Multiply that by as large a number you can think of and you might be starting to get somewhere close to the level of excitement that runs alongside this nervousness. The excitement comes from the fact that we feel that we have done a pretty good job of “I Don’t Like Spiders, They Walk On The Sky” our debut title at Touchscreen Tales.

We kept telling ourselves that we’ve mainly got five star reviews in the App Store and they’ve been backed up by comments that make us feel flushed with pride when we read them. Everyone we show it to and share it with enjoys it, so it will be ok… won’t it?

Of course then you doubt yourself again for a moment because this is the first time you’ve had a professional review and these people really know what they are talking about.  So you try to reassure yourself, after all we know the vast amount of time and energy we’ve put into this.  No-one can be more critical of what we have created than we have been ourselves along the way, can they?

So it will be ok.  Probably.

And so while the nail biting and the constant checking of mailbox continues we started work on the next update.  We throw in some new features and email the reviewer saying we’ve got some more really exciting bits on the way. Then we tell ourselves that we can relax now because not only are they seeing how great the app is now but that we also stive for it to be even more brilliant.

So we can definitely relax now.

Except we can’t.

And finally it arrives and we review our review. And it’s ok.  In fact it’s better than ok!

And we read it again, this time allowing ourselves to breathe at the same time and we find out that it tells us the effort we put in was worthwhile! And all that concentrating on making the little people who tap their little fingers have big smiles has paid off because the big people like it too.

The comments, the praise and the suggestions inspire us to continue and make it even better. Thank you to the wonderful iMums for being the first to review us and letting us know what we are doing is ok. You can read their review in full here.

Every review we have received since then gives us the same reassuring buzz, but you always remember your first time.

And now those updates have gone live and, guess what? We are working on the next set of updates of course. If you would like to check out what grown ups and little ones are telling us is a great little app delivering giggles and gasps there are links to your friendly neighbourhood App Store here.

The post Waiting For Reviews appeared first on Touchscreen Tales.

Well it’s pretty simple actually – the reason we’ve been waiting to update the app was that we had been searching for the perfect voice. And, as it turns out, that’s just not as easy as you would imagine to find.  From our experience as parents and from talking to you we know only too well that if your narration is a pile of rancid jelly beans then it’ll ruin the app for you and the kids too. There’s nothing worse than listening to someone monotonously droning on and ruining a good story is there!?

And so after much searching we are absolutely delighted to say that star of radio Anna Foster is the official voice of our book app.  Anna has brought real energy and enthusiasm to the story to make it an even more exciting experience for the user.

Anna said: “This was so much fun! I was really able to release the inner actress in me. Kids are going to love this, I do but then I am a big kid at heart.”

Talking Books? Or Talking Book Apps?

As you can see from the photo at the top of the blog the two Adams (This Adam and That Adam) went along to Metro Radio in Newcastle where we met with Anna and recorded the whole lot in one sitting right there in her studio. Once we had the perfect performance This Adam (that’s me!) took the audio files back to Touchscreen Tales HQ and began to edit them down and place them into the app.

Of course the work didn’t end there… there was another audio part that had to be recorded! You see Anna Foster had provided a fantastic narration for the book, done fabulous Mummy and Daddy voices as well as an increasingly insane cockney spider but we wanted to blend that with another performer for the “spoken” parts of the story.

“What next, what next!?”

And so the next step was to persuade my daughter to perform the parts that were “spoken” in the text and blend it together seamlessly with Anna’s performance. Thankfully, and unlike her father, my daughter was a consummate professional and so the whole thing is now hatched, matched and despatched!

If you have already bought it then the update is already available to download for Android and Apple devices, if you haven’t click one of these buttons and grab it now!

Buy for iPad & iPhone Buy for Android Tablets & Phones

Of course, work doesn’t end for us here. We want to keep giving you more. And don’t worry, there will be even more treats on the way to keep those little fingers and big imaginations engaged. In the meantime – tell us what you think, we love to hear your feedback

The post Read Me A Story appeared first on Touchscreen Tales.

Press Release

Download the Press Release here

Images

All images are print-ready at 300dpi and show the app on an iPad.

