Oceanhouse Media Little Critter Collection #2 Giveaway

May 23, 2013 by 8 Comments
littlecritters.2.icon.securedownload

We are big fans of the Little Critter series by Mercer Mayer.   Although it's not specified what species the Little Critter is, he resembles a small and furry mammal such as a porcupine, hedgehog, hamster, or guinea pig according to Wikipedia.  I read about Mercer Mayer and the journey he took to become the famed author and illustrator that he is today.  It is quite interesting and you should check out his website sometime. Maybe we can persuade him to do an interview with us - will keep you posted! You can read more about him here: http://www.littlecritter.com/about_mercer_mayer2.html Oceanhouse Media Giveaway: Mercer Mayer fans will be excited to learn that Oceanhouse Media latest digital book app is Little Critter Collection #2, featuring 10 popular Little Critter stories that lovingly address all the major issues of growing up.   Offered … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Giveaways Tagged With: , , , ,

App of the Week: Henrietta is hungry

January 31, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Henrietta.icon.securedownload

  PicPocket Books has recently released storybook app Henrietta is Hungry written by Nina Lim and illustrated by Terence Gomez.  My daughter and I really enjoyed this fun story about Henrietta who loves to eat and takes us on a journey of foods around the world.  She loves to try new foods such as tiny fried spring rolls in Thailand (yum) and squidgy soft snails in France (hmmm) and even huge bags of haggis in Scotland!  Nina Lim uses exciting language such as scrumptious and stupendous when describing what types of food little Henrietta wants to try.  She is looking for the most scrumptious and stupendous dish she can find! So she began her journey to find the best and most stupendous foods around.  I love the illustrations by Terence Gomez - especially the page of Henrietta sialing in her little bonnet hat in her red boat.  The animations are simple but add … [Read more...]

Filed Under: App of the Week, blog Tagged With: , , , ,

In the Spotlight: Illustrator Paul Johnson of Penelope the Purple Pirate

January 19, 2013 by 2 Comments
PaulJohnson.headshot.atwork

    It seems like yesterday when Paul and I spoke for the first time about the possibility of working together on a story I had written about an adventurous little redhead. My father-in-law knew Paul's wife, Maria, from work and had put me in touch with him as he knew I was looking for an illustrator for a story I wrote called Penelope the Purple Pirate.  Paul was a recent transplant from England and told me he had always wanted to illustrate a children's book.  It took us a few tries to get Penelope "just right" but it sure was a fun journey watching Paul bring Penelope and her friends to life.  Every time he would send me a new illustration I would just smile from ear to ear as it was my dream to create a children's book as well! This month we are celebrating Penelope's 2nd birthday as she was released as a storybook app through PicPocket Books January 2011. I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blog, In the Spotlight Tagged With: , , , , ,

Disney Pixar UP: My Name is Dug Review and Giveaway

January 15, 2013 by 10 Comments
Disney.Dug.1

Disney Pixar's movie UP was one of my favorite movies the year it came out.  I loved the whole story and Ellie reminded me a bit of my adventurous daughter - with the crazy red hair and all!  And what isn't to like about Dug, the silly dog who wants to help his master any way possible.  Dug reminds me of our dog as he is a tad goofy like him! So it was with some excitement to hear that Disney Pixar released a fun app called UP: My Name Is Dug.  The story was written by Kiki Thorpe and illustrated by Ronnie del Carmen.  I like that the illustrations are hand-drawn and you can see the similarity with the movie but it is done in such a way that you feel you are reading a real picture book that is not filled with too many distracting animations.  We start off with Dug sitting down looking at you wagging his tail and sticking his tongue out in eager anticipation of what iss to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blog, Giveaways Tagged With: , , , , ,

Wreck-It Ralph Storybook App Giveaway

November 2, 2012 by 21 Comments
Wreck-ItRalph.220px-Wreckitralphposter

  We are so excited to see the new film Wreck-It Ralph by Disney this weekend!  It premiered today and we expect a lot of excitement around this fun movie.  In light of the new movie, Disney has released two new apps Wreck-It Ralph Storybook Deluxe and Hero's Duty Interactive Comic - which is a prequel to the upcoming new movie.  Wreck-It Ralph Storybook Deluxe Wreck-It Ralph Storybook Deluxe showcases our favorite characters, Ralph, Felix, Vanellope and others as we follow Ralph as he wrecks his way through the arcade.  He is searching for a hero's medal and finds much more along the way.  Some of the features include exciting interactive games and the option to build your own candy cart which we really enjoyed doing.  You even get to ride your candy cart in the appropriately named "Sugar Rush."  The characters voices are from the original movie and feature  … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blog, Giveaways Tagged With: , , , , , ,

