Today is the third day of the Blog Event that I am hosting that is about the creation of an iPad app called Roxie's A-maze-ing Vacation Adventure. So far I have posted a review of the app and a letter from the app's developer. Today I have a letter from Roxie Munro, the illustrator whose artwork inspired the whole idea for the app.
From the artist’s point-of-view, creating “Roxie’s a-MAZE-ing Vacation Adventure” was exactly that – an adventure, with all the challenges, problems, and thrills involved in a real life adventure.
When I got Omar Curiere’s email in mid October, 2010, I remembered him. Five or so years earlier I’d received a “fan” email from him. I remember noting the Netherlands
I immediately answered back that it would be a cool thing to do (although I was under deadline to write and illustrate a picture book about bugs), and as Omar says, we emailed back and forth, and very soon decided to do original work, rather than adapting or licensing one of my five maze books. He sent some diagrams with choices of ways we could go…linear, or up and down, or randomly moving through 16 screens – the most complex and hardest, and, naturally, the way we both decided to go.
After roughs and sketches, and a short trip I took to the Netherlands, we settled on a plan, a huge “world” - I would create the maze, which they would make a game of, animate, enliven, and add music to.
The first challenge I had was to find a sheet of paper big enough to create the whole art piece on …we didn’t want to have to “marry” or match up 16
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By: Marya Jansen-Gruber,
on 4/12/2011
Blog: Through the Looking Glass Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Blog Event, Children's apps, Add a tag
For day two of my blog event, I have a letter from Omar Curiere, the man who helped develop and create Roxie's A-Maze-ing Vacation Adventure, an interactive iPad app. I had no idea how an app is created so I asked Omar to tell me (and you) about the process.
Dear TTLG readers:My name is Omar Curiëre, born in Amsterdam
When my son was 3 or 4 we bought him his first Roxie Munro book called “Mazeways
,” and then another, and another, and another. He loves to read… well, he couldn't read back then but he loves to look and search and discover. Over the years something strange happened. Most of his books, after 3 or 4 times he read them, stayed in the bookcase, but some books, and especially Roxie's books, were being read over and over. When he was older, he was drawing mazes of his own. My daughter found the Roxie books when she was around three and together with her older brother was reading them again and again, searching letters and following the maze.Since my original company is an interactive presentation company, the iPad had a huge impact on how we could give presentations, read our email, and above all, make fun. Then the idea started to appear that we can make really fun apps, especially for children - we had the technical programming knowledge, we had the creativity. But what to do, what to make, what to develop?
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By: Marya Jansen-Gruber,
on 4/11/2011
Blog: Through the Looking Glass Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Children's apps, Roxie Munro, Add a tag
I am going to begin this three day event by giving you a review of the app, which both my daughter and I had a blast playing with. When you open up the app, the first thing you need to do is to choose a little car, which is what you will use most of the time to get around the interconnected scenes (there are many of these) in the app. Then you are presented with the first scene, which is a gorgeous layout showing a town from above. There is a zoo, houses, a river, streets and so much more. In this scene you have to collect parts of a star, and you also have to find a bunch of balloons, an ice cream truck, the number one, and a penguin. You collect the parts of the star by driving to them, or walking to them (you have to park your car first).The rest of the things you have to search for in the artwork. Once you find them, you tap them with your finger and the app registers that you have complete the task. You need to collect star pieces and find items in each of the scenes that you encounter in the adventure. In later screens you will collect star pieces by, among other things, flying a plane, rafting on a river, skiing, and flying in a hot air balloon.
The pieces of the star are pretty easy to find, but they are not always easy to get to. There are one way roads and roundabouts to negotiate, and it is not always easy to find parking places, just like in real life.Sometimes you have drive into the screen above, below, to the left or to the right to find the right road that will allow you to come back and get the piece of the star.
Once you have completed all the tasks for one screen, you simply drive into another. The next one I went to had a residential area and a sports stadium. Above the sports stadium was a blimp that had my name written on it. When I tapped the stadium, a soccer ball came flying up towards me. I soon found that you could make all kinds of things happen by tapping on them. In a rural scene that I discovered, flowers bloom when you tap the fields.
Each scene is very different, and players will enjoy exploring the coast scene, the amusement park, the city, the wild river, the snowy ski mountain, and more. You can purchase the app through iTunes, and I guarantee that you will enjoy it.
Tomorrow Omar Curiere who works at OCG Studios - the company the created the app - will be telling me a little about what it was like to create this app, and on Wednesday I will have something for you from Roxie Munro.
By: Mayra Calvani,
on 1/24/2011
Blog: Mayra's Secret Bookcase (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: bilingual children's books, pet books, labradors, children's apps, harvey the hungry dog, lise dominique, harvey the wonder dog, Add a tag
Harvey the Hungry Dog
(from The Adventures of Harvey the Wonder Dog)
by Lise Dominique
Illustrations by Chrissie Vales
State Street Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-9760216-7-4
Children's book, iPad app
Website: Harvey the Wonder Dog
This delightful children's book tells the story of an adorable Labrador named Harvey. From the time he is a cuddly puppy, to his adventures throughout winter, spring, summer and fall, to his friendship with his best dog friend Karma, Harvey is a doggy who takes food VERY SERIOUSLY! However, there's one thing that Harvey hungers more than anything in the world: love.
I had the opportunity to review the i
Pad application and I have to say that it was a throughly enjoyable experience. With just a tap of my finger, the pages open fluidly and smoothly, giving the impression that I have a real book in my hands. The tale is written in an old-fashioned style, with mostly narrative and very little dialogue. The prose has a quiet tone, making this a perfect little book to read to a young child at bedtime. I'm one of those people who believe there can never be too many dog books. I found the illustrations charming with their simple style and soft pastel colors. Harvey will steal the hearts of young and adults alike and I look forward to his next adventure.
And just in case you're wondering... yes, Harvey is based on a real dog named--you guessed it--Harvey!
Find out more on Amazon.
9 Comments on Review of Harvey the Hungry Dog, by Lise Dominique, last added: 1/27/2011
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Amazing indeed, Roxie! So complicated and intricate, yet personal, it's wonderful. Thank you!