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Englewood, NJ April 26, 2012 – Workman Publishing, together with award-winning digital studio Dreamkind, will release an iPhone, iPad, iPod, NOOK Tablet and NOOK Color app for the beloved children’s series Brain Quest, in celebration of the line’s twentieth anniversary. The app will be available in the iTunes Store and in the Barnes & Noble NOOK Store on April 26th. Brain Quest, the game that gives kids a smart start is currently America’s #1 bestselling educational brand with 36 million copies sold. The app will bring Brain Quest’s signature question-and-answer format to life through the elements of interactivity and exploration.  Rich in content, educational and entertaining, the app will appeal to a wide audience of users.

“It’s incredibly exciting to see Brain Quest come alive in this new form, even as the series continues to make learning fun for children of all ages… as it has now for twenty years and counting,” said Bob Miller, Group Publisher, Workman Publishing.  “Now kids can go beyond the format of the original decks and workbooks to move through a variety of imaginary worlds in game form.  It’s as addictive as sugar… but won’t hurt their teeth!”

“Part of the mass appeal of the Brain Quest series is that each question is an opportunity to discover a new fun fact,” said Matt Cohen, Dreamkind’s Director of Business Development & Marketing. “The new Brain Quest app will tap into that sense of discovery by taking kids on an exciting journey – to desert islands, mysterious caves, and even outer space – all while they play an engaging and entertaining trivia game.”

The app will launch on iPads, iPhones, and iPods with a free gaming platform for grades 1-5 featuring 100 questions for each grade. Users can then extend their experience with downloadable expansion packs featuring new questions and adventures, with 600 questions and 28 levels per grade. With Casey, Jake, and Gizmo by their sides, kids can sail through the wisdom islands, trek through a snowy mountain pass, or launch into a space voyage—all while honing their skills in math, science, language, and history. For the Barnes & Noble NOOK Tablet and NOOK Color, users can download free trials.

An immersive environment and short, playable rounds will have kids itching to complete the journey and rack up the rewards. Simple, intuitive swiping and finger-tapping lets kids play independently. The app tracks scores for up to three people, which means fun for the whole family. Each round can be played multiple times for a mix of review material and new questions, and for extra difficulty, kids can try to collect all 84 coins in their grade level.

Featuring fun and challenging curriculum-based questions, graphics and soundscapes, and a trio of friendly companions, it’s the app that turns learning into a game!

For 20 years, Brain Quest has been adored by kids, trusted by parents, and approved and used by teachers. Comprised of question-and-answer decks and workbooks for children ages 2-13, Brain Quest content is based on the latest state and national curriculum standards and approved by an advisory board of Milken award-winning educators. Based on the stuff kids need to know when they need to know it, Brain Quest shows kids that it’s not only fun to be smart, it’s smart to be smart. In addition to the release of the app, the line celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2012 with a revised 4th edition supported by a million-dollar, year-long marketing campaign that features a partnership with Chrysler.

The Brain Quest app can be downloaded from the Apple and Barnes & Noble app stores by visiting this address: http://dreamkind.com/brainquestapp beginning April 26th.

About Workman Publishing (http://www.workman.com)
Workman is the creator of award-winning calendars, cookbooks, parenting/pregnancy guides, and fun, educational children’s titles, as well as gardening, humor, self-help, and business books. From our What to Expect series and Page-A-Day Calendars to the iconic 1,000 Places to See Before You Die and Gallop!, the one-of-a-kind, moving picture book for kids, our products inspire readers. The Workman Publishing Company also includes Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, Artisan, HighBridge Audio, Storey Publishing, and Timber Press. In addition, Workman is the distributor for Black Dog & Leventhal, Greenwich Workshop Press, and Fearless Critic Media.

About Dreamkind  (http://www.dreamkind.com)
Dreamkind is an award-winning digital studio that develops apps, online games, animations, websites, and social media initiatives. Dreamkind has developed apps in partnership with Sesame Workshop, the United States Department of Defense’s Centers of Excellence, the United Nations World Food Program, ALEX Toys, and many others. Dreamkind also develops top-ranking apps under its brand, including Office Riot and Frankenstein Matchmaker. Dreamkind is committed to children’s education and well-being and donates 10% of its profits to various children’s charities.

Contact
Noreen Herits, Workman Publishing, (212) 614-7775, brainquestpr@workman.com
Matt Cohen, Dreamkind, (201) 541-5557, info@dreamkind.com

Englewood, NJ November 17, 2011 - Dreamkind developed Feel Electric!, a mobile app for Sesame Workshop’s The Electric Company. The free app uses videos, music, games, activities, and original content from The Electric Company to encourage children to explore and express their emotions. The app is built around an emotional curriculum designed to help children of U.S. Military Families understand and discuss complex feelings. Throughout the app, Feel Electric! addresses important and potentially sensitive issues in a way that is both accessible and enjoyable for children.