App of the Week: Piccadilly’s Circus

October 3, 2012 by Leave a Comment
INK.ROBIN.pc_cover

It's storybook apps like Piccadilly's Circus by Developer Ink Robin that my job of reviewing apps fun!  I absolutely loved this story that is about one of my favorite subjects - the circus.  Mr. Piccadilly is the ringmaster of the circus troupe that includes a lion, bear, acrobats, tigers, etc.  One day, Mr. Piccadilly wasn't feeling well and he couldn't perform so they had to do the show without him.  Each of the animals and performers wanted to have this important job of being the ringmaster but who should do the job for the night?  Each person thought they should be the ringmaster and showed why their job was the hardest of the bunch.  For example, the dancing bear on the striped ball announces to all listening that HIS job was the most difficult! The illustrations are so wonderful and really add to this fun story! There are several quite silly pages where I am sure you … [Read more...]

Filed Under: App of the Week, blog Tagged With: , , , ,

Guest Post by Pavel Mamaev of Elfishki

September 20, 2012 by 1 Comment
ELFISHKI.Headshot.pavel_mamaev

This week we have a guest post by Pavel Mamaev of Elka Palka Production, LLC., based out of Los Angeles, California.  They have created such apps as Elfishki and The Giant Cake and Elfishki and The Unwelcome Guest.  Mr. Mamaev writes about why he decided to get into the business of developing apps and what other developers should be focusing on when creating new storybook apps.  “Books just can’t beat iPads,” my 7-years-old son Gabriel told me. “Who wants a plain old book when there are iPad games, anyway?” It is really difficult to explain to a 2nd grader why he has to read books. For interesting stories? Here they are, in cartoons on TV. For information? Well, kids of that age are smart enough to reply with “I can use the Internet for that, Dad.”  But how do you explain to a 2nd grader that without regular practice of his reading skills he would never become … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Guest Posts Tagged With: , , , , ,

App of the Week: Henry! You’re Late Again!

August 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Henry!.cover

    It is so fitting that I am reviewing this  storybook app today as we were late getting to kindergarten!  Usually we are right on time but some days don't always work out that way. And today was one of them! Henry! You're Late Again by ZebraMinds and written by Mary Evanson Bleckwehl and illustrated by Brian Barber touches on a subject that most of us have experienced in our lifetime. Some more than others but I won't name names! The story starts out with the option of turning on/off the narration and music. I always enjoy this feature as sometimes my daughter likes to have the narration and sometimes she likes me to read the story. There is also a choice of having Henry (the main character) read or Mary, the author read the story. They also have an About button that pulls up a picture of the author and illustrator. This is quite nice for a child to see firsthand … [Read more...]

Filed Under: App of the Week, blog Tagged With: , , , , ,

In the Spotlight: Margie Blumberg of MB Publishing

August 20, 2012 by 1 Comment
MBPublishinglogo.securedownload

This past week we spoke with the Founders of the Children's Book Insider about the advantages and obstacles indie authors and publishers have to face in this competitive and changing market.  Indie author and publisher Margie Blumberg writes and publishes wonderful books through her small publishing house, MB Publishing.  We love the award-winning Sunny Bunnies and Breezy Bunnies particularly, and the illustrations are really top-notch.  Her new release, Celtic Run, is an action-adventure middle-grade novel set in Ireland. I had a chance to speak with Ms. Blumberg about her journey as an author and small publisher this week. Tell us how the idea to do Sunny Bunnies and Breezy Bunnies came about? The series, which will include one book for each season (so far, we have a spring tale—Breezy Bunnies—and a summer tale—Sunny Bunnies), came about while recovering from a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Spotlight Tagged With: , , , , ,

Nina Lim’s Giveaway Winners Announced!

July 19, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Super Harry's Rotten Luck Giveaway.IMG_3012

Nina Lim of Super Harry's Rotten Luck put together a really fun giveaway for Penelope's mates last week which included some goodies from Down Under that included stuffed animals, pens, notepads and cookie cutters.  Thanks to all who participated and entered and a big thanks to Nina for putting this fun giveaway together! The winners of this Australian Giveaway are: 1. Lisa McCormack 2. Christie Dwyer 3.  Bonnie Wegmann   … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Giveaway Winners Tagged With: , , , ,