Tag: Dr seuss »

I am eager to let readers know about Oceanhouse Media’s annual app sale in honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday from Wednesday, February 25 through Monday, March 9. During this time, five of their best-selling Seuss stories will be on sale for $0.99 each, and there will be discounts for other classic Dr. Seuss titles as well - including those within The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library.

Yawns, as we all know, are contagious. But getting a round of them going for preschoolers at bedtime or nap time isn’t easy. Dr. Seuss and Oceanhouse Media, the iOS publishers of his catalog, have something that might help make little ones sleepy, and certainly will entertain them, while teaching them pre-reading skills on the side.

Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book tracks a single yawn that spreads to "Seussian” characters ninety-nine zillion, nine trillion and three times over. Now that should be enough to get even the most stubborn child’s lids drooping a little.

Like all digital children’s books in the Ohm Books catalog, the app is universal and focuses its attention where Mr. Geisel would want it – on the story. The artwork is the original, of course, and there are very few features distracting or detracting from it. What digital goodies there are focus on pre-reading skills like word-object association. There are three reading modes from fully automated and professionally narrated, to read-alone with tappable words to learn how to pronounce them with a minimum of frustration.

When Theodore Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, drew up characters like the Lorax, the Grinch, and Yertle the Turtle, he inspired kids everywhere to be creative and unique. Now, arguably his most famous creation is back to teach that same lesson using new technology. Random House has launched their new iPad interactive coloring book Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat Color & Create!

The app is packed with features designed to “jumpstart your child’s imagination.” In addition to 32 colors of virtual crayons and paint brushes there are 16 Seuss-themed stickers and 11 patterns to discover. There are also eight special tools like animated magic hats and a Confetti Cannon. Initially, the app includes 16 pages to color and more themed packs can be purchased in the app’s Design Shop. Finally, parents can share their child’s finished creations via email.

Oh, the places you’ll go with this app. Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat Color & Create! is available now at a special launch price of $1.99 on the App Store.

[gallery size=”thumbnail”]

App publisher Oceanhouse Media has released two new omBooks (Oceanhouse Media digital books) from their popular Dr. Seuss and The Berenstain Bears series. Both classic titles are now available on the App Store.

Horton Hatches the Egg follows Horton the Elephant as he’s persuaded to sit and babysit an egg for lazy Maysie, the egg’s mother. Maysie slips off for a vacation while Horton is laughed at by friends for pretending to be a bird. Horton Hatches the Egg is available for $1.99.

The Berenstain Bears’ BIG Bedtime Book includes six original bedtime stories about the Berenstain Bears including Little Red Grizzly Hood, The Three Billy Goats Gruff Meet the Bogg Brothers, The Three Little Cubs and the Big Bad Pig, The Gingerbread Bear, Goldibear and the Three People, and The Little Red Hen. The Berenstain Bears’ BIG Bedtime Book is available for $4.99.

Other popular Oceanhouse Media titles include other Dr. Seuss omBooks like The Lorax and The Cat in the Hat and other titles like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Kid-lit publisher Oceanhouse Media may not be a household name, but the catalog of children's books they own the rights to are. They include, amongst others, Eileen Christelow's Five Little Monkeys series, the beloved Berenstain Bears and, most notably, the collected works of Dr. Seuss. The universal apps are minimally digitized, focusing on the words, illustrations and learn-to-read features.

Last week they announced a second collection of Seuss titles, five in all, in a single package priced at $11.99. The Dr. Seuss Beginner Book Collection #2 contains:

• Green Eggs and Ham


• Dr. Seuss's ABC


• The Cat in the Hat Comes Back


• There's a Wocket in my Pocket!


• Hop on Pop

They also released a lesser known title, The Shape of Me and Other Stuff, in which the guru of children's literature waxes nonsensically poetic  on “The shape of you the shape of me the shape of everything I see . . . a bug . . . a balloon, a bed, a bike. No shapes are ever quite alike.” The app is currently on sale for $1.99.

For young readers - and their parents - the new collection offers a great savings on classic Seuss titles, and the new release is ideal for pre-readers to enjoy.

This weekend, the movie adaptation of Dr Seuss' The Lorax comes to cinema screens across the USA and Canada. What better way to entertain the kids afterwards than with an iOS game based on the film?

Truffula Shuffula is the game in mind. It's a simple yet adorable Match Three title in which the player must help The Lorax to create clusters of three or more matching objects. It's a simple title that won't challenge players too much but it's the ideal experience for kids who are beguiled by the loveable Lorax.

The Shuffula part of the title relates to the ability to shake the device when any moves have been exhausted, thus giving players that keen extra edge to progress further.

Scores can be shared with friends via Facebook and Twitter, plus there's the ability to view the trailer of the movie while playing the game.

Free and an Universal app, Truffula Shuffula is ideal for keeping the kids occupied over the weekend.

Having spent a decent portion of my retail career involved in the children's section of a bookstore, I think I have a solid grasp of what makes for popular literature among parents and their children. There's always one or two "flavors of the week," but there are also those that always sell. Where the Wild Things Are. The Velveteen Rabbit. Virtually anything written by Mo Willems or Sandra Boynton. Sitting proudly at the top of this list are the works of the undisputed monarch of children's literature, Dr. Seuss.

Theodor Seuss Geisel's stories have been adapted for all manner of medium, not surprisingly including iOS. Oceanhouse Media has been offering special adaptations, referred to as "omBooks" for portable Apple devices for quite a while now. These special not-quite-ebooks allow users to flip through their virtual pages normally, have the stories read to them at a set pace (not unlike a movie) or a hybrid of the two that narrates while emphasizing key words.

