Thank you for visiting the site of Melissa Northway, the writer and creator of the Penelope series along with many other unique stories. Feel free to take a look around and don't forget to check out her latest work at picpocketbooks.com.
Polka Dots Publishing
Melissa founded Polka Dots Publishing, Inc. in December of 2010, with a goal to create interactive and educational children’s storybook apps and books utilizing digital technology. Our services now include consulting for new and established authors and developers looking to maximize social media platforms. From concept to creation, we can provide you with expert advice and strategies to make sure your app or book gets noticed. Learn more about Polka Dots Publishing
Penelope the Purple Pirate
“Penelope the Purple Pirate is a fun interactive romp with Penelope and her charming friends…wonderful read and discover app with great visuals and sounds! Love the fun filled facts at the end to test everyone’s comprehension.” -Alexandra Uhl, owner of A Whale of a Tale Children’s Bookshoppe
Learn more about Penelope the Purple Pirate
Gerry the Giraffe
“Gerry the Giraffe HD is a delightful story about Gerry and his quest to improve his volleyball skills... This beautifully illustrated book is set in Africa where giraffes love to play volleyball. Gerry is left behind when his friends on the “Super Sonics” team go off to volleyball camp...”
-Alison, The iMums
Learn more about Gerry the Giraffe
Current Giveaway
Review & Giveaway :: Saving Santa by Anchor Bay
Fall is my favorite time of year and I can’t get enough of the holiday music you hear pretty much at every store you step foot in these days (I don’t mind though) and I just love holiday movies! All this holiday cheer immediately puts me in a happy mood and I get excited just… [Continue Reading]
In the Spotlight
Hollywood Blockbuster Production Designer James Lewis creates Fun Town
NEW APP FROM HOLLYWOOD BLOCKBUSTER PRODUCTION DESIGNER JAMES LEWIS Touch & Learn, the development studio started by Hollywood Production Designer, James Lewis (credits include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Band of Brothers, Love Actually, Exodus and many more), today officially announced the release of their brand new edutainment app for 2 – 6 year old… [Continue Reading]
Featured Guest Post
Guest Post :: Garrett Hedman of Cutie Bear
Nighttime Stories… with an iPad? By Garrett Hedman Every night, Ryan, a six-year-old wild child, stands at the top of the stairs in his pajamas with a devious smile. He’s occasionally topless; occasionally bottomless; sometimes his… [Continue Reading]
From the Blog…
App of the Week :: Strawberry Shortcake Berryfest Princess
New York based app developer Cupcake Digital has recently released Strawberry Princess featuring one of our favorite redheads – Strawberry Shortcake! My niece dressed up as Strawberry Shortcake one year and looked adorable! What’s not to love about this cute character. The first page opens up and you have a choice between reading the story… [Continue Reading]
Holiday Gifts for Teachers
Tis the season of gift giving and I love to make and give homemade gifts. This year we plan to make my daughter’s school teachers some fun gifts and found some really great ideas! Happy Giving! Sweet! The blogger over at The Creativity Exchange has some really great and inexpensive gift ideas. … [Continue Reading]
Review & Giveaway :: Saving Santa by Anchor Bay
Fall is my favorite time of year and I can’t get enough of the holiday music you hear pretty much at every store you step foot in these days (I don’t mind though) and I just love holiday movies! All this holiday cheer immediately puts me in a happy mood and I get excited just… [Continue Reading]
Hollywood Blockbuster Production Designer James Lewis creates Fun Town
NEW APP FROM HOLLYWOOD BLOCKBUSTER PRODUCTION DESIGNER JAMES LEWIS Touch & Learn, the development studio started by Hollywood Production Designer, James Lewis (credits include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Band of Brothers, Love Actually, Exodus and many more), today officially announced the release of their brand new edutainment app for 2 – 6 year old… [Continue Reading]
App of the Week :: Felt Board by Software Smoothie
My daughter and I were excited to review Felt Board by Software Smoothie because we both love to play around with the felt board I purchased for her a couple years ago. It came with several different backgrounds and characters and we would make up stories about the characters. So when we were… [Continue Reading]
Guest Post :: Garrett Hedman of Cutie Bear
