, having the social experiences with people and things to give a worldly context to communicative texts. Those developmental tasks are the same whatever the "tools" for reading. Whether those are more important than the affordances? I like to think so.

DM: I have heard some parents voice concern over their children learning to read on a Kindle or iPad instead of the way most of us grown-ups learned. What do you have to say to these moms and dads?

EW: Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Their children still have to learn to read, so give them books as well as e-books. Reading is what is important.

DM: My kindergartener loves video games, and I can see that he's motivated to use his reading skills to master things in his games. However, I cannot justify gaming time when I think he should be
reading. What do you see as the merits to video gaming for young children?

EW: Well, it depends on the game. There is some evidence that gaming, depending on the intellectual tasks involved, can aid in children's mathematical reasoning and other cognitive activities. So I would be more concerned that my child do a variety of activities, and that he/she engage with content I approve of, whatever the media platform. Balance, reasonableness and appropriateness for the child's age is what's needed.

DM: The iPad has opened up the floodgates for digital books, and many parents let their children run free in this new and exciting land. But as with everything when kids are involved, parental monitoring is still crucial. If left alone, my rascally kindergartner jumps from the
book apps to the games. What's the best way parents can make good use of these new technologies?

EW: “Joint media engagement” [meaning co-participation between a child and a parent, sibling, teacher, friend, etc. as a support for learning with digital media] is the new buzzword – where you can and when you can. And secondly, setting clearly defined rules about all media and content now, then working to ensure that your child follows them. Not an easy task. [Check out the Wall Street Journal on gaming with your kids.]

DM: Screens are here to stay, and this generation of new readers are true digital natives. Can you talk about the merits of having technology savvy kids?

EW: Well, for one, they are partaking in a dress rehearsal for the adult professional world, which is immersed in technology. Clearly, technology in work, home, and school is here to stay. Children who have technology experiences early may (and I say may because it is still only a hypothesis and not one tested) may be better prepared for that world. Clearly, the whole argument about the digital divide between rich and poor children and their access to technology assumes that being connected is better for a child than not having access or being connected.

DM: We're screen friendly in our house, but I am wary of it encroaching on free play time. So I set aside time for my kids to sit down with their toys or art supplies and tap their imaginations. Can you talk about the need for balance in our technology-intense world?

EW: Yes, balance is terribly important. And not just balance in terms of play materials but outdoor play, being with other kids and other adults. A well-rounded set of experiences is most important for healthy development.

Loud Crow's Calvin Wang on Apps, Kirkus Stars, and the Digital Frontier

2011-04-11T22:21:00.001-05:00

Loud Crow Interactive, the digital book publisher based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, has just three apps under its belt, but already it's one to watch. Founded by a group of former video game developers with more than 30 years of experience in interactive media, it brings the most engaging elements of gaming to electronic books. And its collaboration with Sandra Boynton to bring her beloved stories to life for the iPad, iPhone, and iTouch guarantees Loud Crow will be regulars in the No. 1 spot at the App Store.

DotMomming checked in with Loud Crow's CEO and Founder Calvin Wang about apps, kids books, and the shape of things to come. But before we get started, we had to find out what's up with the crows: Loud Crow, U.K. publisher Nosy Crow, literary agency Upstart Crow.

"We get asked this quite a bit," said Wang. "Personally, I've always had a fascination with these black birds and there are lots of them where we live. It seemed like an apt name given that crows have also been part of children's storytelling throughout history. In fact, our first offering was originally going to be Aesop's Thirsty Crow fable."

DotMomming: Loud Crow recently announced a partnership with board book superstar Sandra Boynton for a new line of digital books. Will those follow the PopOut! design of your previous titles, The Tale of Peter Rabbit and The Night Before Christmas?

Loud Crow: It would be straightforward to take the interactivity from PopOut! and apply them to Sandy's board books. But her books are wonderfully special in their own way and as such, they deserve their own treatment. So we created an interactive style for Sandy's books which includes familiar elements from PopOut! as well as new elements that are unique to her line of books.

DM: Sandra Boynton is a prolific author. How many of her books will you publish in app format? And which titles are already in the pipeline? And how do you think they will be received?

LC: It's been an absolute joy to collaborate with Sandra and her team, and we would love to bring all of her books to the digital realm. With over 50 books to her name, Sandy gives us a deep and diverse collection to work with, and we are extremely excited about the creative possibilities. We launched The Going to Bed Book in March, and it was chosen as iPad App of the Week in a few countries, which was great. And we just completed Moo Baa La, La, La! which is slated for release later in April.

DM: Loud Crow's beautifully designed PopOut! The Tale of Peter Rabbit earned a starred review from Kirkus in January. Now The Going to Bed Book does in April. As one of the most highly respected review journals in children's publishing, what do those Kirkus stars mean to you?

LC: It's always nice to receive that extra recognition, but being awarded the coveted Kirkus star was definitely a special moment. Kirkus Reviews has been critiquing books for almost 80 years, and the award helped to validate our approach with interactive books. It's great to see Kirkus embrace digital books the way they have.

DM: Could you talk in specifics about the making of the Peter Rabbit app? When I read it with my kindergartner, I pretend that lovely narration is Emma Thompson's voice. Do you hire celebrities to narrate your books the way, say, a Ruckus Media does?

LC: Some of our fans thought the narrator for Peter Rabbit was Renée Zellweger, who played Beatrix Potter in Miss Potter. I don't think it's necessary to use celebrities, although it can be a nice touch when there is a good fit. For example, The Going to Bed Book is narrated by British Invasion singer Billy J. Kramer, who was perfect for the role.

DM: For many parents who loathe picture book apps with too many whistles and bells, Peter Rabbit hits just the right balance. The digital lift-a-flap features are adorable and nod to traditional pop-up books. My son could not get enough of the blackberries and leaves that enlarge when tapped. How do you decide on the right balance of tricks and text?

LC: The amount of interactivity to include is something we scrutinize with each and every page of a book. It's not always easy to know when you've achieved that balance but having a strong vision about the user experience definitely helps. When we designed Peter Rabbit, one of our creative filters was authenticity, and we worked hard to ensure the original reading experience was preserved as much as possible.

DM: Many of the titles we're seeing hit the app store are simply digitized versions of well-loved books by established authors. But there are many authors and illustrators itching to break into this market. Does Loud Crow have any plans to open its doors to original submissions from new authors and illustrators?

LC: Absolutely. Working with established authors and titles means better recognition, but it isn't a prerequisite for great content. We definitely have plans to support new authors, and I wouldn't be surprised to see us release some original content in the coming months.

DM: One of the issues with picture book apps is quality control. While traditional publishing houses have directors for editorial content as well as artistic content, many app publishers do not. What is the team like at Loud Crow? Obviously you have talented designers, but what about editorial concerns?

LC: That's a great question. At Loud Crow, we don't have an editorial department, per se, but this will change as we tackle more original content. At the same time, with digital books, the notion of quality becomes multifaceted; it can span many disciplines including writing, illustrations, interactive content, and programming. As a result, I think the notion of an editorial department will also evolve to reflect the characteristics that embody a digital book product.

DM: For many parents and publishers, digital isn't only the shape of things to come, it's the here and now. How do you think iPad and the wave of e-readers are changing children's experiences with the book? And what do you see as Loud Crow's role in it?

