Guest Posts
What’s the State of the App Economy? An Interview with Sarah Towle
Our last post, “Have Children’s Apps Lost Their Luster?” was very popular, so we’d like to extend the discussion a bit more with this enlightening interview from app developer Sarah Towle. Sarah has been at the forefront of the development of educational apps with her groundbreaking travel series called Time Traveler Tours. She’s also been a regular […]
Special Issue: At what age should we put babies on a digital media diet?
This guest repost is from The Conversation – a collaboration between editors and academics to provide informed news analysis and commentary that’s free to read and republish. This article was so exceptional and well-tailored to my blog that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share it with my readers. I hope you will check out […]
The Book App “Gold Rush” Reveals More Misinformation than Financial Success Stories
This post was a joint effort with iBook developer David Neal, creator of AliceWinks*, an animated and narrated retelling of Alice in Wonderland. I have enjoyed this title myself (although I do not review iBooks). According to Kirkus Reviews, who gave AliceWinks one of their coveted stars: This sumptuous iBook presents a straightforward telling […]
A new interactive media: K.I.W.i (Kids Interactive Walk-in) Storybooks and Apps – Guest Post by Roxie Munro
This guest post was written by the talented author/illustrator Roxie Munro, who has created dozens of gorgeous picture books in print and now digital. In my experience, she is one of the most innovative content creators in the field of children’s digital and print media. But as impressed with her apps and books as I […]
Authors Unite to Create Interactive Books for Kids – Guest Post from the Book App Alliance (BAA)
A new organization, featuring some of my favorite independent and self-published authors and illustrators was created last year. Michelle Anaya, one of the members of the Book App Alliance (BAA) wrote up this lovely guest post to explain more about BAA, it’s goals and how to join. The book app alliance is making great strides in creating […]
Take Five for Family Engagement: Apps to Get Moving TOGETHER!
Take 5 to get moving! This month’s list is brought to you by Carissa Christner, one of my favorite librarians – and I LOVE her first name! 🙂 Carissa works at the Madison, WI public library and has embraced new media. She is a major contributor to the LittleeLit think tank and has suggested five apps […]
A New Digital Divide? Production Costs vs Consumer Awareness in New Media Publications for Children – Guest Post by Allison Pomenta
Several years ago, I met Allison Pomenta when she was still developing her storybook app, Axel’s Chain Reaction. Her app is a terrific indie title and recently shortlisted as a finalist for the Digital Book Awards. Allison is talented, outspoken and quick to offer her experience with new media in the wild-west of digital publishing. […]
Six Lessons from the App Industry: An Interview with Oceanhouse Media President Michel Kripalani
Among the most innovative, educationally-sound and prolific developers in the book app space is a company that is also one of my favorite to work with as a reviewer and blogger. What follows is a thoughtful and informative interview with the forward-thinking president of Oceanhouse Media, Michel Kripalani. Being first and best in a market this […]
The 5 Types of Free Apps and How to Find Them
This post is an excerpt from a collaborative guest post, with Claudia Haines in the wonderful blog, Little eLit (http://littleelit.com). Little eLit provides librarians and literacy advocates with thoughtful articles, reviews and technical resources from a large pool of talented contributors. Claudia is the “Curation Coordinator” for Little eLit and a Youth Services Librarian at the Homer Public […]
7 Ways to Use Digital Reading to Boost Kids’ Skills – Guest Post by Suz Lipman of Bookboard
Susan Sachs Lipman (Suz) is the author of Fed Up with Frenzy: Slow Parenting in a Fast-Moving World, which grew out of her blog, Slow Family Online. I met her in her new role as the Social Media Director for Bookboard, a digital children’s book library. You can try Bookboard for FREE, a service that hooks kids into reading by unlocking digital books, […]
Can Technology help Parents become better Teachers? – Guest Post by Becky Fisher, M.Ed.
This guest post is from Becky Fisher, a talented writer, artist, musician, educator, adventurer and blogger. She writes about innovation in educational technology, design thinking & art. You can find her on Twitter at @BFish921. She is also the marketing and community manager at Kidaptive, an educational and storytelling project for the iPad. The achievement gap is […]
Using Dialogic Reading Techniques for Early Literacy – Guest Post by Tico Ballagas
Recently, I had the pleasure of attending AppFest, the opening afternoon of Dust or Magic’s App Camp in Monterrey, CA. While there, I met many talented folks, including Dr. Tico Ballagas, creator of a new app called Kindoma. Our family tried this new, free app and it is really unique. Initially you download the app to […]
Paid App Marketing: Seven Priceless Lessons – Guest Post by Amy Friedlander
This guest blog post is brought to you from Amy Friedlander, VP of Marketing & Strategy for Wasabi Productions. This team has created several book apps, including the Lazy Larry Lizard series that launched in April of 2010. Selling a paid storybook app is kind of like selling a new brand of peanut butter or this season’s new sweater. You’re introducing […]
It’s daunting, but you can create your storybook app too! – Guest Post by Alex Souza
Alex Souza is the founder of Kwiksher, a photoshop plugin for publishing illustrated, interactive storybook apps. I met him when he was hosting #storyappchat on Twitter for us back in 2011 & again last summer and he’s a great resource, even for those not interested in Kwik specifically. Check out his blog, including articles like, […]
Why I Put Writing and Illustrating Children’s Books on the Back Burner: For Now – Guest Post by Brooks Jones
Brooks Jones is the author/illustrator of the original storybook app, I Don’t Like Pink. She has also published a craft how-to book, Planet Pouch: Simple Juice Pouch Bags Anyone Can Make, now available on Amazon for the Kindle. In 2011, she founded a weekly chat on twitter for story book app creators, called #storyappchat. In May of 2011, I […]
App Schmapp, make sure you give ’em a good story – Guest Post by Annie Fox, M. Ed.
