Rendezvous with Readeo
By Karen Springen
Feb 25, 2010

So far four publishers—Candlewick Press, Simon & Schuster, Chronicle Books, and Blue Apple Books—are licensing titles to Chicago-based Readeo. In return, they receive an undisclosed percentage of Readeo's revenues-and expose their books to a new audience.


That audience appealed to publishers who heard Readeo's pitch. "Everyone who was in the room either could use it themselves or knew someone who could use it," said Paul Crichton, director of publicity for Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.


John Mendelson, senior v-p of sales and digital initiatives for Candlewick Press, isn't worried about cannibalizing his print stories for kids under eight. "New people might discover our titles through this platform and might discover they want the physical book for their home library," he said. "We see this as a new market for our books." He and other publishers are not signing exclusive deals with Readeo. "We see it as but one possible mate in the digital marketplace," said Mendelson.

Anyone with a webcam can test the site with a free look at Readeo's book of the month—Chris Van Dusen's The Circus Ship. So far only 35 other titles are available, to subscribers only. But Readeo plans to expand its offerings as it adds publishers and as its partners work through digital-rights issues.

Readeo's competitors include Ripple Reader, which launched last fall, and lets adults record picture books so kids can listen to their voices over and over again; and A Story Before Bed, which lets adults record audio and video of themselves reading picture books that kids can watch any time, and which recently signed a deal with San Francisco publisher Immedium.