LC: We're extremely excited about the digital frontier as it relates to children's literature. The burgeoning market of mobile and tablet devices like the iPad means new possibilities for content and interactivity that never existed before. As a leader in the interactive digital book space, Loud Crow is going to continue to leverage what the various platforms have to offer in order to raise the bar both in terms of innovation and quality.

DM: Got any predictions for the next two to three years in kids lit?

LC: I don't think physical books are going to disappear anytime soon. But there will an increasing amount of children's literature consumed digitally, whether it's in the form of apps, e-books, or even Web content. Digital books is still a relatively nascent phenomenon, and I expect we'll continue to see a proliferation of platforms and formats before the market settles into a more stable state with fewer digital book formats and standards.

A Kindergartner and His Brother Check Out Nosy Crow's Three Little Pigs App

2011-04-05T09:23:00.000-05:00

Nosy Crow, the year-old publisher out of the U.K. headed by Gruffalo editor Kate Wilson, has produced a lovely little app of the Three Little Pigs. I took it for a test-drive and found it delightful. So I decided to sit down with my kindergartner, Gabriel, to see if he agreed with my assessment.

"You can flip the wolf's van! Awesome!"

Not only did he enjoy it, but his eight-year-old brother couldn't help but horn in on the action as well. Despite being "too old" for picture books, big brother Nolan couldn't get enough of the Pigs.

The first thing I noticed about this app was the lush illustration by Edward Bryan. The colors are bold and bright without being overwhelming. The pigs are cute and childlike, each with a distinct visual personality that is reinforced through the text and sound effects. And the hairy, toothy Big Bad Wolf presents just the right amount of sinister.

This app is more in line with traditional picture books in its look and feel, rather than its more cartoonish cousins in the app store.

But enough from me. What did the kindergartner think? "I liked when the wolf's van chased them on the road and you could slow the wolf down. That was hilarious."

His favorite part of the app was flicking, tapping, and otherwise sproinging whatever he could find onscreen. "I liked that when you tap things and move things, they would actually move. And I liked when you lift the haystack and there's the bunny guy hiding."

This is the great advantage apps have over traditional books, and for many kids, it's a thrill. There's the joy of discovery and surprise. What happens if I tap that quiet spider tucked in the top corner over there? Watch it drop down out of the tree. What if I touch the whirligig on the roof? See it spin quietly in the wind. Nosy Crow shows restraint, adding little rewards here and there without letting young readers get too distracted from the story.

The Three Little Pigs is familiar ground even for preschoolers. But Nosy Crow gives it a fresh telling with a contemporary setting. Mama Pig is running the vacuum when the three little porcine siblings head out. And piggie No. 3 builds a terrific townhouse that would fit into my neighborhood.

Big brother Nolan commented a few times on the illustrations, trying to explain what made them special without knowing this app had "3D" in the title. I think the crispness of the images appealed to him. "The characters stood out, they sort of popped out. There was the background, and there was each figure. They looked like puppets in a theater -- like they could be on sticks or something."

Gabriel, the kindergartener, who is more the audience for an app like this than the third-grader, liked the sound effects and the use of children's voices for the narrator and characters. "It sounded cool when they speak. It wasn't usual grown-up voices."

And as a parent, what I enjoyed most was that my little guy would follow the text bubbles that popped up with different characters when tapped. He loved reading the dialogue aloud. And that, to me, is what it's all about. Simple features like these can be easily dismissed. But they are the building blocks to understanding the structure of a story. And for emerging readers, this is enormous. Not to mention what makes reading an app so much fun.

Loud Crow Turns Boynton's 'Going to Bed Book' Into a Dreamy New App

2011-03-16T08:46:00.000-05:00

Any mother with a child under, oh, 30 years of age has probably held a Sandra Boynton board book in her hands. Since emerging on the scene with her adorable “Hippo Birdie Two Ewes” greeting cards back in 1975, Boynton has been wowing millions with her charming illustrations and wry sense of humor.

Let’s face it, her 1982 board book Blue Hat, Green Hat is comic genius.

So Loud Crow Interactive has just hit it big, think hippo-sized ginormous, by partnering with Boynton for a new line of picture book apps. The first, which has sold more than 5,000,000 copies (those zeroes are correct) in print form, paraded onto digital bookshelves earlier this month. And DotMomming was not disappointed.

The Going to Bed Book app features Boynton’s familiar menagerie of pigs and bunnies, bears and elephants as charming as ever. Loud Crow keeps them center stage, letting kids (ahem, or the adults reading with them) interact with the animals as they go through their bedtime routines.

Tap on individual critters to hear subdued animal sounds on some pages, musical instruments on another. Turn on the water during bath time, and watch the bubbles float across the screen. Little fingers will quickly figure out how to pop them, and there you'll sit for a good long while.

Boynton has a thing for pajamas, so it's only natural that her app lets kids interact with them. Tap on a bureau drawer on the "find pajamas, big and small" page, and jammies of all kinds explode onto the page and drift into piles like autumn leaves.

We linger longest on the toothbrushing page. Touch the faucet handle, and the water turns on, filling the screen with steam. We can't move on until we've both written messages on the steamed up page.

Each reading uncovers more engaging features, from hanging up the elephant along with his bath towel to lighting up the night sky one star at a time. Loud Crow has created a luxurious app that taps into Boynton's giddy sense of humor and mines it for more comic fun. It's a joy to share with a child.

For parents of infants, Boynton board books are as essential as a binky. Tuck one into a diaper bag for on-the-go entertainment (and the occasional teething moment).

But for emerging readers, Boynton books are something special to encounter. Their spare word count is just enough to let a new reader feel a sense of real accomplishment. And the language is silly, surprising, and giggle-inducing, which sure beats a boring old rat that sat on a mat.

And there is no better place to start little guys reading than Moo, Baa, La La La.

As with most apps for this age group, readers can choose how they want to experience the book. With The Going to Bed Book, they can tap “The Big Guy Reads It” and listen to the soothing, not-quite-gravelly voice of legendary British Invasion rocker Billy J. Kramer. (Visit his website to learn how Boynton and Kramer connected.) Once they’re feeling confident, burgeoning readers can select “I want to read it myself.”

With Boynton’s deep roster of books, we can only guess what’s next from Loud Crow. But one thing we can assume with confidence is that the quality will be there. And just like her wild-eyed and wacky animals, that makes us smile.

Ruckus Media's Rick Richter on Apps for Kids

2011-03-11T08:05:00.001-06:00

Ruckus Media Group just announced it has secured $3.5 million in funding to expand its presence in app-land and across multiple online stores and platforms. Ruckus is already on the scene with tried-and-true story classics told by powerhouse actor-musician teams like Robin Williams and Ry Cooder doing Pecos Bill, Denzel Washington and B.B. King doing John Henry. We interviewed Ruckus president, CEO, and chairman Rick Richter about the company's plans for readers and buyers of digital media.

With so many app developers hailing from the land of computer programming, it's exciting to hear from Richter, who is former president and publisher of Simon & Schuster Children’s Division (1996-2008) as well as co-founder of the beloved publishing house Candlewick Press, which has a long tradition of producing quality books. (The paper kind.)

DotMomming: A lot has happened to Ruckus in recent weeks, especially with the funding boost in early March. What can we expect to see in coming months?

Rick Richter: Right now we’re focusing on our future plans and really drilling down on the apps we have in development, which I think will take us to the next level. We expect that customers want more and more from us on a technology standpoint, and right now, we’re laying the track that we can deliver on customer expectations -- not just satisfying moms and kids, but delighting them.

