StarWalk Kids Media Launches New Children’s eBook Platform at ALA Annual

StarWalk Kids Media, the new eBook startup co-founded by award-winning children’s science author Seymour Simon and Liz Nealon, the former Creative Director of Sesame Street, will premiere their new eBook platform at the ALA annual conference, held June 21-26 in Anaheim, California.

“We are so pleased to be able to provide this important 21st Century literacy tool for educators and families,” said author and co-founder Seymour Simon. “We are committed to publishing new and exciting digital books for children by well-known authors. In the recent 2011-2012 Holiday season, five of our original children's eBooks were consumer bestsellers.” Simon added, “More than that, people who are ambivalent about using eBooks to get children to read are overlooking something very important — the opportunity to bring back well-written, treasured works that have been allowed to go out of print. StarWalk Kids eBooks makes those gems available to today’s digital kids, and we have the opportunity to make timely updates to nonfiction titles, as well.”

The StarWalk collection is tightly curated for excellence, showcasing the work of award-winning authors and illustrators that educators know and trust. Familiar and respected names in the StarWalk Kids catalog include not only Seymour Simon, but also David Adler, Stephanie Calmenson, Joanna Cole, Doug Cushman, Diane deGroat, Johanna Hurwitz, Kathryn Lasky, Stan Mack, Doreen Rappaport, Hudson Talbott, Laura Vaccaro Seeger and more. The library is focused on nonfiction, but will also include fiction from name brand authors.

Each eBook in the collection has been lovingly adapted and narrated in preparation for digital streaming via the best-in-class, proprietary StarWalk Reader, designed to work on any computer, tablet, smartphone or whiteboard with a wireless connection. The entire collection is searchable by grade, subject, Lexile, and Alphabetic levels, and each title is correlated to appropriate Common Core State Standards. All titles are accompanied by a “Teaching Links” document, with suggestions for CCSS-appropriate teaching activities and further inquiry developed by nationally known literacy expert and StarWalk Kids Director of Education Linda Hoyt.

“It has been a joy to apply my years of experience in utilizing popular media to support children’s literacy development in this new field of educational eBooks,” said StarWalk Kids Publisher and CEO Liz Nealon. “Even reluctant readers say they want to read on a digital device, and we’re excited about the prospect of supporting the development of student inquiry skills with our nonfiction lineup.”

School subscribers to the Digital Collection will receive unlimited simultaneous streaming access to every one of the titles in the collection, and both educators and students can logon from classroom, library, or even from home. There are no platform fees or other hidden costs, and access for a single eBook at a typical school will average less than $0.25 per student for the entire school year. The collection will continue to grow throughout each school year, but with no additional cost to the subscriber during the school year. “Having been a teacher in New York City public schools for many years,” said Simon, “I am proud that we are able to offer a high quality product at an affordable price for schools.”

The StarWalk Reader and streaming StarWalk Kids eBook library will be unveiled at the ALA Annual meeting in Anaheim, and will be available for free trials and subscriptions at the beginning of the 2012-13 school year. Family and home subscriptions will also be available upon launch.

About StarWalk Kids Media
Founded in 2012, StarWalk Kids Media is the eBook division of Seymour Science, LLC. Designed specifically for educators to use with students in classrooms and libraries, the StarWalk Kids Media Digital Collection provides a new, affordable, and flexible platform for educators to help reach digital kids with engaging and reliable eBooks that promote inquiry and reinforce learning.

StarWalk Kids Media founder Seymour Simon was dubbed “the Dean of the [children’s science book] field” by The New York Times. Simon has written more than 250 books for young readers and has received the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s/Subaru Lifetime Achievement Award for his lasting contribution to children’s science literature.

Co-founder Liz Nealon led the creative development of the Peabody and Emmy Award-winning SesameStreet.org, as well as the Webby Honoree website SeymourSimon.com. Nealon was also the creator and Executive Producer of the seminal PBS children’s literacy series Ghostwriter.

To learn more, visit http://www.StarWalkKids.com