Wanderful Interactive Storybooks
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software development, Educational software |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Founder | Mickey W. Mantle |
| Headquarters | Novato , United States |
Key people | Mickey W. Mantle (Founder), Mark Schlichting (Chief Creative Officer) |
| Products | Interactive storybook applications, Living Books titles |
| Parent | Jordan Freeman Group (since May 2023) |
Wanderful Interactive Storybooks specializes in creating interactive storybook applications derived from the original titles first released as Living Books by Broderbund Software.
Established in 2010 by Mickey W. Mantle—who previously served as Broderbund's Vice President of Engineering and CTO overseeing the original Living Books technology—Wanderful brought together a group of the initial Broderbund developers to engineer a new platform. This platform transforms the animation, visuals, audio, and music from the classic Living Books CD-ROMs, enabling full-screen playback optimized for iPad with touch controls.[1] Mark Schlichting, the original creatorCite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag[2] This acquisition was completed on May 17, 2023, coinciding with Freeman’s announcement of a collaboration with Arthur creator Marc Brown.[3]
Living Books titles
Wanderful has republished the following Living Books titles for Android (operating system), iOS, and Windows, listed by their release dates:
- Arthur's Teacher Trouble (available in English and Spanish) by Marc Brown
- Little Monster at School (English and Spanish) by Mercer Mayer
- The Tortoise and the Hare (English and Spanish), an Aesop fable
- Harry and the Haunted House (English and Spanish) by Mark Schlichting
- The Berenstain Bears Get In A Fight (English and Spanish) by Stan and Jan Berenstain
- Arthur's Birthday (English and Spanish) by Marc Brown
- The Berenstain Bears In The Dark (English only) by Stan and Jan Berenstain
- Ruff's Bone (English and Spanish) by Eli Noyes
- The New Kid on the Block (English only) written by Jack Prelutsky with illustrations by James Stevenson
- Dr. Seuss's ABC, The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham (English only) by Dr. Seuss
- Sheila Rae, the Brave (English and Spanish) by Kevin Henkes
- Stellaluna (available in English and Portuguese) by Janell Cannon
- Just Grandma and Me (offered in English, Japanese, and Spanish) by Mercer Mayer
- Maggie's Farmyard Adventure (English only) by Pat Farrell
- Arthur's Computer Adventure, Arthur's Reading Race, D.W., The Picky Eater (all English) by Marc Brown
Additional titles
Through its Wanderful Edutainment label, Wanderful has also reissued these non-Living Books titles for Windows:
- Arthur's 1st Grade through Arthur's 2nd Grade, Kindergarten, Math Games, Pet Chase, Preschool, Reading Games, Sand Castle Contest, Thinking Games, Camping Adventure (also known as Arthur's Wilderness Rescue)—all English-language products created by Marc Brown
Educational Components
Wanderful offers classroom activity guides tailored to each storybook app, enhancing their use in educational settings.
External links
- The revival of Living Books
- Harry And The Haunted House for iOS: A Spot-On Experience - David Winograd, Mac Observer
- Embracing Retro: Reading Apps for Traditional Books - KQED/MindShift blog
- Just Wanderful! The Return of Living Books - The Daring Librarian
- Interview with Mark Schlichting
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedTUAW-LivingBooks - ↑ https://www.zoom-platform.com/news/wanderful-interactive-storybooks-exclusives-soft-launch
- ↑ https://venturebeat.com/games/jordan-freeman-group-acquires-wanderful-and-partners-with-arthur-creator/