The launch of Bud-e Digital’s literacy app and lavish new series
of illustrated children’s books was always going to be a special occasion, but
no one could have predicted how unique it would be.
Bud-e Director and Sales & Marketing publishing specialist,
Tracy Strudley (formerly with Reed) said “After 18 years in educational
publishing I have never seen an RSVP list like this. I’m not aware of any New
Zealand publisher having new overseas distributors present at a launch nor have
I seen one supported by an Embassy.” She went on to say, “This is
testament to the rigour in the development of Bud-e Digital and print,
testament to the great need for comprehensive material like this for beginning
readers and testament to New Zealand’s fine international reputation in
producing such materials.”
Bud-e was formally launched by National Party MP, Ms Melissa Lee, on
Tuesday evening at the home of Bud-e, funky gaming studio Custard Square, in
Auckland’s Kingsland. Ms Lee paid tribute to the uniqueness of Bud-e and New
Zealand’s fine reputation in producing such products. As did the Hon Steven
Joyce and Hon Nikki Kaye, both of whom offered extended warm praise and good wishes
for the future success of Bud-e.
Joyce framed his response by writing an open letter to Jill Eggleton,
in which he said: “I would like to
acknowledge Jill Eggleton and her team for the good work they are doing in
promoting literacy. I understand you had support from Callaghan
Innovation to develop your first prototype. It is great to see how you have
used this support as a springboard to compete on the world stage. The export
potential of Bud-e is promising and I will watch the growth of the company with
interest.”
The
launch was packed to the rafters with more than 100 guests, including foreign
dignitaries, Her
Excellency Dato' Kim Eng Lim, High Commissioner, Malaysian Embassy; Ms Rani
Burchmore who heads up Microsoft Asia Pacific and flew in from Singapore; Asian
distributors; representatives from Callahan Innovation and the Marie Clay
Literacy Trust; parents and their children. As
the wine and juice flowed, conversation was animated and a troupe of gorgeous child
helpers kept guests refreshed with generous trays of crostini with delectable
toppings and sushi. The finale
was the signing of publishing contracts with representatives from Danalis
Distributor (Malaysia) and Book H (Korea). From here, Bud-e
will be rolled out to many other key global markets, including Australia, South
Africa and North America.
The launch was ably MC’d by the silver-tongued Sam Elworthy, PANZ
President and Director of AUP, who expertly juggled the many and varied
elements of the launch, including a Maori welcome led by Brian Morris from Huia Publishers; a Kapa
Haka performance by local school children; a presentation by Bud-e Director,
author and literacy educator, Jill Eggleton; and an appearance by the animated
character of Bud-e himself, who welcomed us all to his world.
Bud-e is a unique, compelling and comprehensive literacy app. The
quest to get Bud-e home to Bubblo motivates children to take a literacy journey
that is fun and exciting. Bud-e exposes children to 60 books that focus on high
frequency words, the words that children need to have on board the enable them
to progress in reading, focuses on comprehension strategies, 22 poems, 13
songs, phonic knowledge, phonemic awareness and much more all in one app. It
adheres to curriculum requirements all over the world.
Bud-e has been
reviewed and endorsed by highly-regarded educationalist, Dr Libby Limbrick, MNZOM, who says: “It is
evident that the Bud-e Reading programme is informed by a robust theory of
literacy development; the content and structure provide sound, research-based
experiences to support the development skills and knowledge which are validated
by a wide body of research as essential for early literacy development; and is
consistent with the Core Standards expected to be achieved by the end of the
kindergarten year at school.”
Bud-E Digital was founded in 2014 by Directors Chris Bulman, Jill
Eggleton and Tracy Strudley. Between them, they have many years of experience
in the fields of education, publishing and technology, where they have held key
positions of influence. For more, check out: http://www.bude.club/.
Bud-e products
will be available for sale in bookshops and e-tailers nationwide from April 17,
2015. The free to download Bud-e Digital app can be downloaded by clicking: https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/bud-e-reading/id949639782?mt=8. The Bud-e app
and associated games are supported by all major tablet devices (Windows Tablet,
iOS and Android).
Jill Eggleton (Bud-e Director) and Graham McEwan, World Wide Chairman of
The Marie Clay Literacy Trust (Reading Recovery)
Melissa Lee, Chris
Bulman (Bud-e Director), Her Excellency Dato' Kim Eng Lim, High Commissioner,
Malaysian Embassy, Nordawama Ahmad Ali (MD, Danalis Distributors), Tracy
Strudley (Bud-e Director), Jill Eggleton
Bud e Kapa Haka performance viewed by dignitaries (seated) and Brian Morris, Huia Publishers (standing)
Attentive audience.
Attentive audience.
Launch
report: Sarah Thornton, Thornton Communications, www.prcomms.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment