Wanderful Acquires Licensing Rights to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Living Books

SAN FRANCISCO, June 6, 2012 – Wanderful, a new Bay Area-based technology firm, has secured licensing rights to global education leader Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s library of Living Books titles.

The beloved Living Books series, introduced by Broderbund Software in the early 1990s (and expanded through a joint venture with Random House at that time), defined the interactive storybook category, won numerous high-profile awards, and was a hit with parents, educators and students.

“Living Books has such an amazing legacy, remembered by children, trusted by parents and embraced by the educational community,” said Mickey W. Mantle, president and CEO, Wanderful. “The content of the Living Books series, as well as unmatched production values allowed us to create elegant, interactive-rich storybook applications for Mac and Windows computers that are still in use by teachers today, and we’re thrilled to have acquired the exclusive rights to this franchise from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.“

Wanderful, founded by technology veteran Mickey W. Mantle, delivers imaginative, engaging and easy-to-access experiences on the latest tablets, mobile phones and computers for young readers and pre-readers, inspiring them to explore the magical world of language. Mantle has a 40+ year track record of success in the software industry at companies including Evans & Sutherland (E&S), Pixar and Gracenote. His work includes notable achievements, such as managing development at Pixar of the Pixar Image Computer and RenderMan, the gold standard of 3D photorealistic rendering software that has been used on every Visual Effects Academy Award Winner for the past 15 years. In 1991, Mickey joined Broderbund Software as vice president of Engineering/CTO where he managed the company’s vast development organization that produced numerous award-winning PC and Mac games, such as Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, Kid Pix, Myst and Living Books.

Media Contacts:

Jim Hughes | Carol Lee

Rogers & Cowan

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