Scholastic has introduced a new line of iPad apps called Touch & Tilt. The line launches with three apps, I Love You Through and Through; The Magic School Bus: Oceans; and Go, Clifford, Go! The apps are targeted at children ages two and up and were developed in-house.
I Love You Through and Through ($4.99) is based on the Scholastic book by Bernadette Rosetti-Shustak and illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church, which has more than 1.8 million copies in print. It is aimed at preschoolers and focuses on “emotional play,” encouraging kids to understand the emotions that bring characters to life. They can touch characters or objects to make them move, and tilting the iPad makes characters lean.
Go, Clifford, Go! ($4.99) is based on the Scholastic series by Norman Bridwell and is aimed at children ages two and up. Users play along with Clifford as he encounters trucks, trains, planes, and motorcycles. Tilting the iPad makes trees sway, waves roll and characters animate. There is a game with the app.
The Magic School Bus: Oceans ($7.99; lite version available) is based on the Scholastic book The Magic School Bus: On The Ocean Floor by Joanna Cole and illustrated by Bruce Degen. Meant for children ages four and up, it takes advanced facts from the book and animates them, so kids can manipulate variables, and see cause-and-effect. Tilting the iPad lets children see underwater bubbles which grant access to photos and videos of underwater animals and plant life. The app also features a game.
Deborah Forte, president of Scholastic Media and evp of Scholastic Inc., said, “Interactive media is all about kids owning the experience, and Scholastic is delighted to introduce interactive reading experiences that truly put children in the driver’s seat.”
