07/10/2013 (press release: ronmaas) // Great Neck, New York, USA // Ron Maas
StarWalk Kids Media announced that it has made all 160+ eBooks in its collection available free of charge for anyone with Internet access—children, families and educators—during the entire month of July. Launched via a viral Twitter campaign with the hashtag #PopUpLibrary, word quickly spread throughout the education and library communities, and nearly 3,000 eBooks were read in first three days of the offer.
“We celebrated our first year of existence at the American Library Association national conference in Chicago,” said founder and author Seymour Simon. “It has been a very successful launch year for the company, and we all felt that it was time to give back. Opening our streaming collection for everyone to sample and share with kids via summer reading programs felt like the right way to say ‘thanks’ for a great year.”
Anyone who visits www.StarWalkKids.com/popup can immediately read any eBook in the collection, which School Library Journal described as “…gorgeously designed pre-K through grade 8 eBooks…Tightly curated for exceptional quality, the collection is about 60 percent highly illustrated nonfiction, and all titles are simultaneous-access licensed, making a subscription to StarWalk Kids a solid way to support Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for reading and writing.” Most of the company’s eBooks also offer a “Read to Me” option for kids, with high quality, professional narration. Readers can also enter through the publisher’s website, www.StarWalkKids.com, where they will find a button that reads: “Click to Start Reading.”
StarWalk Kids Media Publisher Liz Nealon notes that they hope that educators, administrators and librarians will also take this opportunity to sample the library prior to the start of the new school year. “More schools and libraries are acquiring the latest educational technologies, supported by broadband Internet connectivity,” said Nealon. “But as every educator knows, the hardware is only as relevant as the software available to use with it. There has been a severe shortage of quality literature, both fiction and nonfiction, that is available and affordable in digital form. We formed StarWalk Kids Media to fill that void.”
Open access to all eBooks in the StarWalk Kids collection will continue throughout the month of July. Founder @seymoursimon, who launched the #PopUpLibrary campaign via his Twitter feed, notes that the whole idea of a “Pop Up Library” means that surprise access can happen at any time. “We are already planning the next opportunity for a “pop up” treat. Our goal is to get kids excited about reading with our great eBooks….so you probably have not seen the last #PopUpLibrary surprise!”
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 of titles from award-winning authors and illustrators 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 in her former role as EVP/Creative Director of Sesame Street. In addition to her role as Publisher and CEO of StarWalk Kids Media, Nealon is the Managing Editor of SeymourSimon.com, which has been designated one of ALA’s “Great Websites for Kids,” and is a Webby Honoree. Nealon was also the creator and Executive Producer of the landmark PBS children’s literacy series Ghostwriter.
To learn more, visit www.StarWalkKids.com. Follow us on Twitter (@StarWalkKids) and Facebook.
