A New iPad Book Introduces Backyard Environmentalism to Children
Ben Nicholson and Kurt Koch created and designed Mudbuddy, a new iPad book that helps children learn about the environment.
New to iTunes this month and the first in a series, Mudbuddy is an interactive storybook app for families who would like to learn more about the organic world around them and help their children make a positive impact on nature and our environment. Through simple stories, humor, and touch-screen interaction, readers can help Mudbuddy, the adorable and slightly confused glob-of-mud-main-character, and his friends learn more about each other and their special abilities.
“It can be socially disconnecting to use a wireless device. I’m guilty myself. But tablets such as iPads are interactive tools and should be used for engagement, and not just for escape,” says Nicholson. “We hope the Mudbuddy app encourages parents, together with their children, investigate and interact with the world around them—and make a positive impact too.”
It’s an app that reads like a book. With charming illustrations accenting the story’s vibrant and often hilarious verse, Mudbuddy takes children of all ages to a never-seen underground world of environmental adventure where rocks talk and mud morphs. Clever situations and colorful imagery bring this new app book to life with wit and adventure. Written in language that is fun and silly, parents, caregivers, and teachers can have fun reading this book to children, or they can have the built-in narrator read the pages aloud.
Mudbuddy includes themes such as the size of the globe, versus a state, city and neighborhood; the endless activities that occur under our feet; the purpose of dirt; discovering how the great outdoors can be fun; and helping children find their own special abilities and purpose.
“Backyard Environmentalism means that we can teach our kids about nature by giving them an appreciation of the things right outside their door,” adds Nicholson. “We can’t begin to change the world unless we start at home. Mudbuddy is a vehicle for this message.”