This blog post is brought to you by Annie Fox, M. Ed. She has written many books for kids, teens and parents over the past 40 years. Her digital transition has been part of a life-long partnership with her husband, developer David B. Fox. Their most recent collaboration is Electric Eggplant, producer of Annie’s print-to-app series, Middle […]
An a-MAZE-ing Transition: Roxie Munro Talks about Print, Digital & Lessons Learned
This guest blog post is brought to you by Roxie Munro, the author & illustrator of several exceptional apps, including Roxie’s a-MAZE-ing Vacation Adventures and Roxie’s Doors. She is also the author & illustrator of more than 35 popular print titles for children, with a career that brings a special wisdom, covering both traditional print & digital publishing opportunities. […]
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Lessons Learned: It’s Hard to Sell an App – Guest Post by Julie Landry Laviolette
This guest blog post is brought to you by Julie Landry Laviolette, developer of Brush of Truth, a book app for kids 8-12 in a “choose-your-adventure” format. A mom of two, Laviolette founded her company, Story Bayou, to get tweens reading through technology. She can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Linked In. I remember when I first announced to […]
Is it a small world after all? Creating Apps in a Global Village – Guest Post by Shoham Drori
This guest post was brought to you by Shoham Drori. She has travelled extensively in India and is the mother of two boys. Her love of cross-cultural storytelling led her to found PlaneTree Family Productions and create the app, The Magnificent Travelling Palace. You can also find her on Facebook. During the last decade, social and technological […]
The Art of Hiring Help: Illustrators & Animators – Guest Post by Lauren Freeman
This guest post was brought to you by Lauren Freeman, writer/developer of Laloo the Red Panda , a book app created for iPad. This article is about the Pros and Cons of working with an independent contractor vs. an outsource studio when creating a new iPad book app. For those of you in the preliminary stages of building […]
Parents, Kids & The Digital Shift: Strategies for a Balanced Media Diet
This guest post is brought to you in collaboration with Lorraine Akemann of Moms With Apps. This is Part 1 of a 2 part post … the 2nd part will appear in the MomsWithApps.com blog in December of 2012. From Lorraine, “Carisa and I have both been blogging about family-friendly apps since 2009. We realized through our […]
Tablet Device Comparison for Families – Now including Nexus 10 Review
This review is of the Nexus 10 tablet, the newest addition to our family for testing. We really liked the smaller version of this tablet, the Nexus 7, and consider it the best Android option (for those who prefer Google-Play), with the best overall experience. The Nexus 10 currently starts at $400, a price point that […]
iBooks Author And The Power Of The Globe – Guest Post by Jon Smith
This guest post is brought to you from Jon Smith, a special education & technology resource teacher. Mr. Smith has also helped his students self-publish several free iBooks, including, It Was A Dark And Stormy Classroom and The Two Kids and Desert Town. I taught special education students in an urban elementary school. My students often struggled […]
Storybook App Creation: 10 Lessons Learned – Guest Post by Amy Friedlander
This guest blog post is brought to you from Amy Friedlander, VP of Marketing & Strategy for Wasabi Productions. This team has created several book apps, including the Lazy Larry Lizard series that launched in April of 2010. It’s strange to feel like an ‘elder’ or ‘veteran’, fit to reflect on what’s changed in the tablet app […]
The App Evolution: Tips for Working with Book Review Sites & Blogs
This post was originally published as a guest post in the MOMS WITH APPS blog on JUNE 18, 2012. It’s the story of how I got started in the app world, both as a storybook app resource, and as part of a husband/wife development team … A whole ecosystem has evolved around the world of kids […]
Tips on Encouraging Kids to Read in the Digital Age – Guest Post by Michel Kripalani
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” — Dr. Seuss, “I Can Read with My Eyes Shut!“ Dr. Seuss was right. Reading opens up our minds to new experiences and knowledge. For children, it can be a magical time. Today’s story […]
Children’s Educational Technology: The Trends – Guest Post by Julie Brannon
This post originally appeared in the May 2012 edition of The Social Media Monthly. Author Julie Brannon is a marketing specialist with a focus on book apps. The first part of this two-part series can be found here: Children’s Educational Technology: Partnerships, Products & Prototypes Technology is transforming learning for people of all ages. Educational software is merging with […]
Children’s Educational Technology: Partnerships, Products and Prototypes – Guest Post by Julie Brannon
This post originally appeared in the May 2012 edition of The Social Media Monthly. Author Julie Brannon is a marketing specialist with a focus on book apps. People often disagree about which subjects schools should teach, but nearly everyone agrees that children must learn reading, writing and arithmetic. The United States invests considerable resources in making sure […]
Once Upon a Time … An Overview of the Children’s Book App Market – Guest Post by Julie Brannon
This post originally appeared in the December 2011 edition of The Social Media Monthly. Author Julie Brannon is a marketing specialist with a focus on book apps. Readers of online newspapers are accustomed to finding interactive media interspersed with their daily reading which can now include videos, interactive graphs, social feedback and other enhancements. Publishers of digital books […]