The Feel Electric! app features:

• Hosts: Special appearances from The Electric Company characters Jessica Ruiz and Danny Rebus who guide users through the app and encourage them to share their feelings
• My Stuff: A media center where users can browse videos, music, and photos from The Electric Company or make and save their own pictures and videos
• The Moodosphere: A virtual journal where kids can record their moods
• Mood Tales: A silly story maker
• My Games: Three arcade-style vocabulary-building games
• The Mood Dude: An avatar maker where kids make characters to match their moods
• What’s the Word?: A glossary that defines and acts out 50 different emotions

The Feel Electric! app is part of Sesame Workshop’s Military Family Initiative, the latest phase of which is called Military Families Near and Far. It was produced in cooperation with the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury.

Feel Electric! is currently available for iPhones, iPods, and iPads and can be downloaded for free from the App Store. A version for Android devices will be released soon.

About Dreamkind
Dreamkind is an award-winning digital studio that develops apps, online games, animations, websites, and social media initiatives. Dreamkind has developed apps in partnership with Sesame Workshop, the Defense Centers of Excellence, the United Nations World Food Program, Workman Publishing, ALEX, and many others. Dreamkind also develops top-ranking apps under its brand, including Office Riot and Frankenstein Matchmaker. Dreamkind is committed to children’s education and well-being and donates 10% of its profits to various children’s charities.

Arlington, VA November 5, 2011 - Sesame Street and The Electric Company unveiled a new collection of resources for military families today at a launch celebration at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall. These innovative materials, produced by Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street and The Electric Company, are designed to help elementary school-aged children and families stay connected and communicate during times of tremendous change and uncertainty.

• FamiliesNearAndFar.org - a free bilingual website designed for military families
• Feel Electric! - a free mobile app, available on the App Store, that encourages children to explore and express their emotions
• The Electric Company Magazine Special Edition for Military Families
• The Electric Company Extended Learning Program – afterschool tools for educators, filled with literacy and math-based lesson plans, games, activities and tips.

Content will be distributed beginning in mid-November through multiple military channels, including Department of Defense Education Activity Educational Partnership Program, Boys & Girls Clubs of America-affiliated Youth Centers and other programs that support military families.

Families who attended the celebration on Nov. 5 were greeted by Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Commander, Colonel Carl R. Coffman, Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Principal Director of Military Community and Family Policy, Charles Milam, Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Director, Navy Captain Paul S. Hammer, and Sesame Workshop president and CEO, H. Melvin Ming. Families experienced interactive performances by Sesame Street and Electric Company characters, explored the Military Families Near and Far website and the free Feel Electric! mobile app; as well as participated in other family fun activities. In addition, families saw the debut of the new “Let It Out” music video, which further supports self-expression and feelings vocabulary.

To date, Sesame Street’s military families initiative has provided significant resources for military families with preschool children experiencing the effects of deployments, when a parent returns home changed because of a combat-related injury and coping with the death of a loved one. With the help of The Electric Company, this new phase expands efforts to reach elementary school kids, 6 to 9 years old, find the right words to express their emotions as they experience difficult military transitions.

“Sesame Street and The Electric Company are thrilled to introduce Military Families Near and Far, which expands our Military Families Initiative to elementary school children and their parents,” said H. Melvin Ming, president and CEO of Sesame Workshop. “During this month of the military family, I can’t think of a better way to renew our commitment to military families and to let them know we care and are here to help.”

“The latest addition to the Sesame Street materials for military families, Military Families Near and Far, is a tremendous resource for our military families. These new tools will continue to help parents and kids connect, share, thrive and learn different ways to become more resilient as a military family,” said Navy Capt. Paul S. Hammer, Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury director.

For more information about this initiative, visit FamiliesNearAndFar.org or contact Pam.Hacker@sesame.org.

About Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit 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. 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 The Electric Company
The Electric Company recently received a 2011 Parents’ Choice Gold Award for Children’s Television, a 2011 Webby Award nomination for Best Youth Site and won two 2010 Silver Telly Awards for Online Video in the categories of Children’s Audience and Education. The Electric Company and “Prankster Planet” are part of Ready To Learn, a joint initiative of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS, and funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Ready To Learn is a national initiative focused on using public media content to improve math and literacy skills of children ages two to eight, especially those from low-income families.