Right click ‘Save target as…’ for larger version (1.6 Mb)

Right click ‘Save target as…’ for larger version (1.29 Mb)

Right click ‘Save target as…’ for larger version (1.6 Mb)

Right click ‘Save target as…’ for larger version (1.6 Mb)

YouTube Trailer

Download from the app store:

Buy for iPad & iPhone Buy for Android Tablets & Phones

For More Information

hello@touchscreentales.com

Request a Review copy

The post I Don’t Like Spiders, They Walk On The Sky App appeared first on Touchscreen Tales.

I once overheard someone describe it as a ‘sort-of museum for children’s books’. And I had to stop myself going over and correcting them because although, I suppose, you could agree that was the case, at its heart Seven Stories is a celebration of imagination and probably the funnest place you can take kids.

“There’s a Gruffalo. A real one.”

You see this weekend we visited Seven Stories and took along a friend and her children after our daughter kept telling their daughter how fantastic it was. “There’s a Gruffalo. A real one.” It was difficult to explain outside of the obvious, to the adults at least, what to expect… Well there are seven floors… seven stories and, well… the exhibitions aren’t really like exhibitions… they have original artwork and the kids can play and dress up and…

In the end our friends came out of Seven Stories saying “Wow, that place is just so amazing, we have to come back…” just as we really knew they would.

It’s all about the story. Seven Stories.

When we started Touchscreen Tales, we started with the story.  And everything we do, everything we will do on our future apps will be built the same way. When ‘I Don’t Like Spiders, They Walk On They Sky‘ was written it was written not as an exercise in what could be done with an app but how a good story could be added to.  First with illustrations, then with interactivity and narration and so on…

But as we built our storybook app we also visited Seven Stories. Saw the Charlie & Lola exhibition, the Nuffin Like a Puffin and now the Julia Donaldson installation (with a real Gruffalo!) and we looked at how the established writers and illustrators did it. And we dressed up as dragons and princesses and we did sticking and gluing. And we listed to stories being read in the story attic and we tried our best to take in as much of this wonderful place and all the inspiration it offers and pour a few drops into what we were doing.

And occasionally we would have little daydreams about Touchscreen Tales appearing at Seven Stories one day. But mainly we just got the family together and enjoyed it.

Authors! Authors!

On Saturday when we arrived the fabulous Jan Fearnley was in the story attic ready to read her new book ‘Harry and the Jaggedy Daggers’. We were nearly late and rushed in and she was warm and welcoming and read two of her stories to us (and the kids of course) as well as leading a little craft event making hats for the children. She was even on hand to personally help me out when I was completely unable to get the peak glued on!  Jan was fantastic, and we would thoroughly recommend her new books (as well as any of her previous ones!).

You see Seven Stories is as much of a fuel to the imagination for grown ups as it is for children, it’s a unique and wonderful place that celebrates writing and reading and inspires kids in so many ways.  So that is why we love Seven Stories and that is why whether you live in the North East or somewhere a little further afield you should come and see what the fuss is all about. You will absolutely not regret it!

Oh and a message to Jan Fearnley if you ever see this post – sorry about the photos, I seem to have caught you pulling funny faces!

The post Why We Love Seven Stories appeared first on Touchscreen Tales.

Newbiggin has been getting its fair share of exposure recently, firstly our super kids storybook app of course. Next there was the news that Mary Portas announced – Newbiggin’s high street would be receiving funding as well as her help to regenerate Doctor Who-style. Finally, as if that wasn’t enough excitement we found out that the carrier of the Olympic Torch would be passing through the town.

There was much excitement, with the anticipation building over the last couple of days and the children at the local school being allowed to see the Olympic Torch pass through Newbiggin before they went into school. Of course, this being Northumberland in June, we woke this morning to rain.

Proper sideways Northumberland coastal it-may-be-summer-where-you-are-but-up-here-it’s-winter RAIN. Initially the thought did cross my mind that, since the torch was passing by our front door we could watch from the house but as the time ticked on we saw more and more people braving the weather to see this once-in-a-lifetime occurrance – a cold looking man with a firestick running away from us!