DM: What’s in store for the year?

RR: For the year, ultimately, you’ll see us expand our range of apps. Over time, it will become apparent what’s developmentally appropriate for your child. We will begin to express real points of view on that, taking counsel from leaders in mobile education thinking and from parents themselves. It’s important to know we’re not doing this alone.

DM: A recent Ruckus announcement said the $3.5 million in funding will help “enrich our products, expand our offerings, and expedite the development of original content with marquee titles.” With superstars like Meryl Streep doing narration and Elvis Costello providing music, Ruckus apps feature celebrity adaptations of well-loved classics.

Does Ruckus plan to open the doors to more original stories and illustrations?

RR: That is the most exciting part of what we do. Of course, originality comes in all forms, and we’re seeking out the brightest and the best storytellers from around the world.

DM: One of the biggest “ifs” with this new era of children’s publishing is quality. Many app producers have no schooling in children’s literature and no editorial staffing on their team. Ruckus is unique in that its team is made up of industry heavy hitters from traditional publishing, media, and entertainment. You, yourself, are unusual in publishing for having been a leader in both sales and editorial.

Does Ruckus plan to set the standard for quality content? And if so, how?

RR: Absolutely, if you look at the background of not only me but the people who are associated with us, including some very prestigious editors, we think that we are reacting to what we observed as a real hole in the market as far as quality. The reason why apps are as expensive as they are, and why people like free apps, is that you can’t count on the quality. So we intend to raise that standard and raise the bar, and there are two or three other companies like us, who will emerge like us. There will be a few brands that pop out, creating products of outstanding quality. That’s where we want to be.

DM: For many authors and artists of traditional picture books, the app world presents a whole new publishing frontier. Could you talk about author/illustrator Mike Austin and his picture book app, A Present for Milo? The Milo app morphed into a few traditional books for Austin. How did this happen?

RR: One of the most interesting reviews we received on our app is that one reviewer hoped the books would be as good as the app is. It really does fall back to "a great story is a great story," regardless of how it is presented. You have to ask yourself, Is a book its body or its soul? We maintain that it’s its soul. Print books very much have their place, and app books do too. For us, it was never either/or, it was always either/and. And we want kids to enjoy great storytelling wherever they are.

DM: One of your mantras has been “books you can play with and games you can read.” For this digital generation that doesn’t feel an affinity to paper books, apps are a natural extension of their screen experiences. What does Ruckus see as the future of reading?

RR: I think for us, we see today’s on-the-go culture as wanting to enjoy media wherever they are. It’s historically how media has evolved. Typically, one form of media has not eclipsed another. People still read books, they go to movies. Video was predicted to crush movie theaters, which never happened. It’s really about where people are when they enjoy the media. Statistically, it isn’t that one kind of media is replacing another; it’s about multi-tasking. One thing that does stand is the ability to find print books, which is becoming more difficult with the closing of Borders and independent booksellers. We hope to provide that kind of curation service for parents, so we give guidance on what is not only a great app but a great story.

DM: It’s a cluttered market for iPad apps right now. Competition is stiff and – as an Oklahoma gal, forgive me – it’s like a land grab. How should parents make their way to quality apps for their kids?

RR: What you will find is that there will be curators that step forward and offer their insight. Awards are evolving. Reviews will become more and more solid, and people with real review experience will step in. People forget that we’re in the early days of apps; the first digital reading device was created in 1970, but it’s only been three to four years that e-books have really exploded and hit a tipping point. We’re really in the early days. There are 70,000 developers and 350,000 apps. What you’re going to see is people stepping in and helping you decide where to go and what constitutes a great app.

DM: Apple’s iTunes is the main player for app distribution. But Ruckus plans to expand distribution to include Google’s Android Market, Research In Motion’s Blackberry App World, Amazon’s App Store, and the Barnes & Noble Nook.

What does this mean for Ruckus as far as establishing a beachhead in the highly competitive app market?

RR: For us, we want to be able to be available on every device possible. You’ll see us developing apps on multi-platforms. You can also add that to our goals for the year. It’s very exciting, but it’s also very expensive. It’s probably going to be what weeds out the smaller developers from the larger developers. Interesting enough, you have to recode an app from the ground up to be played on an Android device, so you’re incurring twice the cost. If you’re talking about four to five platforms, you’re talking $200,000 in development costs. So two things have to happen: the company has to be funded to do that, and the market has to be evolving.

Loud Crow's "Peter Rabbit" Tops Kirkus Reviews, and for Good Reason

2011-03-09T17:53:00.000-06:00

Not long ago we wrote about Kirkus entering the world of app reviews. And not a moment too soon, when I think of the picture book stinkers now collecting dust on our iPad.

I recently downloaded the app ranked in the No. 1 position with Kirkus. It’s PopOut! The Tale of Peter Rabbit, by one Beatrix Potter. Even though I’m committed to my great-new-app-by-a-talented-new-author quest, I went ahead and queued up what Kirkus considered the best.

And whaddaya know? It is. Heads and shoulders, in fact, above any picture book app I’ve bought so far. Check out the video to see for yourself.

What makes Peter Rabbit such an enjoyable reading experience? The list is long.

First of all, it’s the British narration. Think Emma Thompson, but more Howards End than Nanny McPhee. The voice is smooth and gentle, which jibes perfectly with the clean, understated piano accompaniment.

I loved that the pages, when our iPad was turned to landscape, seemed to be the exact size as the real book in our hands. And the pop-out components were a terrific blending of old school and new: paper flap pullouts, spin wheels, and springy elements were planted on every page.

They were infinitely engaging, and my kindergartner recognized them immediately from traditional pop-up books. Pull on this flap, and Mr. McGregor blocks Peter's path. Turn this circle, and Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail gobble up their supper.

What delighted Junior most of all were the unexpected new pop-up elements. The rabbits come across blackberry vines, and when we touched the simple watercolor image, the berries popped into realistic, true-to-size blackberries on the screen. We spent quite a while playing with the blackberries, gooseberries, and lovely fall leaves, piling them on different parts of the pages and bouncing them back and forth. When we spent too long away from the story, the blackberries squished beneath our fingers.

It was a gentle reminder that Peter was waiting.

Developed by Loud Crow Interactive, Peter Rabbit is for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. It was followed at the holidays by PopOut! The Night Before Christmas.

Loud Crow on Friday unveiled the first app in its new line based on Sandra Boynton's adorable board books. Stay tuned for our review of The Going to Bed Book app, which makes us anything but sleepy.

Soupy Sales Taught Me to Read

2011-02-24T10:44:00.009-06:00

Junior and I were snuggled in the rocking chair last night, iPad before us, great British narrator's voice reading the words of our bedtime story aloud. I was watching my son follow along, whispering quietly to himself as each word became illuminated. He was enthralled, loving that he could keep up with the narrator and feeling quite big for "reading" the story himself.

It took me back -- waaaay back, I have to admit -- to the pink and green bedroom I shared with my big sister in Oklahoma and the Fisher-Price record player that stood beside my bed. I was a huge Soupy Sales fan in those days (who wasn't?), and my parents presented me with a great new find: Soupy Sales Reads a Wonder Book.

It was a simple children's book accompanied by a 45 record. Pop it onto your record player and voila!, Soupy Sales was right there in your room reading Silly Sidney or another title aloud. I could not get enough of Soupy. I holed up in my room each evening to get my daily dose, and before long, I was venturing off to read other things beyond Sidney.

