Welcome to Monster Isle = Featured on the Mac App Store

We go for the hat trick of posts this morning.

Gryphons...Yowies...Quetzalcoatls... Oh my!

The monsters are coming to your iPad, iPhone, and Mac.

Welcome to Monster Isle (www.monsterisle.net) is our 3rd interactive app, produced by Mobad Media. Illustrated by the superlative Jeff Miracola (www.jeffmiracola.com), this adventure is like Gilligan's Island meeting Godzilla!

Now Apple has selected Welcome to Monster Isle as a Featured app on the Mac App Store for the coming week!

We're happy but it is well-deserved honor (if we can say so ourselves). See for yourself! The app is chock full of everything you'd ever want on a monster-filled island.

• 7 incredibly animated (but mysterious) creatures who fill the sky with unusual sounds! These aren't your run-of-the mill beasts...
• sound FX and dramatic narrative track
• multiple touch points per screen which unleash surprising and appealing animations
• hidden pieces of the island's map
• hidden totems of cackling laughter!

The highest recommendation we can offer is the satisfaction of the artist himself. Now you should know Jeff is a perfectionist and probably the toughest critic of his own work. This is what he had to say after viewing the app:

"Your team knocked this one out of the park!!! I can't sing enough praise about what a fantastic job you all did adapting this book to the iPad. Last night, with my three children gathered around, we went through the book and laughed ourselves silly with all the great animations and sounds. We loved the farting Zillard and Catoblepas. That was an especially hilarious touch. The narration is top notch. I could go on and on with praise but just know that I am very pleased. My kids even said the iPad app was better than the actual, static book. Kinda made me sad ;-) But this really is the ideal way to experience these kinds of books."

We're well aware of the market tension between books and e-books, as well as the aesthetic and cultural arguments. But we are striving to make amazing stories in print and then bring them to life in ways beyond. We hope you enjoy them in the forms they evolve into.

WonderCon in Anaheim - Booth #803

We're making up for lost time today!

Today we travel to WonderCon 2012, at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California from March 16th-18th. Visit us at Booth #803 - get artist autographs galore and enjoy our magic kingdom!

Meet 4 talented creators, enjoy giveaways of a rainbow of promotional postcards, and get limited edition prints and t-shirts.

1. Attaboy (www.yumfactory.com) - Friday-3 pm, Saturday-2 pm - author of You Might be a Monster and Other Stories I Made Up

"Atta's creepy cool monsters are an insane delight. They'll leap off the page, squirm through your kid's optic nerve, and haunt her brain forever. And that's a good thing” – Boing Boing

Attaboy is a noted toy designer, gallery artist, and co-publisher of the pop art and culture magazine Hi-Fructose (www.hifructose.com).

2. Brianne Drouhard (www.briannedrouhard.com, www.potatofarmgirl.blogspot.com)
- author of Billie the Unicorn (www.billietheunicorn.com)

Editor's Choice: "Children and parents alike are going to fall in love with Billie the Unicorn. Between the gorgeous artwork, 3D effects, and the charming story, Billie the Unicorn will become a favorite for every family who downloads it. The artwork alone in this book is worth adding to the library, but the story makes it that much better.” – AppTudes

Brianne signed at WonderCon 2011. She is a designer on the animated TV series Scooby Doo Mystery Inc. and Cartoon Network’s DC Nation, and lead producer of the upcoming their episode Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld.

3. Jennifer Wood (www.artofjwood.com)
- illustrator of Year of the Dragon, 7th story in the annual Tales from the Chinese Zodiac series.

"The illustrations by illustrator and cartoon character designer Jennifer Wood...are colorful and dynamic and add a lot of appeal for both kids and grownups.” – Marin Mommies

This is Jennifer's first WonderCon! She is currently illustrating the 8th story of the Tales from the Chinese Zodiac - The Year of the Snake, for next year 2013.

4. Oliver Chin
- author of the Tales from the Chinese Zodiac series and more children's adventures.
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We look forward to seeing you and sharing and signing our stories!

The Year of the Dragon - 2012

We're two months into the Chinese New Year of the Dragon. But hey, it's relatively early since there are 10 months left to celebrate what seems to be the most popular of all the 12 animals of the zodiac.

Our main character Dominic is happy to finally debut on the blog. As you can tell, he possesses a unique skill set and proves to be quite a handy friend.

The Year of the Dragon features a new illustrator, Jennifer Wood (www.artofjwood.com). By day, she is a designer on Nickelodeon's animated TV series T.U.F.F. Puppy (and previously has contributed to a rainbow of programs such as Catscratch and The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack. Recently she gave a whiz bang drawing workshop at the children's museum Kidspace, near the Pasadena Rose Bowl.

We've had a ball sharing this 7th adventure in the Tales from the Chinese Zodiac with families at schools, libraries, and museums. Some of the book buyers have included people who have told us they are trying to have a baby this year! Others have been for 12 year old teens who have patiently waited 7 years to get the story of their birth year animal! We are flattered on both ends of the spectrum and hope they enjoy Dom's journey as much as we did when we created it.

Now they can also experience the story as an Apple app! We are proud to partner with Mobad Media, who have produced a wonderfully interactive version (available for both Mac and iOS on iTunes).

Whenever we have showed the app to an auditorium packed with kids, they always go gaga and rush to poke the screen with their fingers. Then they happily make the Mama and Papa dragons blow smoke, Dominic fly, and the other 11 animals go thru very humorous motions and equally amusing sound effects. We invite you to try it out, and see how The Year of the Dragon will provide smiles for many moons to come.