Scholastic Media Debuts Touch & Tilt™ Line of Interactive Storybook Apps for iPad™

NEW YORK, Jan. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Scholastic Media, a division of Scholastic Inc., the global children's publishing, education and media company, today announced the introduction of its "Touch & Tilt" line of iPad book applications on the iTunes App Store.  The three apps, I LOVE YOU THROUGH AND THROUGH, THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS: OCEANS and GO, CLIFFORD, GO!, introduce age appropriate, re-playable reading experiences and leverage the unique technology of the iPad to bring the books to life.  These interactive storybooks allow the youngest of children to read and play independently on the iPad – seamlessly combining how they naturally want to interact with the story and characters with the unique capabilities of the platform to provide hours of reading and play.

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"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," said Deborah Forte, President of Scholastic Media and Executive Vice President of Scholastic Inc. "With the design of engaging, humorous enhanced interactions that kids will want to do over and over again, Scholastic is confident these apps will foster a love of reading for generations to come."

The new Scholastic "Touch & Tilt" Apps for iPad include:

I LOVE YOU THROUGH AND THROUGH

• Based on the Scholastic book by Bernadette Rosetti-Shustak and illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church (More than 1.8 million copies in print)
• Age: 2 and up / $4.99 U.S. Only
• Perfect for preschoolers, this app focuses on "emotional play" – encouraging children to understand the moods, sentiments and emotions that bring characters to life
• Simple "Touch & Tilt" animated interactions make it easy for the youngest of children to engage with the story
  • Touch the words to hear the story and then touch again to pause; touch characters or objects to watch a fun animation and see them move
  • Tilt the iPad to watch the story characters lean and move, bringing them to life
• Lively narration, original music and sound effects make the story come alive
• Individual words highlight as they are read aloud, to aid reading skills
• Options allow parents to turn off music and narration so the child can read the story on his/her own, or have the story read to them—just like a physical book

THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS: OCEANS

• Based on the Scholastic book "The Magic School Bus: On The Ocean Floor" by Joanna Cole and illustrated by Bruce Degen (More than 58 million books in print of The Magic School Bus series)
• Age 4 and up / $7.99 U.S. only for full app; Lite Version also available
• The app takes readers on a wild ride with Ms. Frizzle's class – a field trip to the bottom of the ocean
  • The app embodies the "open exploration" essence of The Magic School Bus brand, which encourages kids to "take chances, make mistakes...and get messy!"
  • The app takes advanced facts from the book and brings them to life so kids can manipulate variables, and see cause-and-effect in action
• "Touch & Tilt" animated interactions make it easy for children to engage with the story
  • Touch the words to hear the story and then touch again to pause and touch speech bubbles to hear what characters are saying
  • Within seven interactive science explorations, touch characters, animals or objects for fun animations and to see science concepts come to life
  • Tilt to find underwater bubbles that grant access to 26 real photos and 11 videos of underwater animals and plant life
• Narration & Music
  • Features over 20 individual voices, as well as original music and sound effects
• Game
  • Features one highly re-playable game  with more than 20 animals; children play to earn points for more science facts, and to travel to other areas of the ocean
• Includes hundreds of facts about underwater life
• Individual words are highlighted as they are read aloud, to aid reading skills.  Options allow independent readers to turn off music and narration, access mini-games and go to specific pages in the story.

GO, CLIFFORD, GO!

• Based on the Scholastic book series by Norman Bridwell (More than 126 million books in print from the Clifford series)
• Age 2 and up / $4.99 U.S. only
• The app combines the beloved Big Red Dog with a topic that all kids enjoy: vehicles and motion. Users play along with Clifford as he encounters trucks, trains, planes, and motorcycles that go whizzing by.
• "Touch & Tilt" animated interactions make it easy for children to engage with the story
  • Touch the pictures and words to hear the story and see the characters move
  • Tilt the iPad to make the trees sway, waves roll and characters animate
• Re-playable Game
  • After reading the story, kids can play an action game in which they drive the vehicles featured in the story and collect bones for Clifford
• Lively narration, music and sound effects make the story come to life
• Individual words are highlighted as they are read aloud, to aid reading skills. Options allow parents to turn off music and narration so that the child can read the story on his/her own or have the story read to them by a parent—just like a physical book.

All of Scholastic Media's book apps (and all of its interactive products) are developed in-house, ensuring fidelity to the tone, look, and feel of beloved Scholastic brands while guaranteeing that parents can trust the apps to be both educational and entertaining.  The company's penchant for developing quality entertainment for children and families on new platforms follows the 2009 release of six Scholastic-branded game apps for iPhone and iPod touch based on the hit children's properties Clifford The Big Red Dog®, I SPY™, The 39 Clues™, WordGirl® and Goosebumps™.  I SPY™ and Clifford The Big Red Dog® apps are also available for iPad.

For more information on Scholastic apps please visit: www.scholastic.com/apps or www.itunes.com/appstore/.  For more information about Scholastic, please visit Scholastic's media room at mediaroom.scholastic.com.

SOURCE Scholastic Media

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