Moomins Get Appy

When beloved Finnish children's author Tove Jansson released her first picture book in 1952, the illustrations weren't just beautifully rendered iconic 1950s design, they were also a true innovation. For the 60^th anniversary of the book, publisher Werner Söderström Corporation is taking Jansson's innovation to the 21^st century, releasing The Book About Moomin, Mymble and Little My (Hur gick det sen in the original Swedish) as an app, just in time for the Bologna Book Fair in spring 2012.

We talked with Lippo Luukkonen, publisher of the Moomin books at Werner Söderström about the book and apps for children.

Can you tell us more about the app and the special features, such as video?
The whole production will be done specifically for the app, so no previous animation work will be used. The idea is to create something specifically targeted to tablet devices, so we want to use all the animation, voice and technology driven opportunities available for this platform to create something new. This book was way ahead of time when it came out 60 years ago, with cut-out holes that gave the book a 3D feeling, and this same wow effect will be used in the app. For instance, you will be able to see the sun shining and moving landscapes through the "holes" in the app. And everything will be built to use the magic of original story to the maximum. We will be loyal to the art and inspiration of Tove Jansson - her niece Sophia Jansson is closely involved in accepting the animations and effects, so the original spirit can be followed as closely as possible.

How do you see the future for children's e-books?
Our first iPad e-book, Timo Parvela's Taro, ended up being a recommended app by the editorial team at the App Store, so it looks as if we are on right track when bringing out book content into this new format. Basically, we believe that  the user experience should be kept as close to the printed book experience as possible. After all, our resources are so limited that we cannot compete with the gaming industry when it comes to the amount of animation and functionalities. So we let the magic of a well-written story carry the effects.

More generally speaking, I think full-color tablet devices will give children's publishers lot of opportunities. Children seem to be familiar with these devices well before they learn to read, families with small children are those who are first at buying these devices. By publishing on this platform, you can much easier reach international markets directly. Sales are of course very modest everywhere now, but let us see in couple of years!

But for this app at least, publishers from a number of markets - the U.S. and Japan - are showing interest, so it looks like it will do well internationally.