or, perhaps Olive the Woolly Blogger...
Every so often I’ll receive an email from a parent whose kids have enjoyed reading Olive, and every bit of feedback is very flattering and much appreciated. Whenever I hear that Olive has brought some joy to a child it’s worth its weight in gold.
Continue readingBeta versions have been tested…
Bugs have been eradicated (hopefully, every single one of those nasty little pests)…
The apps have been submitted to Apple for their blessing…
And now we wait…
In hopefully less than ten days, it’ll be launch time!
Here’s what the past 4+ months of hard work have resulted in:
Olive the Woolly Bugger
Olive the Woolly Bugger (paid version)
This is the full meal deal which includes the entire 41-page story, complete with a narration mode (or read by yourself), interactive pop-up screens, animations, and the game, Chuckin’ Bugs. The app price will be a very modest $1.99 at the time of launch.
Olive the Woolly Bugger Lite
Olive the Woolly Bugger Lite (free version)
This is the scaled-down app that includes half of story (22 pages). It also includes a narration mode (or read by yourself), interactive pop-up screens, animations. The idea here is that people will download this app without a second thought, and get hooked on Olive. Naturally they’ll then proceed to the App Store and purchase the full version.
Chuckin’ Bugs (101)
Chuckin’ Bugs 101
This game is a standalone app (included in the paid version of Olive) that will also be free to download. It’s a simple, 4-level game that will provide some challenges for younger players. Older kids may master it fairly quickly, but achieving a perfect score will take a bit of effort. The ‘101’ designation is indicative of plans for a more robust version of the game in the future. Chuckin’ Bugs 201 will have additional levels and a greater degree of difficulty, plus a lot more.
Thanks once again for your continued support, and stay tuned for the formal announcement within the coming days!
If you want to see some screen shots and more detailed info, please go HERE.
A good long while ago, on my other blog, The Unaccomplished Angler, I wrote about my first ever author visit to Gracemor Elementary in Kansas City, Missouri in October of 2008. In many ways that seems like forever ago, although I’ll never forget the trip and the wonderful people who welcomed me at Gracemor.
I’m glad to know that they haven’t forgotten about me, either. Today I received an email from Mr. Bob Dever, the teacher who orchestrated my visit to his school. He’s still teaching fishing and fly fishing to kids at Gracemor thanks to continued grant money from the Physh Ed program at the Future Fisherman Foundation.
Bob writes:
I wanted to brag to you about our wonderful librarians at Gracemor Elementary School. I also thought the Federation of Fly Fishers would be interested in this story. Pictured from left to right are our librarians. Both staff members are well acquainted with our school’s fishing and outdoor education program and have made great contributions to make the program successful by ordering many types of fishing books for our school’s library. Recently they made this display, to be sure our students know about these books. What more could this fishing instructor ask for?
Kirk, we still love your Olive books.
Fishing display at the library of Gracemor Elementary
That made my day. Thanks to Bob for his leadership and devotion in arranging for kids at Gracemor Elementary to be introduced to fishing and fly fishing, and to the wonderful library staff for reinforcing the value that fishing offers kids. And of course thanks to the Future Fisherman Foundation for the tremendous work they do to promote fishing to kids. There’s much more to fishing than catching fish and thanks to all these folks, kids can find out what that means. Kids are, afterall, tomorrow’s stewards of our resources. Introduce a kid to fishing and you’re investing in the future.
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