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Topo's Piano encourages and inspires young budding musicians to create their own melodies and discover the many joys and gifts of music.

Geeta Raj brings an 11-year career in international development and humanitarian assistance to The Global Sleepover series, including over 8 years as a Senior Program Analyst with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

A Soccer (or Football) Sleepover in Brazil is part of the Global Sleepover series of interactive storybooks that aim to introduce young readers to different countries and cultures.

iRead With is an innovative shared reading program on iPad designed to foster language development and help preschoolers get ready to read. iRead With animated stories encourage a participative reading experience engaging both child and parent.

Video courtesy of HarperKids: ”Fancy Nancy and her friend Bree adore exploring so much they started the Explorer Extraordinaire Club. Now you can earn a membership card by finding hidden items across the world of Fancy Nancy!

Explore Nancy’s bedroom, the Ooh La La Beauty Spa, the butterfly garden, the front yard and Nancy and Bree’s clubhouse. With over 50 items to find and hiding places that change each time you play, it’s a new explorer mission every time!

Download the FANCY NANCY: EXPLORER EXTRAORDINAIRE app on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch!: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fancy-nancy-explorer-extraordinaire/id49458788…“

©2012 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: February 28, 2012

Barney Saltzberg

Barney Saltzberg is an über-talented children’s book author/illustrator/singer/songwriter. He has published around thirty books, recorded four CD’s of music for children, and has even written some songs for the PBS show Arthur. Once a year he teaches a class at UCLA on writing and illustrating picture books. When he is not traveling around the country speaking about writing and illustrating and playing music, you can find him at home in Los Angeles with his wife, two children (when they are home from college), three dogs and a pond full of fish.

TCBR: So far in your illustrious career as an author-illustrator you have published around thirty books. In a time when the “Girlie-Girl” culture is very prominent, your latest book, Would You Rather be a Princess or a Dragon?, is very relevant. Tell us about the book (available through iTunes as an iBook) and what inspired you to write this particular story.

Barney Saltzberg: As a father of a boy and a girl, I could see that from an early age that Disney movies and books were sending a message to all of our children.  Girls were pretty and mostly pink and boys were the strong protectors.  Not new concepts, but with the ability to have videos and DVDs at home, these messages become part of our DNA from watching them over and over and over.  Lately, there have been less stereotypical characters and plot lines in movies and stories and that’s been a welcome change.  Still, I wanted to write a book where the message is, you can be a little of both the Princess and dragon.

How did the process of publishing an iBook compare to that of a print book?

Any book still has to be written, regardless of how it’s delivered.  I worked on this book in the traditional way.  I made a book dummy which had the text and pictures.  I sold it to Tricycle Press an Imprint of Random House books.  The day I turned in the artwork, Random House closed Tricycle.  I was given the book back.  Many publishers loved the book but were concerned that it would be too difficult to market.  Making an iBook was the perfect way to get this book out to the world without my needing to print physical books and store them in my garage, in hopes of selling copies.

Do you have any thoughts on the rapidly changing industry of children’s books and, specifically, the impact that digital media has had on it?

I have gone to the Digital Book Conference in NY for the past two years.  I am very interested in this field.  Children are growing up with digital