Magic Town opens its doors



16.05.12 | The Bookseller Team

A virtual world for picturebooks, Magic Town, has been launched today (16th May) by interactive learning company Mindshapes, with publishers involved including Oxford University Press, Hachette Children's Books, Egmont and Usborne.
The site, first reported in The Bookseller in March, is aimed at children aged two to six years and will include characters such as Winnie the Witch, created by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul (OUP); David McKee's elephant Elmer (Andersen Press); and Kristina Stephenson's Sir Charlie Stinky Socks (Egmont).
Publishers have licensed content to Mindscapes, with each "character house" in the town including animations, games, activities and stories as well as e-books. Children will be able to use parts of the website for free, and will have temporary access to free books. Further content is then available through a subscription of £7.95 a month. Publishers will receive a percentage of subscriptions.
An iPad version will be launched next month, with a version for schools set to come in the autumn.
Christian Dorffer, chief commercial officer of Mindshapes, told today's Financial Times that it was "looking to become the primary entertainment brand for young children within the next few years".



Blogroll