And it will be the same for my little guy. He looks forward to reading time, whether it's my voice or anyone else in the family reading to him, or even this anonymous Brit who joined us last night. He simply loves to have a story read to him. But soon -- all too soon, I fear -- he'll be ready to climb into the rocking chair on his own and read a book like Silly Sidney all by himself.

He'll have his own Soupy Sales to thank.

Kirkus Revs Its Discovery Engine for iPad

2011-02-22T14:07:00.010-06:00

Kirkus Reviews, the curmudgeonly review journal that looks at more than 500 books each month, has moved into app-land. And not a moment too soon, when I consider some of the stinkers I've recently purchased in the iTunes store.

Last month Kirkus began reviewing picture book apps -- from tried-and-true classics to brand new titles created just for the iPad. About 50 apps are already reviewed on the site, and a Top 10 list highlights their faves. Also in the works, according to a press release, is a discovery engine for the iPad that will feature app demonstrations along with interviews with authors and developers.

"Parents will have the opportunity to hone their search by answering 5 quick questions about their child. Kirkus will then return a selection of book apps to match their child’s interest. The questions include gender, age, price range, visual interests, and interactive elements."

Think of it as your neighborhood children's bookseller, who has gotten to know you and your child's interests over the years, only now the chit-chat is cut a little short.

That Kirkus is venturing into this terrain is not all that surprising, as this is the future of reading. But that it is reviewing -- and giving stars -- to material that some diehards would not dare call "a book" does raise an eyebrow. Here's an excerpt from a starred review of Bartleby's Book of Buttons:

"Less a straight-ahead storybook than a combination of story and interactive puzzles, each page includes lighted buttons to press, keys and cranks to fiddle with."

The book app discovery engine, which will be available in March, is part of the journal's repositioning since its purchase last year. While some authors still smarting from scathing Kirkus reviews quietly cheered its seeming demise in late 2009, parents, teachers, and librarians who need help slogging through bookshelves (both the wooden kind and the digital ones) have a lot to be grateful about.

I hope to make good use of it. Now, if only I could take those stinkers I downloaded earlier this month and resell them at Powell's.

Does Borders' Failure Mark the End of the Traditional Book?

2011-02-01T07:08:00.006-06:00

Stopped by our gasping Borders bookstore yesterday to check out the fire sale. Everything was marked down 20 percent. And though I am typically more of a 50-to-75-percent-off kind of gal, in the end a sale is a sale, no?

As I picked up early readers for my little guy and some fun new titles for my older kids, I couldn't help but feel like this was a real turning point. In my mind, the death of Borders marks the end of the book as we know it.
I got this sense that, as the stacks and stacks of hardback Olivia and Pinkalicious books were being pushed out the door, so too was the notion of hardback books themselves.

It was spring 2009 when Borders decided to pull CDs from the shelves. Why? Because of competition from iTunes. We were downloading our music instead of popping it into the CD player. And at garage sales across the nation we saw great deals on CD racks and other storage systems.

Buying those hardback books yesterday felt like a quaint exercise, even though I have been doing it every week over at our local Indie bookstore, 57th Street Books. Thumbing through the stacks of Junie B. Jones and Ivy and Bean yesterday felt a lot like when I'm at a flea market and poking around in the piles of cassette tapes.

I still love the feel of a traditional book in my hands. And I love curling up in our cushy old chair and turning the pages of a picture book with my kindergartner. But I think he would be perfectly fine if we snuggled in together in the glow of an iPad.

Book 'Em, Danno

2011-01-27T11:19:00.006-06:00

Interesting story in Publisher's Weekly's Industry News today about "dynamic, interactive multimedia content" for kids. Or in other words, the picture books of tomorrow.

Speaking at Digital Book World, four publishers who have already staked a claim in the great digital book frontier talked about rapidly changing technology and what it means to the publishing world as more and more books are going digital.

I found humor in how each identified himself on the panel. Are they book publishers? Not in the traditional sense. More like a “mobile and tablet publisher,” as one defined his business.

The question of quality is always what interests me, and Rick Richter of Ruckus Media Group has the most interesting comments. He referred to picture book apps and this new medium as "books you can play with and games you can read."

Richter said, “there are 30,000 kids’ apps in the App Store, and about 27,000 of them are horrible. We hope to take that curator's role and let parents know what’s makes a great app and an excellent experience for their kids. We want people to take this space seriously and respect kids.”

Let's hope he puts his money where his mobile, interactive body opening through which food is taken in is.

Excessive Gaming and Depression

2011-01-17T13:52:00.010-06:00

I'll be the first to admit that the Wii makes a great babysitter. Fun, peppy personality, reliable, and the kids are in love!

When I have to meet a work deadline and I have a house full of my short friends, eager to do something, I sometimes let them Wii. And oh, my, how the time flies!

Suddenly and hour, two hours, dare I admit THREE hours go by. Without a peep from my peeps for me to engage or intervene or entertain. No muss, no fuss, and my project gets done.

We don't always go on video game benders like that. I typically limit their screen time -- whether it's the TV, laptop, or a phone. But life gets busy, and we occasionally have days that are intense for Mom and Dad.

But once the deadlines have passed and I am no longer a crazed lunatic, I find it all a bit appalling. What do we have to show for all that time? Just thinking of those hours spent on Star Wars Legos for the Wii makes me queasy. Like the way I feel after consuming a whole pint of Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup.

Both instances (the excessive Wii and the ice-cream overload) require a bit more self-control on all our part. I own up to throwing out the rules now and then -- life isn't always tidy.

Balance. Moderation. We all strive for reasonable approaches to life in our day to day, and we want our kids to understand it too. But it's hard. And it takes discipline -- both internal and external.

As adults, we recognized that just about anything in massive doses is bad for us. Kids have to be taught this. And that's why the recent study by the American Academy of Pediatrics that found excessive gaming may lead to depression, anxiety, and poor grades in school comes as no surprise.

The researchers studied more than 3,000 elementary and middle-school children in Singapore. Their findings? Almost 9 percent of these kids were "addicted" to gaming, and similar percentages were found in other countries.

The kids where considered "pathological" gamers exhibited higher levels of depression and other mental health issues than their peers who played fewer video games. On the plus side was that students who stopped excessive gaming reportedly reduced their levels of depression, anxiety and social phobia.

As I read this, I immediately wanted to know where my kids fit in. According to the study:

Pathological gamers clocked in an average of more than 31 hours a week
Their less excessive peers tallied about 19 hours a week

What does 31 hours look like? Well, nearly a full-time job. Even the group playing fewer hours could still hold a part-time job.

If kids are gaming every day after they come home from school, they're putting in more than 6 hours daily. Say they get home at 3 p.m., -- does this mean they are gaming until 9 p.m.? What about homework, dinner, any sort of sports or other activities? To fit those it too, they're probably gaming until midnight.

If those 31 hours are distributed over the entire week, that's nearly 5 hours each day.

And with what are those hours filled? Just like the Wii benders we experience, and when I stare at that empty Ben & Jerry's carton, yuck. Regret.

What would these kids in the study be like if they were engaged in something productive? What if they were building a new game to share with friends? Or making a movie, creating a public service announcement for their school. Or moving offline, what if they were playing a sport? Singing in a choir? Would they be depressed if they were interacting with friends or friendly adults? Would their grades turn around if they found more purpose for their time?

