The publishing industry has changed a lot for kids since the early days of Beatrix Potter's beloved animals and the Dick, Jane, and Spot books that plagued every primary school in the US. We've transitioned from calm books about very well behaved children to superheros who fly around in their underwear and protagonists who save the day with rancid flatulence. It might be … [Read more...] about Research Shows What Books Do to Kids’ Brains
enhanced ebooks
Students Still Don’t Interact with Digital as Effectively as Print
The era of the digital native still hasn't morphed to include education, at least not according to new findings from Patricia A. Alexander and Lauren M. Singer. Their study and review of other sources over the past many years find that students might perceive they do better when they use a digital textbook, but the measurable outcome doesn't support that perception. One of … [Read more...] about Students Still Don’t Interact with Digital as Effectively as Print
Ripper: An Interview with Patricia Cornwell
Thanks to the device penetration behind tablets, there have been a lot of attempts at innovating ebooks over the years to include special "enhancements." The additional features have included animation, images that can be manipulated, hyperlinks, social reading that allows your friends to chime in with their thoughts, and even soundtracks to play along with the text. As many … [Read more...] about Ripper: An Interview with Patricia Cornwell
Highlights, INscribe Digital Partner on eBooks
In an announcement today, long-time children's content creator Highlights for Children stated that it has signed a deal with ebook developer INscribe Digital to digitize and distribute its content. This is welcome news in a publishing climate in which children's ebook sales--while on the rise--still lag behind other categories. “Highlights for Children adds significant … [Read more...] about Highlights, INscribe Digital Partner on eBooks
School’s Out…What Are Your Kids Reading?
Now that school is out for most of the country, there's a honeymoon period of sorts in which many kids don't have to get up early and can watch as much TV as humanly possible. But somewhere along the way, parents look at their kids--whose bodies seem to have actually fused to the couch--and want them to spend a little time engaged in something else. Summer reading programs … [Read more...] about School’s Out…What Are Your Kids Reading?
FarFaria to Give Away 10,000 Subscriptions to Teachers
Children's ebook subscription platform FarFaria exhibited at this year's BookExpo event to demonstrate the powerful effects of their product, but also to ensure that attendees know about the company's pro-teacher initiative. As of last week, FarFaria instituted a summer giveaway which will offer 10,000 teachers a free one-year subscription to their service, allowing those … [Read more...] about FarFaria to Give Away 10,000 Subscriptions to Teachers
Blurb Adds Graphicly Team to Accelerate Growth
Blurb, a company that begin by producing limited print runs of graphics-heavy paper books before expanding into a digital publishing platform for self-published authors with a suite of user friendly tools, has been on a mission lately to acquire key products and support personnel to make their platform even more engaging, easy to use, and far-reaching. A release from the … [Read more...] about Blurb Adds Graphicly Team to Accelerate Growth
Experts Fears eBooks Hinder Student Reading Comprehension
Renewed concerns about students who use tablets for reading have surfaced as experts now fear the "bells and whistles" approach to enhanced ebooks are actually stunting student comprehension. At last week's American Educational Research Association in Philadelphia, researchers Heather Ruetschlin Schugar and Jordan T. Schugar presented their findings from a study that pitted … [Read more...] about Experts Fears eBooks Hinder Student Reading Comprehension
Sourcebooks Adds Beloved Peanuts Titles to Put Me in the Story
Sourcebooks' launch of its fully personalized and customizable enhanced ebook platform Put Me in the Story has become almost as well-known and well-loved as the characters and story lines that it incorporates. Using existing characters and allowing other publishers to use the personalization features for their own titles has opened up a whole world of possibilities in the gift … [Read more...] about Sourcebooks Adds Beloved Peanuts Titles to Put Me in the Story
DreamWorks Animation to Hold Its Own Children’s eBook Imprint
One surefire way to get kids reading--especially low-ability and reluctant readers--is to give them characters and story lines that they already know and love. By having access to high interest characters from television shows and movies, as well as incorporating existing story lines for which the readers already have a strong from of reference, students who struggle to read or … [Read more...] about DreamWorks Animation to Hold Its Own Children’s eBook Imprint
Pro Wrestling Comes to Publishing
As the popularity of professional wrestling continues to grow, it seems fairly obvious that publishers would want to capitalize on the public interest in the entertainment-based sport. But to fully realize the unique book needs of wrestling, specifically as it pertains to the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) company, Penguin Group called on its DK Publishing company to … [Read more...] about Pro Wrestling Comes to Publishing
OverDrive Unveils Enhanced eBook Lending at ALA Midwinter
OverDrive, one of the global leaders in digital content solutions for more than 28,000 public and school libraries, will be attending this week's American Library Association Midwinter meeting, and demonstrating an exciting new offering. With the ability to borrow enhanced ebooks in the near future, OverDrive is giving attendees a sneak peek at what this experience will be … [Read more...] about OverDrive Unveils Enhanced eBook Lending at ALA Midwinter
Free Children’s Enhanced Shrek Forever After eBook from iStoryTime
As part of the holiday recognition of their customers, a number of companies are offering their users free content in this post-holiday period when many users may have received new devices. Apps likes Apple's 12 Days of Gifts offer everything from free songs to free ebooks via the iTunes store. One company that has extended the free gift period is children's ebook app … [Read more...] about Free Children’s Enhanced Shrek Forever After eBook from iStoryTime
Pubsoft, Transmedia Partner to Bring Complete Digital Storytelling Experience to eBooks
Digital publishing platform Pubsoft announced today that it has partnered with Transmedia Story Stream to help authors create an entirely immersive storytelling experience within their ebooks. Utilizing features like videos, audio clips, live streaming of social events associated with the book, and even gaming, the innovative process will help authors and publishers offer an … [Read more...] about Pubsoft, Transmedia Partner to Bring Complete Digital Storytelling Experience to eBooks