Nighttime Stories… with an iPad? By Garrett Hedman Every night, Ryan, a six-year-old wild child, stands at the top of the stairs in his pajamas with a devious smile. He’s occasionally topless; occasionally bottomless; sometimes his… [Continue Reading]
Get Your School Involved During National Young Readers Week November 11-15th
Next week is National Young Readers Week from November 11-15th. Anything that supports a love of reading is always a good thing in my book. What I found intriguing about this week was that it was started by the President of Pizza Hut with the help of the Center for the Book in the Library… [Continue Reading]
App of the Week :: Alfie, Haathi and The Magic Bioscope
The illustrations in Alfie, Haathi and The Magic Bioscope are just wonderful! This storybook app was created by Growl Media with the intention of teaching kids about other cultures and languages. The story is about Haathi and Alfie who are the best of friends – though an unlikely pair they might be. You… [Continue Reading]
November is National Novel Writing Month
This month is National Novel Writing Month. It is known as NaNoWriMo (nan-no-RYE-moe) and is an annual, internet-based creative writing project that challenges writers to pen an ambitious 50,000 words in the month of November. The writing marathon started in 1999 with fewer than two dozen participants, but it’s now estimated that more than 200,000 speed-writers join in the… [Continue Reading]
Book of the Week :: Find Me
I really enjoying reviewing iBooks on the iPad because it reminds me of all the technological changes we have seen over the past five years and what a great time it is to be a writer! The idea and design for Find Me is by Giulia Natale and the US Version is by Jenna… [Continue Reading]
Unique Halloween Treats for the Kids
Halloween will be here before you know it! At least that is what I keep telling myself so this week my daughter and I are planning out our neighborhood party we do every year. It is a lot of fun for both of us and we will spend hours talking about our different ideas. We plan to make cupcakes this year… [Continue Reading]
Giveaway :: Dot Complicated by Randi Zuckerberg
As part of the Dot Complicated blogger crew I am happy to showcase Randi Zuckerberg’s new book Dot Complicated – Untangling Our Wired Lives. You might have seen our interview with Randi Zuckerberg on dandelion moms. She led the marketing efforts at Facebook during its growth from 2005 to 2011, alongside her famous brother, Mark Zuckerberg,… [Continue Reading]
App of the Week :: Tickety Toc Bubble Time by Cupcake Digital
My daughter and I have really enjoyed reviewing Cupcake Digitals latest storybook apps. One of our favorites is the new Jim Henson’s Fraggle Rock Game Day and we really enjoyed reviewing their latest Tickety Toc Bubble Time which features twins Tommy and Tallulah from the hit TV show Tickety Toc. They live in a… [Continue Reading]
Nature Craft Ideas for Kids
One of our family’s favorite activity to do on the weekends is to go on nature walks. We are lucky that we live so close to several parks and a bird sanctuary so we don’t need to get in the car but just put on our walking shoes and head out the door. And our… [Continue Reading]
Guest Post :: One Appy Mama Reviews Wondershare MobileGo
Wondershare MobileGO for the iOS is WONDERFUL For the past week I have been using a companion application for my iPhone 5 that goes beyond what iTunes has to offer. When you first launch Wondershare MobileGo for iOS you will plug your iDevice up to your USB cable (just as if you’re using iTunes). It… [Continue Reading]
Book of the Week :: The Chicken Problem
This past May I had a chance to attend the PBS annual meeting in Miami, Florida and meet with some of the amazing creative crew who are helping to bring such quality TV programming to our kids. My daughter grew up watching Sesame Street, Wonder Pets!, and many other educational programs. I was so excited to… [Continue Reading]
App of the Week :: Grendel’s Great Escape
We are excited to be reviewing Michelle Anaya’s newly updated Grendel’s Great Escape storybook app as we are big fans of her newest storybook app release Monster’s Jam! Grendel’s Great Escape opens up with a picture of a young boy walking to school with his backpack on and a ferret sitting on top of it smiling at us. … [Continue Reading]
Disney’s Jake & the Never Land Shapes and Patterns Giveaway
I think Penelope and Jake need to be friends! Jake and the Never Land Shapes and Patterns is a new app by Disney Publishing and invites all pirate-loving kids on a fun and educational adventure. They will learn about shapes and pattern identification and have fun while learning these important skills. There are three… [Continue Reading]