Perhaps the kids in this study already had addictive behaviors, and gaming just happens to be the outlet. That is possible -- in any cross-section of the population, we will find a lot of folks with these issues.

But any way we count it, 31 hours is a lot of time to spend on endless, repetitive tasks each week. And the rewards seem less than satisfying. It would tax the mind and emotions of anyone, adult or child.

Mom, Will You Read Me a Bedtime App?

2010-12-15T13:13:00.004-06:00

It's a pivotal moment for picture books, and traditionalists might find themselves shouting, "No, David!"

Here come the picture book apps.

The New York Times writes about e-readers with color and the new push from publishers to bring these books out. Most readers and writers of picture books knew that day was coming, but it still seemed "a ways off." Many hung tight to the thought that the purity of the 32-page book as we know it might remain unthreatened.

Well, those days are over, and it remains to be seen how the youngest readers respond. Our kindergartener has a paper-thing-with-a-spine kind of book under the Christmas tree. I plan to download a new picture book app after school today to see what he thinks. We'll see which one he goes back to again and again during the holiday break.

While the early picture book apps out of the chute have been with smaller publishers, the heavyweights have now arrived. Apple is pushing more than 100 titles to its iBookstore starting today with incredibly popular titles like the Olivia series by Ian Falconer. And Fancy Nancy has been available on Nook Color for about a month.

Most publishers have been eager to jump onto the e-book bandwagon, but there were a few obstacles in the way for picture books. The largest being that pesky problem of color. But now that that's taken care of, off we go!

"It finally gives us the opportunity to have our picture books join the e-book revolution,” says Jon Anderson of Simon & Schuster in the Times article. “It gives us a great opportunity to monetize our content in a way that we previously haven’t been able to.”

And monetize they will.

This is the turning point. Anderson says that by early 2011, S&S hopes to release picture e-books at the same time as the print versions. Just like the grownups.

Daphne, Dressing Up, and Parenting Online

2010-11-07T08:26:00.016-06:00

Parenting is hard enough. Taking it to the Web? That's a whole different can o' worms.

A Missouri mom's recent post about her 5-year-old son's Halloween costume has drawn a tremendous response from parents and others -- and not just for his choice in being Daphne from Scooby Doo.

On her blog Nerdy Apple Bottom, the Mo Mom wrote,

"If you think that me allowing my son to be a female character for Halloween is somehow going to ‘make’ him gay then you are an idiot. Firstly, what a ridiculous concept. Secondly, if my son is gay, OK. I will love him no less. Thirdly, I am not worried that your son will grow up to be an actual ninja so back off."

The post, which features a photo of her son in his bright orange and purple costume complete with pink boots, has gone viral, generating over a million hits and more than 38,000 comments. Mom was interviewed by phone on CNN’s “American Morning,” saying she and her husband were “flabbergasted” by the response.

Various media outlets have now weighed in, not to mention all the mothers and others with strong opinions.

Salon's Mary Elizabeth Williams hilariously addresses the mom's post, saying "This is how it's done, folks."

"It should be a no-brainer that 5-year-old boy who dresses like Daphne one day a year is not automatically gay or transgendered -- although obviously, if he had wanted to be Velma, he'd be a lesbian. The point is, as the mom blogger beautifully expresses it, so what?. . ."

But Carline Howard over at Forbes.com isn't so supportive.

"Her anger at the mean mommies is valid. But she’s taken to the blogosphere with her rants (people can be mean, even to children! traditional gender distinctions aren’t fair!) and his photo at the expense of her “worrier” son’s privacy."

This entire kerfuffle reminds me of a children's picture book called "King & King" (Tricycle Press, 2002) that was attacked for "promoting a gay agenda" and sexualizing characters for children. But what the book boils down to for me is less about homosexuality than about teaching tolerance. Buy it now.

I agree with Nerdy Apple Bottom that her son did "rock that wig." And obviously her post struck a chord across the country. So while many of us support the notion that "it takes a village," this Missouri Mom seems to have gotten a much larger village than she ever dreamed possible.

A New Form of Storytelling, Both Online and Off

2010-11-06T11:29:00.006-05:00

The New York Times Sunday Book Review takes an interesting look at a new beast on the scene in children's literature: books that use an online component to engage and expand the reading experience.

These books are bridging the online and off-line reading experience, in some cases using the Internet to propel the plot forward. Readers go to websites mentioned in the book's pages for information or "bonus" material.

The concept sounds engaging, but it seems a little clunky in many ways.

If your child is still reading the paper page, she's going to have to shift from traditional book to computer and back again. But if she has made the move to an e-reader, the experience seems to be more fluid.

Says the Times:

". . . with the rise of e-readers and other tablet devices like Apple’s iPad, I have to imagine that some author is hard at work creating a fully digital experience that combines text, video, animation and data. Books, movies and video games will all contribute to this new form of storytelling, and I would not be surprised if it happens to children’s and young adult literature first. We may scoff at so much gimmickry, but what adults call gimmickry kids call something else: awesome."

Teens Are Reading, But Just In a Different Way

2010-11-04T18:15:00.004-05:00

The kids are all right.

At least, that's what I took away from a recent Washington Post story about young people's reading habits.

The article looks at recreational reading in the age of Wii and XBox and real-time Tweeting. And what it says was a bit of a comfort to the part of me that wants to write books for this audience: They are reading.

And it confirms what many of us are beginning to wrap our brains around: They're reading books in digital forms.

"It's not that they're reading less; they're reading in a different way," Kim Patton, president of the Young Adult Library Services Association, says in the Post article.

The story refers to a detailed analysis into the trend on reading for fun - in books, newspapers and magazines. Researcher Sandra Hofferth of the University of Maryland has looked at the daily time-use diaries of a nationally representative sample of children 12 to 18.

The Post reports the following: Pleasure reading dropped 23 percent from 2003 to 2008, from 65 minutes a week to 50 minutes a week - with the greatest falloff for those ages 12 to 14.

So where's the bright side? The Post gives Patton's answer:

"They could be reading on the cellphone, in games, on the Web, on the computer. It doesn't mean they're not reading, but they're not reading using the printed page."

Quick Draws: iStoryTime's Picture Book Apps Come Hot Off the Presses

2010-06-20T17:33:00.013-05:00

Toy Story 3 set box office records this weekend, which wasn't too surprising. But what did come as a surprise was that Buzz Lightyear and the crew were heading toward infinity and beyond with the release of Toy Story 3 apps for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch -- all on the film’s launch weekend.

The digital book publishing business is turning around books quickly enough to tie in with movie releases, which hasn't always been the case. Two other recent big-screen hits, How to Train Your Dragon and Shrek Forever After, also launched picture book apps the same day the films hit theaters, allowing kids to walk out of the movie house and download the story for the drive home. Both were published by iStoryTime, which is part of FrogDogMedia.

“It was less than eight weeks from the finish of the movie to our book being published,” said iStoryTime founder Graham Farrar. “It used to be that you could not publish a book at the same time as the release because they were finishing just weeks before the films hit theaters.”

As we’ve learned from previous interviews with picture book app producers, the turnaround time to make a picture book app for iPad or iPhone is just a matter of weeks.