“Come back!” we shouted.  “It’s COLD! AND RAINING!”

Not really… instead, as you can see from the photos, we put on our raincoats and joined the other folks outside to wave our jubilee flags and see the Olympic Torch relay up close and personal. And wet of course. Poor lad looked soaked through. Just as well he had his firestick is all I can say.

The post The Olympic Torch Arrives in Newbiggin appeared first on Touchscreen Tales.

In making “I Don’t Like Spiders” we set out for it to be one of the most engaging journeys of original story there is on the market. From your feedback we’re well on the way to doing this. We did this because not because we want to somehow replace real paper books but because we want to encourage reading and show kids how much fun it is to do. Making reading an adventure for little fingers and big imaginations by throwing in a good measure of giggles and the occasional gasp is just the icing we put on our story cake!

We believe in educational apps. Our own children play with and learn from educational apps and websites and we are even in the middle of building one ourselves. But if every time a child picked up a book it was because they had to learn something would stories soon stop being such a fun thing to enjoy? Education has an important and very necessary place for part of a child’s life, but should it be all of it?

You May Say We’re Dreamers… But We’re Not The Only Ones…

One of the best websites for kids is undoubtedly the CBeebies website and in their grown-ups section they make it very clear their position:

“Everything on CBeebies is made with learning in mind. While your little one is playing, they are learning and having fun at the same time.”

Because Educational Apps Don’t Have To Be The iPad Equivalent of 100 Lines For Children!

Recently it was widely reported that the author of  the Horrible Histories series of books Terry Deary told the London Evening Standard: “I shudder when I hear my books are used” in schools throughout the land! And this from a man who has sold over 25 million copies of his books and encouraged innumerable children to pick up books for the first time.

Terry Deary strongly believes that being forced to read can put children off stories (although as he notes on his own website he is also campaigning for all schools to be closed down and the children set free!) and for us the educational value of “I Don’t Like Spiders” is to learn to love books and stories and to want to explore the different places they can take your imagination.  With any luck they will want to tell someone else this story, read another one or maybe even tell one themselves.

And if that doesn’t do it we’ve got a whole shed full of stealth-learning that we are getting ready to include in future updates. We could tell you about them but… well… where’s the fun in that? You’ll just have to stay tuned and find out what we’ve got waiting for you.

The post Do We Build Educational Apps? appeared first on Touchscreen Tales.

Joining Our Bandwagon

We are proud to say that Fenwicks in Newcastle Upon Tyne and Comet in Sunderland have both jumped at the chance to use I Don’t Like Spiders… to demo their iPads in their wonderful shops. They are clearly stores of taste and discernment and we suggest that you go there as soon as you finish reading this and purchase electronic equipment at their fine establishments.

Or just go in and ogle at how fantastic the app looks.  As if you didn’t know already…

As if that wasn’t enough love to be on the receiving end of, we’re also happy to say that those fine folks at I Love NCL wrote a lovely piece entitled Newcastle company launches revolutionary story app which you can read on their website.

Revolutionary no less! Can’t grumble at that can you?

Updates (Appdates?)

We’ve been busying ourselves with the next version of the app and it is very-almost-not-quite-but-nearly ready to be unleashed on you lovely lot. Some of the most important things in the update:

• The app will magically become compatible with your iPhone as well as your iPad at no extra charge!
• The app will magically become compatible with your Android phone as well as your Android tablet at no extra charge (and assuming your phone has a good enough screen resolution!!)
• Sounds effects have been added to every page (except one, the reasons for that are, sadly, classified)
• Better page to page navigation
• A fresh coat of paint in certain other areas that no sane person wants to know about

As with the first release we will be sending it to Apple for their approval first then rolling out the Android store and finally with the wind in the right direction we will be rolling out onto the Kindle Fire (can I hear an ‘ooooooh’ please?)

And so to the COMPETITION

For anyone who hasn’t yet jumped in and bought the app yet we are going to be giving away 10 copies for iPad (although since it will soon be compatible with iPhones too perhaps you should enter now in anticipation of the update!).

All you have to do to be in with a chance is to either leave a comment below (even ‘Pick me! Pick me!’ counts) or Tweet this blog post. Each will earn an entry into a random draw to win a promo code. Do both to double the chances of winning.  Competition Closes Tuesday, April 24 at 10:30am GMT. Good Luck!

The post Free Kids Book Apps You Say? appeared first on Touchscreen Tales.

There were some tense moments with gripping of chairs and tapping of little feet as the plot unfolds. Particularly memorable was one young lady who looked perhaps a little too wide-eyed as the story took it twists and turns. Afterwards she said: “I loved that. I got a bit worried at one bit…… can we read it again?”

This kind of “class reaction” gives us confidence that we are achieving what we set out to do and that this is encouraging a love of reading using original fiction and illustration. Teachers and educators have told us they have noticed that as well as the girls enjoying it that the boys in the class are really engaging with our story too and this is a tough thing to achieve.

Schools are also telling us that touchscreen devices are playing an increasingly significant role in education. We have never made a claim to be an educational app we’ve said before that we really just want people to enjoy the story, to experience the emotion that only your own imagination can generate and take the reader closer to the action by being able to engage with it.

We have further class room tests coming in the very near future as we launch future updates of “I Don’t Like Spiders, They Walk On The Sky” to continue to ensure we take inspiration from our most important critics. More on them as they happen.

The post A ‘Class’ Reaction appeared first on Touchscreen Tales.

We are very proud to say that our first kids book app ‘I Don’t Like Spiders, They Walk on the Sky’ has been launched for iPad and Android tablets. So technically that’s only one app but it’s for two distinct platforms? Yeah?

Yeah!

Download it from the app store now:

Buy for iPad Buy for Android Tablets

For those of you following us on Twitter or on our Facebook page you’ll have heard rumblings of what was going on – in a nutshell we finished the 1st version of the app for the iPad and submitted that to Apple. Well, this being our first app, we weren’t entirely sure if they would accept it or whether it would need some tweaking before it was ready but almost a week to the day later they gave it the green light and on the 2nd of April it started trickling into the pipes of the internet.

Meanwhile, not wanting to leave you lovely Androids out in the cold we were beavering away getting your versions ready and they went live practically on the same day.

Although it’s only been two days we just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who has bought the app so far (it’s only 69 pence – can you even believe it!?) we really appreciate it and your support has been fantastic!

So what next?!

Well we haven’t been resting on our laurels. Or anything else for that matter.  We’re working on the first upgrade to the app, adding a host of sound effects and adding compatibility with iPhones and Android phones and… I could tell you more but… I think I’ll make you wait.

At least for a little while.

The post Ladies & Gentlemen – we have lift off appeared first on Touchscreen Tales.

So it looks like we chose the right day to be pre-launching our first app with all these commitments to software developers and animators (since clearly we are both!). Fast forward 24 hours and we are starting the process of becoming a limited company but, hang on, I didn’t manage to submit the app to Apple yesterday…

And no, it’s not because there’s some strange conspiracy against companies making apps for kids… although it gives me pleasure to think of a rabid Apple employee stalking their headquarters’ hallways screaming there are children here somewhere… I can smell them… like a digital child-catcher.  No, the reality was much more mundane that we needed to submit our app to Apple on a Mac.  And there wasn’t one in the office.

So this evening we will be sending our efforts to them using a Mac we built from some rolled up copies of Mac User from 1988, two balloons and a bit of wire we found lying behind a filing cabinet.  Then we take the app, wrap it in cling film, shove it in an envelope with a label that says ‘Dear Apple, This is our first kids book app.  We hope you like it. Lots of love, Touchscreen Tales.’

Hope they like it.

Hope you do too.

If you can’t wait to find out more about it you can head over to our Facebook page where I’ve posted some screenshots from the iPad version, you can follow us on the Twitter machine or you can sign up to our mailing list in the right hand column of this very website.

I strongly suggest you do. I would if I was you.

The post And so our first kids book app launches (nearly) appeared first on Touchscreen Tales.