First a poem, then a lullaby, often a book and now an app—how we wonder what you… will be next.

Taylor’s classic English nursery poem is narrated in a British accent and set to gentle background music befitting its bedtime-book status, but the real stars of this app are Hague’s richly detailed illustrations, which show beautifully on the tablet screen. Set on a blue fabric backdrop, the “book” opens up to reveal his characteristically detailed compositions, here consciously echoing picture-book masters of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Full of multiple touch-activated images that evoke childhood’s dreams and fairy tales, the pictures lead readers through the evening’s journey. Two children sail their little wooden boat across the night sky, where interactive features are plentiful—children swing from the moon, seahorses neigh and babies giggle, just for starters. A 3-D effect enabling the reader to tilt and turn the “book” adds to the dreamy feel. For those who prefer a lullaby, the interactive features also include versions of the song sung by native speakers in Arabic, Chinese, Indonesian, Italian, Nigerian, Russian, Spanish and Welsh but alas, despite the melody’s Gallic origins, no French.

That readers will be introduced to several more verses than the usual first four is just icing on this particularly luscious cake. (iPad storybook app. 3-7)

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/twinkle-twinkle-little-star/id443499007?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Pub Date: June 17th, 2011

Publisher: Flying Word Pain Relief

Rating: :: OZ-MAZING

It was at the dawn of a new century – the 20^th – that The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the first of 19 serialized children’s stories by L. Frank Baum, began to capture the imagination of first America and then the world.

Part audiobook, part digibook, Wizard of Oz 3D, The Experience brings the classic to life on iOS in a way that will make a reader’s eyes open wide.

This book-app has the complete classic text, Greg Hildebrandt’s rich illustrations and adds first rate voice acting, mixed with what are genuinely three dimensional, or at least, illusion-of-depth creating illustrations.

This is not a complex interactive book. It has no games, no tapping to reveal a hidden munchkins, just a few small things to move within some illustrations, but it needs no extra flash. This is the book that generations grew up with, illustrated in a very 21^st century way.

The physics engine used to render the beautiful full color drawings and detailed sketches is amazing. Almost every virtual page reveals an artistic reimaging of the beloved cast and moving the iOS device allows a user see them from multiple angles, not unlike a paper pop-up book.

It can take a minute to get used to the “Pinch and Flick” feature, but once a reader gets the hang of it, it allows them to drag any drawing to the front, zoom in on it and really explore the details. Conversely, it allows the illustration to be flicked to the top of the page, mini-icon sized, so more text can be displayed.

This is not, strictly speaking, a kid’s book-app. Of course it will appeal to children as the story always has, but it’s a text-dense, feature-lite app. Its appeal lies in the wonderful narration of the audio book, and the breathtaking design.

Narration can be turned off, but one of the more subtle things that makes this app so engrossing are the sound effects and the ambient noises. They don’t hit a reader over the head, but instead enhance the mood like a good movie score.

There is no need for a new review of one of the most beloved and iconic stories in modern history, and an app that recounts the story isn’t new either. What FlyingWord adds to the mix is the illusion that the reader is engaged with a traditional, even old-fashioned book, almost unaware of the technology that helps the tale feel as fresh today as it did in 1900. It’s a wonderful way to meet or revisit the magical world of Oz.

Posted in: Books, Reviews, iPad Apps and Games, iPad Books, iPhone Apps and Games

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Flying Word’s Interactive Classics

As tablet PC sales continue to rise and greater numbers of digital reading consumers clamor for interactive, full-color reading experiences, enhanced ebooks and app books are gaining popularity. More and more sites are developing the capability to launch fully interactive literature for tablet PCs, smart phones, and other app-enabled devices.

Flying Word, a digital content distributor which makes enhanced ebooks available to established online retailers, launched early last year with the publication of its first enhanced ebook, an adaptation of Treasure Island, at the end of 2010 and has built its catalog to about a dozen books since then.

“The evolution of the ebook has gone from a twenty million dollar industry to a multi-billion dollar market in the smallest imaginable space of time,” says Joe Weber, CEO of Flying Word. “Enhanced ebooks are the next step in digital content. We want to bring authors and illustrators into the publishing world with their unique products.”

“From an illustrator and author perspective, it’s a very affordable way to develop their books into an enhanced ebook or app. And we go to multiple platforms. The enhanced ebook goes to iBooks, and somewhat less interactivity goes to Kindle and Nook until those devices are fully-EPUB3 capable. We can open up all of these different markets, and we publish to Android and iOS tablets and ereader.

“Publishers are starting to realize there are huge possibilities, such as smart boards in classrooms. Readers can use the texts in the classroom, and we’re creating solutions that publish interactive graphic content to that environment as well. We’ve been working with several publishers to get these ebooks into educational settings because we’ve found that learning goes up by 65% if you can engage more learning modalities. Our smart board content is very similar to what we already do on a multi-touch device,” says Weber.

Other publishers are beginning to see the educational advantages of enhanced ebooks, as found in F+W Media’s interactive foreign language series of ebooks based on the Adams Media books, The Everything Learning Language Series. But Weber sees a greater hole in the world of interactive content, and that would be books that meet the needs of those readers who are in between children’s books and full-length adult fiction.

“We’re launching The Wizard of Oz this week on the iPad and iPhone this week,” adds Weber of their newest launch. “It’s interesting that we took it and created a reading experience. We decided to let the art stand on its own merit, as in The Wizard of Oz 3D: The Experience. Many people think of enhanced ebooks as being children’s books or coffee table books full of color photographs. This book is bringing the chapter book and longer novel to readers of enhanced ebooks.”

http://goodereader.com/blog/electronic-readers/flying-words-interactive-classics/

Enjoy the complete unabridged text of L. Frank Baum’s enduring classic in a richer, more interactive way than ever before. Baum’s book includes much more depth and detail than the movie.

Touch, move, explore and experience the amazing illustrations and original paintings of acclaimed artist Greg Hildebrandt in full color 3D. Hildebrandt is renowned by generations the world over for his realism paintings and illustrations.

Wizard of Oz Art by Greg Hildebrandt

Listen to a brand new audiobook fully synchronized to the text and including sound effects and ambient sound.  Control how you experience Baums’ words by switching between reading and listening at your convenience and never lose your place.

Click now to buy The Wizard of Oz eBook app at the low introductory price of just $4.99.

See it come to life in a video preview. Wizard of Oz Preview.

We would love to hear from you with your thoughts and comments on our version of The Wizard of Oz or any of the FlyingWord eBooks you have experienced.

Contact us at Feedback@flyingword.com.

Enjoy!

Lake Elmo, MN

FlyingWord, Inc. has launched Twinkle Twinkle Little Star illustrated by Michael Hague.

New From FlyingWord, Inc. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star: The Experience.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star a new enhanced 3D interactive eBook app you can See, Hear and Touch is now available for sale as an interactive, enhanced 3D eBook app on the iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone, NookColor and Android. Click on the image in this email to connect to iTunes to order yours now.

To order for your NookColor, click here.

For Android devices, click here.

Experience Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star in a richer, more interactive and more rewarding new way.

✭ Featuring the complete original poem which has delighted children for nearly two centuries and illustrations by Michael Hague, one of the true master illustrators. Hague’s exquisite illustrations transport readers to a wondrous world of dreams. We have enhanced his art on new tablet devices so that you can now tilt and turn images in 3D, pop bubbles, cause children to swing from the moon and tons of other special features.

Explore and Experience Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star with:

✭ a fully synched audiobook. You can switch back and forth between reading and listening and never lose your place.

✭ multi-touch interactivity and 3D illustrations make it more fun and engaging.