Arthur’s Birthday –
Wanderful interactive storybook in UK English and French
Appy Chat & Giveaway
Developer: Wanderful, Inc.
Appy Chat:
When did you decide to develop this app?
Wanderful Storybooks has been an idea long in the making. The origin of these apps was with the Living Books series developed by Brøderbund Software back in the CD-Rom days. Living Books were the gold standard for interactive stories. Wanderful’s CEO, Mickey W. Mantle, was the Chief Technologist at Broderbund and when he saw the first iPad announced by Steve Jobs (who Mickey worked for at Pixar) he knew that enhancing these award-winning titles for new touch screen devices was something he had to do. So he got the key members of the original Living Books team back together, including Living Books creator Mark Schlichting.
When did you first release this app?
The first three Wanderful apps release in September of 2012. We now have seven stories on the App Store, plus the FREE Wanderful Storybook Sampler, which gives a page from each of our first six stories (we’re about to update it and will be launching a new story soon).
How long did it take you to develop this app?
It took almost two years to update, enhance and bring the Living Books titles to market as Wanderful interactive storybooks. Of course, much of that time was securing rights with authors and publishers, but the team built an entirely new engine to take the classic story content and make it run on new devices.
What is your favourite feature?
One favorite NEW feature is being able to instantly change language from any page in the app.
What is your favourite page in the app?
With seven stories in the market already, it’s hard to pick a favourite. But one page that really summarizes everything that was great about Living Books and amazing about the new Wanderful apps is the second page in Arthur’s Birthday. Not only is there lots of fun interactivity (even the posters on the wall come to life) but the central conflict in the story is discovered when tapping the arrow to turn the page.
What skills were you hoping to help the end user to develop?
Our apps are designed to inspire young and emerging readers to build a lasting love of language, reading and learning. Exploration and discovery are important foundations of the Wanderful philosophy.
What age range would this app most suit?
These stories are great for children ages 3 to seven, and the multiple languages let them play a little older as well. Like the original Living Books, Wanderful apps have a resonance with children with special needs. We get frequent emails form parents of children with autism telling us how they kept a 10+ year old computer running just so the out-of-print Living Books titles would still run – and how grateful they are that Wanderful has enhanced and brought these interactive experiences back. In fact, we hear this story from teachers as well – here’s a link to a great blog post by “The Daring Librarian”: http://www.thedaringlibrarian.com/2013/01/just-wanderful-living-books-are-back.html
Are any new updates coming soon?
We’re about to update all the apps and launch a new title – Ruff’s Bone. Plus, we will soon release Android and Mac OS versions of the the apps. And our Storybook Sampler is a great way to try the apps for FREE – http://bit.ly/WanderfulSampler
Beyond that, we’re just getting the word out to parents that Living Books are back and better than ever. We are really proud of the huge amount of interactivity and animation we’ve enhanced for these apps. Plus, there is an entire Classroom Activities component that goes with each story. It’s created by teachers and based around the US Common Core State Standards; we think it’s great classroom content for any English language teacher looking to engage students
Description:
Arthur’s Birthday is an enchanting interactive reading experience with fully animated content featuring Arthur, star of the longest running children’s animated show in history.
Wanderful brings every page of this heart-warming Marc Brown story to life and tailored to UK English, with all characters speaking with a British accent. Arthur and Muffy are each planning their birthday parties for next Saturday afternoon. How will their friends decide which to attend?
Read and play inside each of the fully animated pages, where everything comes to life for hours of delightful story fun as Arthur creates a solution that includes everyone. In English and Spanish with French story content available as an in-app upgrade.
KEY FEATURES:
• Includes both UK English and French – change language from any page
• German story content available as an in-app purchase
• Each page is fully animated and interactive and virtually every item comes to life when tapped
• All words are recorded twice and are fully “active” for extended word play and language learning
• A hidden surprise is on each page – see if you can find all the confetti
• Move between pages with swipe or with scrolling page navigation
• Two story modes: “Read to Me” and the fully interactive “Let Me Play”
• Multiple settings further customize the App for your child’s reading experience
• Parental tips help you get the most out of this Wanderful interactive storybook
• Learning resources include a 36 page overview of Wanderful interactive storybooks Classroom Activities and a free preview of the Arthur’s Birthday Classroom Activities guide
• The full 61 page Arthur’s Birthday Classroom Activities guide is available as an in-app upgrade
Wanderful’s goal is to help children discover a lasting love of language through story exploration. We hope Arthur’s Birthday provides your family, children and students with hours of delightful reading and story play.
Arthur’s Birthday is written by Marc Brown. Over 65 Million Arthur books are in print and the Arthur TV show is the longest running children’s animated show in history.
You Tube:
This link is for the US version which is English & Spanish
Specifications:
Category: Books
Released: January 7, 2013
Version: 1.0
Language: English & French
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Requires iOS 4.0 or later.
Links:
Website: Wanderful Storybooks
Facebook Page: Wanderful Storybooks
Twitter: @WanderfulBooks
Pinterest: Wanderfulbooks
You Tube: Wanderful Storybooks
App: Arthur’s Birthday
Cost: US$4.99
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Giveaway:
We have a Rafflecopter giveaway until March 7, 2013
The Appy Ladies 