The switch from games to e-books was easy for Modjeski.

“I’ve always been obsessed with books and making books. I have a degree in creative writing . The idea of really exploring and expanding what a book could be digitally piqued my curiosity and made a lot of sense at the same time.”

Daryl Grabarek, School Library Journal

“A subtly animated background along with soft music and ambientsounds invite users to linger over each poem. For many, it’s often all too easy to breeze through a collection of haiku given the economy of the form, but the beauty of this app encourages a deeper, almost meditative reading experience, in keeping with the original intentions of the poets.“

Bob Tedeschi, New York Times App Smart

“Lovely . . .”

Gabe Habash, Publishers Weekly

“. . . conjures up words not often associated with apps; words like ‘beautiful,’ ‘art,’ and ‘emotion.’”

Kirkus Reviews

“A breath of fresh air.“

Gamezebo  ★★★★☆

“A gamebook app aimed not at reminiscing adults, but but actual children . . . oozes charm and character, is well-suited to its audience and is a lot of fun to play through over and over again”

Honeybee Labs consulted with Nazarene Publishing House as they created a comprehensive 20-lesson educational tool and quiz game. Each lesson contained memory verses, scripture selections, discussion content, a unique interactive activity and competition level quiz modes.

Critically Acclaimed Digital Book Developer Announces New Game-Book Hybrid

LOS ANGELES – June 6, 2012 – Honeybee Labs, a critically acclaimed publisher of digital books, has announced the July 25, 2012 release of You Choose! PIRATES™, a new kind of reading experience, involving readers in the story like never before. Designed specifically for iPad and iPhone, You Choose! books blend social and casual gaming mechanics into the classic Choose-Your-Own format to create an immersive and engaging reading experience for kids eight to 12 years old.

“Our intent was to fully reimagine the format in a way you could never do on paper,” says CEO Ryan Modjeski. “We introduced avatars, minigames, puzzles, badges and our own special Live Text technology that allows us to adapt the story to the choices the reader makes.”

In You Choose! PIRATES™, readers create an avatar, then embark on the high seas with a scurvy crew of sea dogs. On this adventure, they may battle a sea monster, lead a mutinous crew to treasure, or find love while hiding from the pirates below deck.

The first of its series, it will be available in a free, lite version, with the full version selling for $3.99 and available for iPad and iPhone. Two expansions to this title, and three new titles are slated for release in fall 2012.

For more information about You Choose!™, or to download a sneak peek of PIRATES, contact votrubaPR@gmail.com. A press kit is available for download at www.honeybeelabs.com/news.

About Honeybee Labs, Inc.

Based in Los Angeles, Honeybee Labs is a digital book studio leading the field in interactive book design for children and adults, creating highly interactive apps for mobile and tablet devices. Their first release, Chasing Fireflies: A Haiku Collection is the most-downloaded poetry app in 22 countries and won praise from The New York Times, Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews.
For more information visit www.honeybeelabs.com.
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Press Contact:

Emily Votruba, Votruba PR
votrubaPR@gmail.com

Five images attached:

You Choose!  PIRATES

Available on iTunes (click here)