How young is too young when it comes to owning a cell phone? The number seems to be dropping, and will likely continue along that path. Particularly when a kid’s favorite fairytales are presenting as iPhone apps. 

 

Buddy the Bus, a series of stories targeting children ages 4 to 6, are in fact available in hard copy. But they are most popular as an iTunes download.

 

“At first, it was just a fun little idea,” said Brian Jones, the North Beverly resident who has authored the children’s book series. “I had no idea it would take off like this.”

 

Jones, whose background is in advertising, embarked on the project with a coworker.

 

“We worked together in an ad agency,” said Jones. “I did the creative stuff while he ran the tech side of things.”

 

When their agency was bought out several years ago, both men were contemplating what to do next. It was at that point when Jones’ coworker suggested they write a book.

 

“He’d started developing technology for the iPhone,” said Jones, “and suggested we write some kind of book that could be marketed as an application.”

 

Both Jones and his former coworker had young families at the time, so a children’s book seemed to make sense.

 

“I wrote the first Buddy story on the train ride home from work,” said Jones. “Within two weeks, it was available for download on iTunes.”

 

The book was unveiled in October 2007. Jones priced the app at $2.99 and waited to see what would happen. But not much did. 

 

“It didn’t sell very well at first,” he said. “That didn’t surprise me, though, with all the free apps out there.”

 

After a few weeks with little progress, Jones and his partner decided to put Buddy the Bus out there as a free download. 

 

“That’s when things really picked up,” said Jones. “Within a couple of days, the book was listed among the Top 20 iPhone apps in the United States.”

 

It was listed among the Top 10 apps in many European countries, and was tagged as a Feature Download on Germany’s iTunes page.

 

“Our popularity overseas had to do with the fact that we made the book available in six different languages,” said Jones. “That was important to me – I feel it’s good for kids to be exposed to a language other than their own.”

 

And that’s not the only unique feature of Buddy the Bus. When downloaded onto an iPhone or iTouch, readers can press a finger to the screen to make the text disappear. This leaves only the image and allows readers to manually record their own version of the story.

 

“This is a great option for parents,” said Jones. “Not just because you get to have variety of plot, but because your child can hear your recorded voice telling the story. This is particularly beneficial to parents who travel and are forced to be away from their kids for any period of time.”

 

Since its original premiere on iTunes, there have been nearly 60,000 downloads of Buddy the Bus, and Jones has created two additional Buddy stories. Two of the three stories are available as 99 cent downloads and the third is set to arrive soon. The more traditional reader can purchase the hard copy versions at Amazon.com.

 

The series regales readers with the adventures of Buddy, a busy bus about town. Whether he is driving his friends to work, getting caught in a thunderstorm, or helping some tired reindeer pull Santa’s sleigh, Buddy provides young readers with entertainment, as well as a valuable lesson. 

“Every Buddy story has a moral,” said Jones, “and kids seem really to enjoy the character.”

 

In fact, online reviews of Buddy the Bus have been excellent. Jones plans to begin work on a fourth story shortly, and hopes that the online success of Buddy the Bus will lead to a relationship with a reputable children’s book publisher. 

 

For more information on Buddy the Bus or to download the series, visit www.iorbi.com.