While individual Seuss classics have been available in this form for quite some time, Oceanhouse has released their first-even multi-title collection. The Dr. Seuss Beginner Book Collection #1 features five of (arguably) his most well-known works: The Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, The FOOT Book, Mr. Brown Can MOO! Can You? and Fox in Socks. Five classics, no waiting. Well, depending on one's WiFi speed, anyway.

This collection is on the App Store right now for $11.99. I know it may seem like a lot, but buying each of these omBooks individually would cost around $15 or so. And that's after the price drops in celebration of Dr. Seuss' birthday. Anyone with an appreciation for all things Seuss should certainly check this out.

This week at 148Apps.com we delved into the latest from the developers of Hipstamatic, the "disposable" Hipstamatic D-Series app. 148Apps founder Jeff Scott says, "I got a chance to try out the new app and can report that Hipstamatic D-Series does indeed bring back the nostalgic memories of sharing a disposable camera and swapping double prints into the digital age. It’s a great idea and well executed. There’s even the anxious need to burn the last shot by taking a picture of your foot, just to get the roll developed quicker. It’s indeed very fun.

Delve further by reading the full run-down on 148Apps.com.

At GiggleApps.com, reviewer Amy Solomon took a close look at the first interactive book from The Cat in the Hat's Learning Library, There's No Place Like Space. Solomon says, "There’s No Place Like Space, although a creative, fun and educational book, is not written by Seuss himself, although it is written in a Seuss-like style. I enjoy this book, as does my son, but my husband and I did comment to ourselves that the text is not as well-written as the classic books by Seuss."

Read the full review at GiggleApps.

Finally, 148Apps.biz site editor Rob LeFebvre reported on a new report from mobile analytics company Flurry. LeFebvre writes, "Flurry shows the fact that developers are making more money on iOS than on Android, even as the numbers of Android OS enabled smartphones continues to increase, commanding as much as 53% of the market, according to an NPD Group study released yesterday as well."

Intrigued? Read more on 148Apps.biz.

As your advent calendar continues to count towards December 25th, don't forget to vote for our 2011 Best App Ever, and keep track of the latest news, reviews and contests via our Facebook and Twitter streams.

Dang, it's August already. Time for Back To School Specials and the slow waning of summertime, at least in the northern hemisphere. Here's another weekly dose of new releases onto the App store from the past week. Enjoy!

Osmos - Apple's App of the week. Our first look here.
The #1 hit iPad game, now available for the iPhone, with full Retina display support! Enter the ambient world that GameAndPlayer called "a work of genius," and IGN called "a beautiful, absorbing experience." Osmos features elegant, physics-based gameplay, dreamlike visuals, and a beautiful electronic soundtrack. Your objective is to grow by absorbing other motes; propel yourself by ejecting matter behind you; but be wise: ejecting matter also shrinks you. Progress from serenely ambient levels into varied and challenging worlds.

Yertle The Turtle and The Big Brag - If you're like me, you've grown up on Dr. Seuss books. They're a cultural touchstone for many of us, reaching deep into our consciousness, ethics, and worldview. Now that I have kids of my own, it's become important to me to pass along these treasures. I can do so, now, right on my iPad or iPhone. These apps will read to your child, either with a tap on each page to advance the story, or auto advancing through the whole book. They'll also allow a more traditional book experience, with the "Read It Myself" option, for those big boys and girls in your life that are reading on their own.

Feeddler RSS Reader Pro for iPhone - Big Google Reader user? RSS fan? Feedler has quickly become the cream of the crop with their Universal App for the iPhone and iPad. They've just released an iPhone-only version, which comes in at 2.8 Mb, as compared to the 5.0 Mb of the Universal App. They're also selling it for $.99 as a launch special, so if you want just an iPhone version to help your device save a bit of space, this is the one to grab. The devs continue to add great features to the app, like unread list filters, mark as read synchronization and the like.

Loopseque for iPad - As a musician, I'm always having fun with music in some way. This new app looks to be a cross between a music beat creator and a rhythm game. The developers have tried to make it as simple and intuitive as possible, which could lend itself to some great experiences for kids as well as adults. Two modes provide the interface for pattern creation, Big Wheel mode (for easy pattern creation) and Wheel Matrix mode for switching quickly between patterns. There's even two team play modes, Tap and Sync. Save your patterns and load them for further editing or just listening.

LIFE Wonders of the World Photography Book - Retailing for $22 in the dead tree edition, this truly breathtaking photography coffee table book from the amazing photojournalists at LIFE magazine is priced for launch at a much lower $4.99. It's for your iPad, and wow won't you love paging through this. Wait, I mean wow won't you love showing your iPad off with a total of 100 images of 50 wonders of the world. While it doesn't look like you can set it up as a slideshow (yet), there is a clickable Table of Contents and a filmstrip tool for easier navigation.

The storybook application “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” is based on the original book by Theodor Geisel – most commonly known as Dr. Seuss. As with many of Seuss’ early books, there isn’t much “story” to this story, yet the clever, poetic lyrics and fantastical creatures aptly capture the imagination and wonderment of readers of all ages. For early readers, “One Fish…” keeps their attention through clever rhyme and offers lessons through word association and word comprehension. Further, the design of this colorful ebook application reinforces these lessons by highlighting words as they are narrated. Also, when objects are touched, they are identified by both spoken and written word. I appreciate how this application has a lot of movement with panning across each page for a more detailed look at different illustrations. The original artwork and text by Seuss work well in the iPhone/Touch format, and even better on the iPad. I was thrilled to learn it’s a two-in-one deal, since the one application works for both the iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad.