From Book to App with Al Yankovic’s WHEN I GROW UP, Illustrated by Wes Hargis, Digital Development by Bean Creative
I thought I’d hate it. It’s not a book. And I love books, with their fusion of author and illustrator’s visions into a carefully crafted whole, results showcased on the printed page. An app, I considered, is an intangible electronic thing, a jumped-up computer program whose relationship to books is dubious. Tasked with creating one, I wondered what, as a book editor, I could even contribute to the effort.
Turns out, the answer is everything—everything I know and value about making picture books goes into creating an app.
“Memo to Bean Creative: The last time I was cutting-edge, I was in Tenth Grade Computer Science, learning BASIC.”
I’m not a programmer. But neither am I an author or an illustrator, and every day I work with people whose skills differ from my own. I quickly realized that an app developer is only one more artist to understand, encourage, and question: What happens to the narrative arc if we highlight this piece of text? How is the art impacted if we collapse two scenes into one dynamic screen? Does this animation or that interaction serve the storyline; is it in character; does it deepen the world? What if we try this instead…?
Soon I faced the obvious—the editorial habit of scrutinizing each component, for its own merit and for its impact on the whole, transcends the printed page.
“Excellent narration, Al. Now I’d like you to scream like an enraged gorilla.”
Picture books are not meant for silence—they live when read aloud. Maybe none of my books have talked to me before, but I certainly talk to them, sounding their cadences, feeling the rhythms, and hearing theambient noiseemanating from the art. Incorporating audio files into the app felt surprisingly natural. Indeed, step after step of the app’s creation felt unexpectedly familiar, much more a simple and direct continuation of bookmaking than I’d ever imagined.
“Dear Wes: Please draw five (5) game screens, two (2) new classroom scenes, and one (1) naked, shorn spider.”
As the app grew, my
By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: February 1, 2011
Here’s the scoop on the most popular destinations on The Children’s Book Review site, the most coveted new releases and bestsellers.
THE HOT SPOTS: THE TRENDS
How Picture Books Play a Role in a Child’s Development
Review: Scat by Carl Hiaasen
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THE NEW RELEASES
The most coveted books that release this month:
Lost and Found
by Shaun Tan
(Ages 8-12)
Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad
by Jacky Davis
(Ages 3-7)
The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Midnight
by L. J. Smith
(Young Adult)
Fancy Nancy: Aspiring Artist
by Jane O’connor
(Ages 4-8)
Scorpia Rising: An Alex Rider Misson
by Anthony Horowitz
(Young Adult)
THE BEST SELLERS
The best selling children’s books this month:
PICTURE BOOKS
Remember "Weird" Al Yankovic from the eighties, the one did all he pop song parodies? He's now come out with a children's book. Now this wouldn't be newsworthy, unless it was GOOD. And guess what? It looks pretty good! I have not read the book yet myself, but I've read excerpts and have seen the trailer (above). It appears that Al takes his writing seriously-- the rhyming is well-crafted, humorous and ripe for visual explanation. I learned about the book from
this NPR story. I'm going to look for the book and check it out!
Congratulations to the winners of our WHEN I GROW UP signed book tweetstakes:
@annaccraig
@pageintraining
@jesshface
You’ll be receiving a copy of WHEN I GROW UP signed by Al Yankovic himself!
Congratulations!
By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: February 1, 2011
Here’s the scoop on the most popular destinations on The Children’s Book Review site, the most coveted new releases and bestsellers.
THE HOT SPOTS: THE TRENDS
Caldecott Winners, 2011
Winter Books: Snow, Hibernation, and More
Review: Sleepy Kittens (Despicable Me)
Where to Find Free eBooks for Children Online
Best Kids’ Picture Books, 2010
THE NEW RELEASES
The most coveted books that release this month:
Silverlicious
by Victoria Kann
(Ages 5-8)
When I Grow Up
by Al Yankovic
(Ages 4-8)
Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel
by James Patterson
(Young Adult)
Closer (Tunnels)
by Brian Williams
(Ages 12 and up)
I Broke My Trunk!
by Mo Willems
(Ages 4-8)
Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday Party
by Melanie Watt
(Ages 4-8)
THE BEST SELLERS
The best selling children’s books this month:
PICTURE BOOKS
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Looks really cute Kathy! Love how they do those trailers.