“Certainly someone could send us a fantastic Halloween app book today,” Graham said, “and it would be a non-issue to get that out by Halloween.”

iStoryTime has been on the scene for about a year and a half and has 35 books in their catalog – making them one of the largest picture book app publishers. They have worked with DreamWorks on the movie tie-ins, but they also publish little-known authors and illustrators, such as their popular Binky the Pink Elephant, written by Sonowa Jackson and illustrated by Jaclyn Mednicov, which has sold upwards of 10,000 copies.

“That's the beauty in books,” says Graham, a father of two young children, who used to tote bags of picture books out to restaurants but now totes their books in his iPhone. “If you look on the bookshelf in kids’ rooms, there’s plenty of room for Dr. Seuss and Binky the Pink Elephant and How to Train Your Dragon. And it’s constantly evolving as they get older.”

That matters a lot to picture book authors and illustrators trying to break into the market, so it’s great to hear a publisher like Graham leaving the door open to new talent.

iStoryTime accepts submissions from authors, but the story has to be illustrated – which is completely different from what traditional book publishers want. And while they are open to retellings of the classics or original stories, they are only interested in buying the rights for electronic distribution – meaning an author with iStoryTime could sell his or her digital book to a traditional publisher.

“The value is in the content these authors create,” said Graham, addressing skeptics who are still leery of digital books. “Michael Jackson’s Thriller was just as good on CD as vinyl.”

PBS Apps and Building Young Brains

2010-06-05T16:13:00.005-05:00

Maybe the kids really are all right.

A recent study by the broccoli and asparagus of children’s programming, PBS Kids, found educational benefits in young children’s use of gaming apps. The study showed that children ages 3 to 7 who played with the PBS app Martha Speaks, based on the popular TV cartoon, showed an improvement in their vocabulary by as much as 31 percent. PBS Kids announced initial results of research studying the educational benefits of mobile gaming apps in conjunction with the 7th Annual Games for Change Festival in New York.

"Mobile apps can be a great learning tool in the hands of children," Lesli Rotenberg, senior vice president of children's media for PBS, says in their press release. "This research is important in helping to better understand and guide the development of new apps that improve the value of children's screen time with significant educational outcomes."

A story on CNET says the study provides real evidence that iPhone and iPod games may not be rotting kids' brains. That is, so long as the apps they’re looking at are educational. And that is the key for parents perplexed by how to navigate through the vast wilderness of iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad, and Android applications.

Just as Mom and Dad have to decide between Elmo vs. the Power Rangers when allowing some TV time, the same goes for choosing quality apps. Junior can spend his time blowing up monsters in mindless games, or he can focus on learning to name shapes, colors, and patterns in engaging new ways.

As with every other medium kids consume -- books, movies, TV shows, websites, and video games -- there is plenty of trash out there. And PBS, thankfully, seems to be leading the way once again, helping parents make good use of all these portable, app-based gadgets.

Children's Books, Authors, & Apps, Oh My!

2010-05-26T07:15:00.007-05:00

Digital picture books have arrived on the scene, and I am trying to understand what it means for aspiring picture book authors and illustrators. So I contacted David K. Park, co-founder of MeeGenius, a publisher of digital picture books for the iPad, iPod Touch, and the iPhone. I asked him how the whole process works.

“You would submit your manuscript,” David explains. “Our editors would review it. If we agree to publish it, we would enhance it with audio playback and word highlighting, and create the personalization tool for the text. We  would then make the book available on the web, iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad in days.”

Days? He must have meant to say months.

“This process would be weeks instead of 18 months to bring a traditional book to market.”

Okay, so what’s the catch for authors and illustrators? We must have to pay to bring our stories to life, no?

“We are not currently charging authors and illustrators to enhance and distribute their books," David says. "We understand they are plunging into this paradigm, so we want to be as supportive as possible.

“We offer 30 percent royalty on the net price of a book. For example, for a $1.99 book purchased on iTunes, Apple received 30 percent of that, which leaves $1.40. Authors and illustrators received 30 percent of that $1.40, or $0.42. So if an author/illustrator creates a book that gets downloaded 10,000 times, they received $4,200.”

That 30 percent would be split between an author and an illustrator, so for picture book authors, that’s about 15 percent, or in this example, $0.21.

How does that compare with the traditional model? According to Harold Underdown’s Purple Crayon website, for a traditional 32-page picture book priced at $16,

“Half of the $16 is the wholesaler and bookseller's part--their overhead and profits. On average, the publisher receives $8, or perhaps a little more. Assuming that the publisher does a print run of 10,000 copies (this is fairly typical), of that $8.00,
• $3.20 is overhead
•  $1.60 is the royalty to author and illustrator 
• $1.76 is the cost of paper, printing, and binding (binding is about half of that) 
• $0.64 is the cost of preparing the plates
This leaves 80 cents profit per book, assuming all goes well and that the entire printing is sold. And assuming, on the other hand, no subsidiary rights income, which would increase the amount of profit.”

Let's point that out again: That $1.60 is split between author and illustrator, so for the writer, we're talking about $0.80 per book sold. Compared with about $0.21 in the e-book example. So how can an author hope to come out ahead selling digital picture books for $1.99 online?

It remains to be seen how these markets will play out. One thing to keep in mind is that not every traditional picture book is going to sell 10,000 copies. Many do not even come close. While for the digital book, the market is very different.

“There are currently 75 million iPhone, iPod Touches, and iPads in the United States,” David says, “so even a small fraction of that market is very large.”

MeeGenius and Picture Book Apps: An Interesting Story

2010-05-24T06:19:00.010-05:00

I had picture book apps on my mind after attending a meeting up at my kids' school last week. A learning counselor was talking about summer activities parents could do to keep kids' math and reading skills alive. One mother said her daughter wanted to read books on the Kindle, just like Mom and Dad. But she was worried about her daughter learning to read in an electronic format. What about the act of turning the page? Basic literacy skills? Engaging with a real book?

I contacted David K. Park who, along with Wandy Hoh, is founder of MeeGenius, a publisher of digital picture books for the iPad, iPod Touch, and the iPhone. MeeGenius has been listed on the New and Noteworthy section of iTunes, the What’s Hot section, and a staff favorite for the iPad.

“We launched our beta site and introduced the iPhone and iPad app on April 1st of this year,” says David in an online interview with dot.momming. Remember that the iPad hit the market on April 3, so they’re off and running.

“We’re ultimately creating these beautiful works to be read and enjoyed by children, so whatever medium they enjoy the most, we should adapt and provide it for them,” says David, who is the father of two young boys. “Furthermore, a digital platform will allow so many more talented authors and illustrators to get their works out there in the hands of children.”

Okay, sure, but let's get to the point: Change is bad. Everybody knows that, right?

What does an app publisher like MeeGenius have to say to calm parents and authors who are quaking in our collective boots? For authors and illustrators, we want our books to stand the test of time – in a library, on a bookshelf, under Junior’s bed! What are we supposed to do with all these changes in book publishing?

“We think you should embrace it and will be pleasantly surprised by it.”

I can see what it means for parents like me: I’m driving on our annual 11-hour roadtrip to Grandmom’s house, only this time, instead of toting a bag full of bulky picture books to keep the troops happy in the car, I download an entire library of them. In app form, those picture books are accessible at all times – whether we’re waiting in line at the St. Louis Arch, waiting for lunch at yet another Cracker Barrel, or trying to fill the endless miles.

As parents, we want our kids reading and engaging with books. So as iPad and other platforms enter the market, are parents ready for this new medium? Will they believe that their kids are getting the same out of this new experience as they are from traditional books?

