Interview with MiniLab, Creators of Professor Astro Cat’s Solar System

First off, congrats! We adored Professor Astro Cat’s Solar System. Can you tell us a bit about how you came up with the idea for the app? Did one person take the lead, or was this a team effort? Thank you, we were so delighted to win a Cybils! The whole Professor Astro Cat story began with the book, Professor Astro Cat’s Frontiers …

REVIEW: Hilda Bewildered

Cool fact about Round 1 Book Apps judge Jill Goodman: as a faculty member at University of Central Florida Department of Education, she serves on the dissertation committees of students doing their theses on apps in early childhood education. She also reviews book apps at Participate Learning, which is where she reviewed Book Apps finalist Hilda Bewildered: “There are few …

REVIEW: Crêpes by Suzette

Deb Nance of the blog Readerbuzz–avid reader and book-challenge-participator, returning Cybils judge, and Round 1 panelist for Fiction Picture Books this year–recently reviewed her first-ever book app: Crêpes by Suzette, an adaptation of the picture book by Monica Wellington. The paper book itself is out of print, so it’s a lucky thing there’s an app to whet the…er…appetite (sorry): “I …

REVIEW: Professor Astro Cat’s Solar System

Our featured blog review for today comes courtesy of Cybils Spec Fic Category Organizer, Round 1 judge, Publisher Liaison, and all-around superhero Sheila Ruth. Though she primarily focuses on fantasy and sci-fi reviews at her blog Wands and Worlds, she also reviews the occasional title outside her genre, such as the science-education book app Professor Astro Cat’s Solar System by …

REVIEW: Metamorphabet

Welcome to the first featured blog review of the 2015 Cybils Awards contest! We’re starting right at the top of the list of categories with a Book App called Metamorphabet, reviewed by Round 1 Book Apps judge Jill Goodman. Jill is an academic and a veteran explorer in the world of book apps, and she blogs at appoLearning, now known …

Book Apps Category Description

Book apps have become increasingly popular as developers have found creative ways for readers to interact with stories. You may wonder how book apps differ from e-books.  The biggest difference is that book apps allow readers to interact with the story in a variety of ways: by reading the text on the page, swiping, tapping, recording, listening to narration and …

2015 Book Apps Judges

Round 1 Emily Lloyd @poesygalore Little eLit Jennifer Vincent @mentortexts Teach Mentor Texts Sarah Towle @TowleSarah Sarah Towle: History Turned On Jill Goodman @queenofappland appoLearning Cathy Potter @cppotter The Nonfiction Detectives  Round 2 Jason Boog @Jasonboog Born Reading Carrie Waterson @indyplkids Ready to Read Stephanie Charlefour @scharle4 Love Life Read Erin Warzala @fallingflannel Falling Flannelboards Jodie Rodriguez @growingbbb Growing Book …

Interview with Carrie Alexander (from Rocketwagon)

First off: congratulations!! Can you tell us what inspired you to tackle the app as a medium, rather than, say, a traditional book form? CA: My husband, Jon, is a freelance creative who has a background in graphic design, video game development, writing, and video editing. He had no app development experience, but because of these other pursuits was aware of …

Review: Kalley’s Machine Plus Cats

Today’s featured review is of Book App finalist Kalley’s Machine Plus Cats, by RocketWagon. The blurb was written by Colby Sharp, a third grade teacher in Michigan who also blogs at Sharp Read. He served as a panelist on the Book App panel, and wrote this about the app: Kalley’s Machine Plus Cats quickly became a favorite of my third grade …

Review: Angus the Irritable Bull – A funny story of friendship on the farm

Over the months I’ve been rounding up reviews, I’ve noticed that writing one for a book app is a pretty difficult thing to do. Which means there isn’t a lot out there. However, Book App round 1 panelist Erin who blogs at Falling Flannelboards, wrote a lovely blurb for finalist Angus the Irritable Bull – A funny story of friendship on the …