Welcome to App Friday, our weekly link exchange of family-friendly apps. This week is all about books: digital books, book apps, eBooks, interactive books – you name it – we download it, think about it, and explore it. The conversation around digital books is heating up, and the developers at Moms With Apps are right in the middle of that great debate by providing exceptional content on this new platform. Let’s learn more, and even give a few a try for FREE this App Friday October 15th.
PicPocket Books for iPhone & iPod Touch
What are your apps about? The PicPocket Books collection includes books to expand horizons with rich, lively illustrations that are enjoyable to read aloud again and again. We work with a variety of publishers and authors and produce books for the iPhone and iPad that have been previously published in print versions. Our goal is to provide children and families with high quality stories that are beautiful, fun to read, and honor diversity.
Why are they special? Several features set PicPocket Books apart from other picture book apps for the iPhone. We offer a wide range of classic content from established publishers, including previously published “board books,” concept books, easy readers, fairy tales, and other culturally diverse picture books. The full color illustrations are detailed and clear. The text is easily readable and the books for the youngest set of readers includes a “learn-to-read” feature where the text is highlighted as the words are spoken, encouraging a connection between the written and spoken word for emergent readers.
What’s in it for me? For App Friday October 15th, Lynette has set FIVE wonderful PicPocket Books to FREE on the iTunes App Store. Apps usually revert back to regular pricing by 8pm US PST, so download quickly!
Huggybird and the Dreambox Huggybird is a versatile character with a high content hug and a humorous approach. He stands for friendship, hugging, humor and can be a bit mischievous. Huggybird loves himself as he is, but he also likes to dress up to try new roles. The different characters allow both children and adults to identify with Huggybird. Let them spark creative play for dress up, storytelling, or “let’s pretend!” (This particular PicPocket Book is also available for iPad: Huggybird HD, which is free for App Friday. Also free for App Friday in Spanish and in Dutch for the iPhone and iPad)
Mico: The Mouse Who Was Afraid of the Dark Mico is a little mouse with a big fear. A special friend helps him make discoveries that open up a whole new world for him! Mico’s story encourages kids to take new steps that lead to positive experiences.
My Friend Isabelle This is a charming story about two young friends, told with simplicity and grace. Charlie and Isabelle are the same age and share a love of drawing, dancing, playing at the park and snacks! Like most friends, they are also different. This book offers an opportunity for a discussion about tolerance, acceptance and friendship by showing that “differences are what make the world so great.” My Friend Isabelle is a subtle introduction to Down Syndrome – share the story to honor Down Syndrome Awareness Month this October.
Best Friends Sleepover Gilbert’s friends help him get through his first night away from home in Jacqueline Rogers’ humorous and heartwarming story about friendship. And her richly detailed watercolor paintings perfectly capture the spirit of four rambunctious little boys, who just happen to look like animals. Narration and original ukulele music by the author. Originally published by Scholastic Books.
…And another App for Spanish Readers:
!Ay, Caramba! Las desverturas de un granjero soñoliento que se preocupa pensando en los labores que debe hacer al día siguiente. ¿Cómo ordeñará la cerca, reparará la vaca, segará el silo y subirá al heno antes de que la mañana llegue?
Okenko Books for Android (iPhone coming soon)
What are your apps about? Our Android app is a children’s picture book library for children 3-8 years old. The app is called Okenko Books Reader and it serves as a reader of books we publish every two weeks. So far we published four books: Lindy lee Loves Pink (Jo S. Kittinger, Sonya Hallett), Sip’n’Cup Go On Vacation (J. Adeleke, Katka Hustaty), David Drew Likes Blue (Jo S. Kittinger, Sonya Hallett), and Andie Plays Pretend (Jade McBlade, LittlePinkPebble). Next on our list is Mike Rides His Bike to School (Julie Musil, Julia Tiller) and it will be published next Friday 10/22. We strive to deliver great, age appropriate stories with decent artwork to spark a child’s imagination and provide educational fun at the same time.
Why are they special? We offer our books in a very innovative way through a subscription service (www.okenkobooks.com) delivered directly to your device. Each subscription may have as much as 5 registered devices so that the whole family can share our stories. We offer several subscription options via PayPal so that the whole process is easy, smooth and secure. All you need to share with us is your email address so that we can inform you about our newly published books and other news at Okenko Books. At the moment we support Android, iPhone (coming soon), Windows 7 phones (coming soon), iPad (coming after that) and we are looking into Kindle and Nook to make it complete.
What’s in it for me? Our app (the Okenko Books Reader) is available for free at the Android Market and it includes a free story about Lindy Lee. All other books are available through the subscription service which provides stories for your kids in a convenient, hassle-free way. The Apple version of Okenko Books Reader is in an approval process right now and should be available very soon.If you own an iPhone/iTouch it is still a good idea to submit your email address at Okenko Books website so that you are informed at the moment the iPhone version is approved. Let us know what do you think!
HALLOWEEN FUN Stay tuned to Moms With Apps for a Wicked Awesome post to celebrate Halloween. In the meantime, don’t forget to carve your App-O’-Lanterns!!!!!
App Friday Link Exchange Our goal at Moms With Apps is to spread the word about family-friendly apps. Do YOU have a favorite app to share? Please participate in our link exchange and post it down below. Include the app name in the Link Title, your email, and a URL to the app. Thanks for your participation!
