StarWalk Kids Media is a core content provider in a new initiative from Panasonic, designed as a simple way for grandparents to maintain and build ever more meaningful relationships with their grandchildren, even when they're far apart. Panasonic’s new HomeTeam service blends interactive books and games with video calling to create a fun and friendly environment in which family members can interact. The service’s shared reading experience features popular eBooks from several publishers, including more than 400 titles from the StarWalk Kids Media eBook collection.
“We were delighted to be selected by Panasonic as one of the core eBook providers for the launch of HomeTeam,” says StarWalk Kids President John Benfield. He added, “More than 2-million children are already familiar with our eBooks through subscriptions that they use in school or at their local library. HomeTeam allows young readers to share their favorite books with their families, providing an invaluable opportunity for grandparents to support and encourage a lifelong love of reading.”
The HomeTeam experience is delivered on iOS and Android tablets, as well as computers, providing well-known and popular children's books, plus fun, multiplayer games. In addition to StarWalk Kids Media, Panasonic collaborated with leading content providers in the industry such as Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company to gather quality content that is entertaining and familiar for both grandparents and their grandchildren. At launch, HomeTeam will offer more than 600 books and has licensed more than 2,500 to be added to the program in the coming months.
About Panasonic Corporation of North America: Panasonic Corporation of North America provides a broad line of digital and other electronics products and solutions for consumer, business and industrial use. The company is the principal North American subsidiary of Osaka, Japan-based Panasonic Corporation and the hub of Panasonic's U.S. branding, marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. In Interbrand's 2014 annual "Best Global Green Brands" report, Panasonic ranked number five overall and the top electronics brand in the report. As part of continuing sustainability efforts, Panasonic Corporation of North America relocated its headquarters to a new facility, adjacent to Newark Penn Station in Newark, NJ. It is the first newly constructed office tower in Newark to earn both LEED Platinum and Gold certifications from the U.S. Green Building Council. Learn more about Panasonic at panasonic.com/pressroom.
About StarWalk Kids Media: Founded by renowned children’s science author Seymour Simon and former Sesame Street Creative Director Liz Nealon, StarWalk Kids Media is a PreK-8 digital learning company. Its National Science Foundation-funded StarWalk Writer software raises the bar in educational technology, facilitating collaborative reading, writing and research in a single, digital environment. The Writer software is integrated with the company’s exclusive, enhanced eBook collection of 500+ titles from more than 100 celebrated authors including Seymour Simon, Jim Arnosky, Kathryn Lasky, Pat Mora, Diane Stanley, Laura Vaccaro Seeger, Bernard Waber, Jane Yolen and more. For a surprisingly affordable, annual subscription price, schools and libraries can access professionally narrated, high-quality mentor texts that allow multiple-user access and work on any device. Learn more at www.StarWalkKids.com.