Bright idea: iPad and Children's Bedtime

2010-05-20T09:12:00.004-05:00

It’s bedtime, and part of the nightly ritual is reading a family favorite together before tucking in for the night. But the new routine might mean calling up an electronic book rather than pulling a traditional one down from a shelf.

But reader, beware. According to a recent story about sleep on CNN, the light from an e-reader might do exactly the opposite of what you want that nighttime story to do. Junior’s brain might be fooled into thinking it’s daytime, the researchers warn. So instead of slipping off to the land of nod, his brain might be sending him toward the land of naughty. As in our house:

Me: Look, Mr. Popper got a penguin!
Junior: I can touch my toes to my ears.
Me: Listen, Mr. Popper’s kids are going to meet the penguins!
Junior: . . . twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four. . .
Me: Stop jumping on the bed. Don’t you care about Mr. Popper and his penguins?
Junior: Who’s Mr. Popper?

As the CNN story reports, “. . . that light can be sufficiently stimulating to the brain to make it more awake and delay your ability to sleep.” That’s a quote from Phyllis Zee, a neuroscience professor at Northwestern University and director of the school's Center for Sleep & Circadian Biology.

And if there’s one thing that strikes terror in the heart of any parent at about 8:30 p.m., it’s a delay in someone’s ability to sleep.

The biggest culprit for the nighttime shenanigans appears to be the iPad, which features LED back lighting. Great resolution, the New York Times looks terrific, but you won’t be able to enjoy it tomorrow morning at breakfast because you’ll be too tired from trying to get Junior to finally fall asleep!

At bedtime, you’re better off using another e-reader like the Kindle, which shoots far less light into the eye. Or, that other thing that’s been on the market for a while.

A book.

Children's Book Week, Red-Hot Flamingnet

2010-05-11T06:50:00.004-05:00

More on Children's Book Week, which began yesterday and runs through Sunday. I got a wee bit fired up about kids books and new technology when stumbled across Flamingnet, which the rest of the world out there might already know about. I tend to come late to things -- discovered The Sopranos in season three, got my first countertop mixer after a good 10 years of baking, and I still haven't gotten around to rollerblading yet. But Flamingnet represents more than just another website with a book angle. It's a wonderful virtual world of and for book nerds! A vast community of readers who speak and celebrate children's lit. How cool is that?

Flamingnet was begun by Seth Cassel back in 2002, when he was but a wee fifth-grader! It is devoted to promoting reading and writing among teens and tweens and includes reviews of children's books written by kids from all over the world -- in the United States, England, and Australia. And as if this weren't enough, Seth has developed a charity angle as well, donating books and money to organizations in need. Here's what they have to say about themselves:

Flamingnet is currently a growing young adult book website, and my father and I are kept very busy spreading the word about our site and working with all the reviewers, underwriters (adult volunteers that assist our student reviewers with their writing), Flamingnet members, authors, publishers, and publicists that have become part of our Flamingnet community. My grandfather in Florida is also very busy sending out letters to libraries telling them about my website.

Even Grandpop is in on it? I'm getting misty! What a wonderful family affair. It's an organic outgrowth of this boy's interest in books, supported and fostered by his father (a computer programmer) and grandfather, and now shared with the rest of the virtual reading world. Flamingnet's formula of having kids review books online and participate in the greater book community brings so many people into the conversation -- teens and tweens, classrooms, teachers, librarians, parents, and even grandparents. It's a wonderful digital age success story, and makes for another exciting chapter in the history of Children's Book Week.

Children's Book Week, Then and Now

2010-05-06T19:59:00.011-05:00

We've come a long way, babies. Children's Book Week, which celebrates the best in children's literature, is close to 100 years old. It kicks off Monday and runs through May 16, and features author events in bookstores and libraries around the country, as well as online celebrations.

In many ways, this year's celebration is not too different from past years. Kids are still wandering the stacks at their local or school libraries and pulling books off the shelf. They're still discovering "new" authors and books, like Treasure Island, just as they did in 1919 when the first Children's Book Week was celebrated.

But a few things have crept onto my radar recently that are giving me grins about Children's Book Week. One was a teaser to help get kids excited: Parents or teachers can send kids a personalized Children's Book Week e-card. I couldn't help but think that those digital darlings who would enjoy the card might also like downloading their book as well.

Then I read an Amazon ad that pitched downloading free Kindle copies of classics like Treasure Island onto the iPad, Blackberry, or any other e-reading device. And that's when I realized how far we've actually come.

Kids today have so many avenues for accessing quality media. And the ease and convenience of getting books into their hands is unprecedented. Sure, those hands might already be holding a video game. But a classic or contemporary novel is merely a click away. Think about it -- as these kids (or Mom and Dad) tote around their iPhones, iPads, Kindles, or the like, they're also carrying around a vast library of books.

They have a world of wonderful reading available to them, literally at their fingertips.

Oh, The Places You (and Your iPad) Will Go!

2010-04-29T18:34:00.003-05:00

Reading an AOL News story today that 13 of the 16 top book applications for the iPad are children's titles, I began getting a little light-headed. That time, "somewhere down the road," when kids will be reading picture books on handheld computers and we'll all be flying jetpacks to work, well, it's here. Mostly.

But I still couldn't wrap my brain around what it all means. So I got in touch with Oceanhouse Media, the publisher of the Dr. Seuss apps that are among the most popular downloads. Surely he could calm me down about the iPad, picture book apps, e-books, and what this all means.

"It's a complete revolution in the way children's books will be published," said Michel Kripalani, president of Oceanhouse.

Okay. Now that we've got that straight.

"A lot of the old skills won't apply anymore in publishing," Michel said. "I won't have to ship from China anymore, I won't have to deal with resellers, or with brick and mortar stores."

That echoes what Stephen Roxburgh said recently when he spoke at 57th Street Books about his new publishing venture, namelos, which prints books in hardback, paperback, and e-formats all on demand. From a publishing standpoint, this makes a lot of sense. No paying to move freight, no gambling on how many books to send out and how many get remaindered, no grinding down unsold books into pulp. The Lorax (another recent Oceanhouse release) would be proud.

I was especially excited to look at Michel's version of Dr. Seuss's ABC since it is the very book that my five-year-old is actually reading to us right now. So for me, after years of reading about Little Lola Lopp and the lazy lion licking a lollipop in the traditional paper and glue format, it was a bit of a rush to hear the narrator's voice in the iPad app. (This is a book that came out in 1960 and probably taught me, my husband, and these app programmers how to read!) Besides hearing the narrator read the text, I could tap on Lola and see her name cross the screen as the narrator read "Little Lola Lopp." I could tap on the lollipop and see that word come up as well, accompanied by the sound of a creature happily licking.

Oceanhouse plans to produce one to two Dr. Seuss books per month until they've gone through the entire Seuss library of 44 books and stories. Michel began to explain that it takes just a couple weeks to produce an app. I missed what he said next because I'd begun choking on my chai and dropped the phone. A couple weeks? Surely I'd misheard the man.

"That's assuming we have the source content -- the original digital art files of Dr. Seuss books," he explained. "We do a recording session for the narration in a professional studio, create a new set of sound effects for each book, pull it all together in our proprietary engine. . ."

Slow down there, Tex. I get what galleys are, F&Gs, and I can tell my ARC from a hole in the ground. But I don't speak this lingo. What's a proprietary engine?

