When Pinwheel Books, an independent publisher of childrens books in Brookline, MA, was looking for an economic way to turn its books into animated apps, there weren’t many encouraging alternatives. The small company wanted to make high-quality, fun and interactive apps but it could not pay the thousands of dollars per project that third-party developers were quoting.

Luckily, the company found a powerful alternative and has now joined a growing number of children’s books creators harnessing the power of user-friendly software to create professional-looking animated books. The company has now launched its first interactive book, titled Sam and Ben. “This project has been an incredible adventure for us,” says Sylvia Pag