Draw Inside a Digital Book: Dragon, Robot, Gatorbunny by Calef Brown
11.12.12 | Alison Presley | Digital Books
Recently I found myself tweeting:
At the risk of bragging, I’m working on a book called Dragon, Robot, Gatorbunny. Have YOU ever worked on a book with a GATORBUNNY in it?
— Alison Presley (@alison_presley) October 29, 2012
That’s right, a gatorbunny. A creature that wildly creative could only come from the brilliant mind of Calef Brown. Calef is the celebrated writer and illustrator of many beloved books for kids and the author of our latest and most innovative digital book to date: Dragon, Robot, Gatorbunny. This is a print book that even just a year ago we never would have dreamed of publishing a digital version of.
Why, you might ask? The print book gives kids prompts to draw imaginative animals (like a Dapper Griffin, a Lillephant, and a Snowcroc) and then a blank page to do so. How could we replicate such a fun, interactive concept in a digital format?
Enter Apple’s new iBooks Author, a desktop app for creating digital books. Our digital team checked out the technology and realized they would be able to create a digital book that allowed the child to draw right inside with his or her finger. And today, we’re excited to announce the digital version of Dragon, Robot, Gatorbunny is here. The book looks great and packs in plenty of giggles and hours of fun for any budding artist, big or small.
Check out this drawing done by yours truly, the worst doodler this side of the Mississippi! Not only can kids draw right inside the ebook, but parents can take a screenshot of their drawings and email them to friends and family. Or even print them out and hang them on the fridge!
In honor of the Dragon, Robot, Gatorbunny going on sale, we’re going to give away five free copies of the digital book. Just comment on this post by 11/19 to tell us the craziest animal you can think of, and we’ll choose five winners randomly. Please note that this digital book will only work on an iPad.
One of my students told me this morning, he wants to be an animal scientist when he grows up. When I asked what kind of animals he wants to study he said, “The bugs cavemen invented a long time ago, like the Sarcosacus Hopper.” When I asked for more information, he said it looks a lot like an alligator but it hops. If I win a copy of Dragon, Robot, Gatorbunny, I promise to share it with Jacob and the rest of my students and perhaps I’ll share some of their artwork on my blog: http://speakwellreadwell.blogspot.com/
Well, my nephew wanted to name his family's dog Beef and Broccoli. That's either a really interesting animal or a tragic yet tasty dish.
We love Calef Brown and can't wait to check this out!
I can't make up anything weirder than the platypus. Well, maybe I could, but would I come up with as wacky a name? I don't think so.
Congrats to all of you! I've just sent you promo codes to download a free copy of the ebook from the Apple iBookstore.