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Posts tagged 'Benny the Cat'
Posts Tagged “Benny the Cat”
Have you wished Benny the Cat a “good morning” yet?
Benny is a super cute and engaging ginger cat with a fluffy tail and pointy ears. You cannot help but love him as if he was your own pet. Children, as young as 1 year old, can play hide and seek with him, choose his favorite food, pet him, make his bed and much more.
Here’s a Q&A with the author and illustrator of “Benny the cat”, Tamar Hak:
How did Benny come about?
‘Benny the cat’ is the first children’s book that I have both written and illustrated, as opposed to having only dealt with the illustration side of things up to that point. It all started when I got a call from the people at Touchoo with a proposal to write and illustrate a children’s book intended for mobile devices using a touch screen interface. I was very excited with the challenge and could not wait to get started. My goal was to come up with a simple yet fun storyline that would appeal to children everywhere, while making as much use as possible of what this interactive interface has to offer.
What inspired your idea for the book?
One of my greatest loves in life is animals. I grew up in a small house crowded with pets, the memories and experience of that have had a very positive influence on me. To this day I cannot possibly imagine myself ever living without pets of my own. Coincidentally (yet not surprisingly) one of my favorite drawing subjects is animals. I therefore decided to take this opportunity to share my love for animals with kids and at the same time provide parents with a tool for introducing a certain pet to their child.
How did you come up with Benny’s character?
I chose a cat (a kitten) to be my book’s main character, first and foremost because it is simply my favorite pet. I started off by searching the web for kitten photos whilst thinking about what its character traits might be like. I knew that the book itself was going to be simple and straight forward one so I wanted to make up for that by making Benny’s character extra interesting and likeable for both children and their parents. Finally, I decided it would be a ginger cat (I have a soft spot for ginger cats as I in fact have one at home) small, chubby and fluffy with a whimsical spark in its eyes.
What technique did you use for the illustrations?
I love illustrating by hand and one of my favorite techniques is colored pencils. In this project I used a combination of graphite and colored pencils which no doubt made it harder in the transition to digital media as well as through the animation process but I felt that it was worth the effort considering the results.
Can you list all the pets you ever had?
Cats, dogs, mice, hamsters, all kinds of parrots and birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, fish, frogs, turtles, silkworms, snails and porcupines. I think there may have been more…
What are some of your favorite children’s books?
I absolutely loved all the Moomin books by Tove Jansson, Erich Kastner, and Shel Silverstein.
About Tamar:
I grew up in the Tel aviv Area in Israel. I painted and sketched since childhood and later on studied at “Thelma Yellin” High school of arts and “Shenkar College of design”. Nowadays I work as an art director in the advertising industry and as a freelance illustrator and designer. In my spare time I like to sing, eat humus and go for long walks (not necessarily in that order).
Why I Wrote “The Sun Goes to Bed”
(or)
I’m a Wannabe: Being Part of the World of Children’s Book Apps
by Tami Lehman-Wilzig
I’m the kind of children’s author who looks to life for inspiration. No ghosts or goblins for me. No wizards or witches. Real-life behavior of parents, children and animals is what’s on my radar.
So when I read a newspaper article written by a father living in a rustic village, explaining how he took his four-year old daughter on a daily walk to watch the sunset, I had an Aha moment that I quickly translated into my first early childhood book. And not just a regular, full color, illustrated book. An App book, because another article I had read on a technology start-up called Touchoo, similarly piqued my interest, plus I couldn’t get over its slogan: “Books for Little Fingers”.
Both these articles happily coincided with my impending grand-motherhood. I fondly recalled reading to my sons way back when they were in between mischief. And bedtime? Prime time for me. Nothing was more cuddly and warm than having two tired heads leaning on me while I read out loud. But a grandmother reading to her grandson every night? That’s charting old/new territory. Then again, so are children’s book apps. So I embraced the challenge, mapping out a story about a tired sun at the end of a work-filled day.
I first determined that a lilting cadence was necessary to draw in the reader. I carefully crafted each word, each sentence. In the process I could feel my unborn grandson’s eyes tracking the illustrations with the voice-over text. I could sense his small, nimble fingers patting folding flower petals, swiping a curling cat’s tail and tapping ants walking through sandy trails. My excitement grew as I realized how this new, interactive world of reading would allow me to virtually be by his side nightly, teaching the ways of nature – his and that of the universe – while hearing my voice read to him out loud. Yes, the ability of parents and grandparents to record their voice is another benefit of children’s book apps.
Today, my book is in production and my 8-month old grandson is a work in progress. He’s an inquisitive little fellow who likes to poke, touch and feel, not to mention follow sounds and people’s voices. By the time he turns One he’ll certainly be using his tactile talents and I know he’s app to be all ears when his grandmother shows him how The Sun Goes to Bed on her iPad.
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Tami Lehman-Wilzig is an award-winning children’s book author. Her ninth and tenth books are scheduled to come out on September 1, 2011 – Green Bible Stories for Children and Nathan Blows Out the Hanukkah Candles. The Sun Goes to Bed is Tami’s first children’s book app.
I am sitting on the couch with my 20 months old son and feeling a bit nervous. For me, this is the ultimate test if we did a good job on our newest Book App.
After working on Benny for a long time and feeling so proud and excited during the entire process, it now comes down to the nitty gritty bluntest truth of all, my son’s opinion.
Will he like Benny? Will he say “again!” over and over until I get sick of it? Let’s find out…
I put the iPad in his hands, he turns it on and immediately sees there is a new App on the horizon.
He can’t or refuses to make a puzzle but he knows how to maneuver the iPad and iPhone like it’s nobody’s business.
He starts playing, busily flipping pages, dragging and dropping, sliding, petting, tickling, searching and yes laughing… phf.. what a relief!
He doesn’t like it… he loves it! “Again..Again..Again” Aaah…music to my ears.
Our cute little Benny is obviously ready to make his debut and I can’t wait to hear some more feedback from all of you mothers out there!
This was KerenE staying in Touch(oo)
In this sweet interactive picture-book for the young ones, your child will join Benny the Cat in his daily activities, explore Benny’s world and find out how to take care of him.
Benny is a ginger cat with a fluffy tail and pointy ears. Your little one can play with him, choose his favorite food and make his bed so he can sleep as snug as a bug. Your child will love the colorful illustration but the feeling of communicating with Benny will take their enjoyment to a whole new level.
Features include:
- Hand-drawn, high definition illustrations
- Various narration options including the most fun: record yourself
- Control over sound effects
- Dynamic page turning
- Age-appropriate interactivity
Personal and social abilities nurtured by this book:
- Improving vocabulary
- Recognition of body parts
- Strengthening the perception of self
- Nurturing love for animals and encouraging taking care of another being
