Rick Richter's digital publishing venture, Ruckus Media, today is releasing its first author-centric app, A Present for Milo, and its creator has landed a three-book deal. The app, which follows the titular mouse being chased by a cat throughout a house, has earned its author/creator, Mike Austin, a three-book deal with Blue Apple Books. Agent Rubin Pfeffer closed the deal for Austin, and the first book, scheduled for fall 2011, is a lift-the-flap title.
The app, which will retail for $1.99 during its first two weeks in the App Store, follows Milo as he's being chased by a cat throughout a house, and features more than 80 tappable objects and 125 animations. The app also includes text that users can read along to as they tap on objects and follow the animation.
Richter said his company is "especially proud of the app because the design is intuitive, anticipating where the young child will want to interact with the story. . .It’s the perfect combination of a high quality story, told just right for the 2-5 year old set, that fully engages the child on mom’s or dad’s lap as well as the independent reader. And it’s this synthesis that caught the attention of a top children’s book publisher and led to our first app-to-children’s book deal.”
