“Picture Books Come Alive: The Shift to e-Books for Children” + One Publisher’s New Program For Libraries

This article from MyCentralNewJersey.com tells the story of Fred Seibert and the launch of a digital publishing company for children’s books that he started named Frederator Books.

Frederator Books was launched, and David Wilk, a veteran of the book publishing and distribution industry, was hired to become the company’s publisher in March 2013.
Seibert wanted the company’s focus to be on pure reading because he said everything he heard about the digital book space was very focused on the interactive features of turning books into something else. “I found that the notion of abandoning pure reading, just because it was digital, was sad,” he said.

The article continues about publication of a new series of books by Frederator and how they plan to work with libraries.

One of Cartoon Hangover’s first hits, “Bravest Warriors,” attracted a following of 17 million viewers during the first year. Seibert said one character in particular, Catbug, a half-cat and half-ladybug alien, really “exploded into the wider universe” in popularity.
“Part of it seems to do with the Internet and the magic of cats on the Internet. Catbug somehow fit into that category,” said Seibert.
He decided to develop the Catbug character into a series of e-books through Frederator Books.

What makes the article especially interesting is what Frederator plans to to launch next month, a free free ‘E-book to Libraries’ program.

For Frederator Books, libraries and schools are important links to kids” [Frederator’s David] Wilk said in a prepared statement. “We know that many libraries have been frustrated by the big publishers’ resistance to making e-books widely available. As a small, digital-only publisher, we do not have to worry about protecting an existing print book business, and since our goal is to reach as many people as possible, free books to libraries simply makes sense,” he said.

That’s something we don’t read or hear that often. (-:
Direct to Full Text of Article to Learn More
Direct to Frederator Books

Filed under: Libraries, News, Publishing