NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - May 20, 2010) - Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organization that produces Sesame Street, and Impelsys, launched today a new online Sesame Street eBookstore at www.ebooks.sesamestreet.org. Readers can subscribe with Impelsys to get unlimited access to a library of more than 100 Sesame Street eBooks for an annual subscription price of $39.99. A special introductory subscription price of $24.99 is being offered to subscribers through July 4, 2010.
Managed by Impelsys, the store features an eBooks collection including a wide range of fun and educationally rich Sesame Street titles such as Elmo's ABC Book, Abby in Wonderland, and Grover's Guide to Good Eating. Titles are offered in a variety of formats: eBooks allow a child to read along at their own pace; audio eBooks contain narration, sound effects, and music; animated eBooks bring beloved Sesame Street characters and stories to life in full-color animation; and interactive eBooks invite children to play along and learn.
Other features include an auto-play option that turns the pages for the reader and text highlighting that visually reinforces the narration in audio eBooks. The site also provides the option of viewing in Kids Mode, which simplifies the navigation for a child by displaying only the available books while removing parent tips and menus.
eBook titles cover 19 subject areas including letters, numbers, counting, colors, and cultural appreciation. New titles will be added regularly to the bookshelf, and a rotating selection of five eBooks will continue to be available free of charge at http://ebooks.sesamestreet.org/free.
The Sesame Street eBookstore is powered by iPublishCentral, a 2010 SIIA CODiE Awards finalist for "Best Software as a Service Solution." The breakthrough digital publishing platform was developed by Impelsys, a fast-growing company that enables book publishers to deliver their content online with a cost-effective turnkey solution.
"There is a new generation of readers that is moving toward electronic devices in order to access news, information and books, and we want to deliver our content to young readers in the formats they are engaging with on a daily basis," said Scott Chambers, senior vice president of worldwide media distribution at Sesame Workshop. "Thanks to our partnership with Impelsys, the debut of the eBookstore is an important step forward in bringing our 40-year library of children's books to the next generation of young readers."
"We've been very pleased with the enthusiastic response we received in our successful pre-launch and are excited about the debut of the first-ever Sesame Street eBooks collection," said Sameer Shariff, chief executive officer of Impelsys. "Our goal is to showcase the powerful Sesame Street brand with an ambitious digital publishing initiative that will establish a new standard in online libraries for children's eBooks."
About Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop is the non-profit educational organization that revolutionized children's television programming with the landmark Sesame Street. The Workshop produces local Sesame Street programs, seen in over 140 countries, and other acclaimed shows to help bridge the literacy gap including The Electric Company and Pinky Dinky Doo. Beyond television, the Workshop produces content for multiple media platforms on a wide range of issues including literacy, health and military deployment. Initiatives meet specific needs to help young children and families develop critical skills, acquire healthy habits and build emotional strength to prepare them for lifelong learning. Learn more at www.sesameworkshop.org.
About Impelsys
Impelsys, a leader in providing electronic content delivery solutions to the global publishing market, helps its clients compete, evolve and grow in an increasingly complex marketplace. Impelsys-powered technologies like iPlatform™ and VirtualPages™ and solutions like iPublishCentral™ help publishers increase their revenues by delivering content online quickly and cost effectively. Impelsys' passion for client success has helped it build long-term partnerships with its customers becoming critical in the client's electronic delivery strategy. Leading clients include McGraw-Hill, Elsevier, Wolters Kluwer, Benchmark Education, Marshall Cavendish and Houghton Mifflin. Headquartered in New York, Impelsys operates across North America, Europe and India. For more information, please visit www.impelsys.com.
Contact Information:
Media Contact:
Daryn Teague
Teague Communications
(661) 297-5292