"It's what we call the code, or the technology that everything is sitting on," he explained patiently, clearly aware by this point in our conversation that he was dealing with a 20th century book gal (or is it more like 15th century? How long has this model been around?). "It's the core technology that's under the hood for every book. Because essentially we are a software company more than a book publisher."

And that's a great point. Because for picture books, more so than any other electronically delivered books, the interactive element will require much more equipment under the hood. Michel said Oceanhouse wasn't interested in too many whistles and bells in their books, but there are interactive qualities.

"The fact that we started with Dr. Seuss guided our direction. He was all about teaching kids to read, so we use that as our litmus test. 'Will this feature help a child learn to read better?' If we highlight a word, it will help."

So how long did he say it takes to get the app to market?

"It takes a couple weeks to pull all that together, then we get Seuss approval (from Dr. Seuss Enterprises, which handles the licensing of all things Seuss), then we submit to Apple for approval. From the time we get Seuss approval to the Apple store is less than 100 hours."

And as if that weren't enough to make you want to sing like one of the Whos down in Whoville, he added,

"Then we're immediately available for sale in 70-plus countries."

So what does this mean for authors? Looking at Oceanhouse's model, they're going with a proven winner in the traditional format and adapting it to the new market. There's no editing and revising of the text, no working with an illustrator to bring that text to life. But will other houses take a risk on an unknown author? I think the answer is yes. But it will take time.

"It's hard to say what it means for authors," Michel said. "In general, the author's cut could be higher in this model than the old one. Traditional publishers have a lot of overhead; they have to print all those books just to get them into, say, 100 bookstores.

"But with this model, you have hundreds of thousands of people seeing your book. What iTunes did for music it is doing all over again for books, without a doubt."

So what's next for Oceanhouse? Michel and his wife are looking to have a baby any day now. And beyond that, we can look for One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish in June. And just in time for graduation, they'll be releasing Oh, the Places You'll Go!

And with an iPad, that could be just about anywhere.

Boy Scouts as video gamers

2010-04-28T13:01:00.001-05:00

The Boy Scouts of America has announced it will offer two awards -- a belt loop and a pin -- for video gaming. While at first blush, this sounds a little sad. When we hear Scouts, we imagine tents and nature and slip knots, not Diddy Kong. The CNN tech blog where I read this announcement was skeptical:

". . . you still have to wonder if this isn’t a misguided attempt by the Cub Scouts to stay relevant by pandering to boys’ interests. Seems to me the Scouts should be getting kids outside and teaching them practical skills beyond the bubble of their everyday lives instead of how to read the back of a video game box."

But what should the Scouts do? Ignore video gaming entirely?

The Kaiser Family Foundation's recent study on media and children says 8- to 18-year-olds spend an average of 7 hours, 38 minutes using entertainment media in a typical day. That's like having a full-time job! And as for gender, the study comes as no surprise: Boys spend more time than girls playing console video games (56 minutes per day for boys, 14 minutes for girls).

It's the Scouts vs. Mario and Luigi!

I applaud the Scouts' effort to try to harness all this frenzied energy for video gaming and contain it. This generation of kids has been called "digital natives," and as parents, we often don't come anywhere close to speaking their language. So if an organization like the Scouts steps in and tries to help translate, I'm all for it.

What do you have to do to earn the Scouts' belt loop? Kids have to explain why a rating system is important for video games. That can prompt some good discussions. What else must they do? Create a daily schedule to see where gaming fits in after chores and homework. What's not to love about teaching kids time management? And when there is a daily planner hanging on the fridge, it makes parenting that much easier. "I'd love to let you play longer, but the chart shows it's time for homework. . ."

And to earn a pin? Among the nine requirements are two that I think every parent should be doing when the Wii or other game system enters the house: Have Junior sit down and teach us how to play a game. The other requirement I wholeheartedly back is having him choose a game that helps with math, spelling, or another skill related to schoolwork. "Can't talk now, Mom. I'm practicing fractions!"

It's all about having the vegetables along with dessert. Kids, especially boys, want to game. There is a place for it, and they should play within reason. There are ways to teach them to use gaming intelligently. And if a venerable organization like the Scouts tries to teach them the healthy ways to incorporate gaming into their lives, all the better.

Take that, Mario!

Have you hugged your screen today?

2010-04-25T12:20:00.001-05:00

I’m done apologizing.

My days of hiding my kids’ Wii remotes when unexpected guests knock at the door are all behind me. The era of ushering the little darlings away from the computer screens when the neighbors stop by is history.

I’m now embracing technology, that 2.0-pound gorilla in the room. I’m getting more comfortable with the place it’s found in my home. While I used to cringe at how tech-savvy my five-year-old was (“He should be reading more books!”), now I’m all right (and a little impressed) with the way he can move so fluidly from beating his big brother at basketball on the Wii to downloading a free game on the iTouch to picking up where he left off playing Spore on the laptop.

What’s made me stop apologizing for all this tech play at my house? It might have something to do with a recent job I started, working with an academic whose area of research is digital media and urban schools. Or maybe it's from reading stories about serious institutions like the MacArthur Foundation’s commitment to digital media and young people’s learning.

But most likely it has to do with a talk I heard Thursday night at 57^th Street Book Store in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood. The speaker was Stephen Roxburgh, a former children’s book editor and publisher who is at the forefront of the e-book revolution. Having recently founded a new publishing venture called namelos, which can deliver a children’s novel in the click of a button, Stephen talked to us about the current convulsions in the book publishing industry. He likened it to Gutenberg’s arrival on the scene back in the mid-1400s.

“Screens are the future of content delivery, not ink on paper.”

Stephen (pictured here at 57th Street Books) says this on his blog, but it was also the essence of what he discussed with the bookstore audience, made up mostly of SCBWI-Illinois writers and illustrators who have an enormous stake in the conversation. When I heard Stephen – legendary editor of such distinguished children’s authors as Roald Dahl, Madeleine L’Engle, Carolyn Coman, and Uri Shulevitz, to name a few – talk about embracing the book delivered via computer screen as closely as the one bound in leather with gilt pages, I began to question my own thinking.

Technology is changing so rapidly, every day offers tremendous change from the one before. It’s all a bit dizzying. But there is no mistaking that products like Apple’s iPad are revolutionizing the way we live, work, and enjoy our leisure time.

Says Stephen, “. . . a powerful tablet computer with a high-resolution screen and intuitive operating system is the face of the future of reading. . . .”

And when I look at my kids – my five-year-old especially, who has used his daddy’s iTouch like a pacifier, tucking himself into a big chair in the corner of our family room when he needs a little quiet time – I couldn’t agree more.

They are perfectly content to enjoy a picture book delivered by one of the many screens in our house as from the glossy pages of the hardback book they pluck off the shelf. They are equal opportunity consumers of media right now, but I have a feeling that they are going to prefer their books online soon. Because that’s where they have been going for information and entertainment since they could toddle over to a chair, clamber up at a desk, and click the mouse to bring up the Sesame Street website. PBS Kids’ online games have been as crucial to their reading development as the dog-eared copies of Dr. Seuss’s ABCs.

So it’s official. As of Thursday – which was Earth Day, I might note – I am done apologizing for my kids’ screen use. Though we still love paper books in our house (they are everywhere, even wedged beneath the cushion where I am sitting), I am comfortable with my kids reading new ones as well as the classics via a screen.

And if it means we save a few trees in the bargain, all the better. It’s one less thing I have to apologize for.