Jörgits & the End of Winter – Interactive Book

The Jörgits and the End of Winter is a novel that explores global warming through lovable aliens. A humorous and smart cultural critique for kids nine and up. The app was created by Anders Sandell, a Finnish-born designer who grew up in Hawaii. This book introduces kids to cultures around the world.

Jöerg, the home planet of the Jörgits is getting colder and luckily they have found a planet that is warm. They plan a mission to Earth and the idea is to land on the Hawaiian Islands. But the aliens crash outside Helsinki in the middle of winter.

This novel uses the interactivity as a supplement to the story, which contains substantial text. Many of the pages have only text but the 160 pages novel provides the reader with a chance to dive into audiovisual adventures. Visualisation is a vital part of reading experience and this app has a story that can stand on its own. 

Yet the interactive elements transform the reading into a richer experience by expanding the story and providing background and context to the story. For example, key places that the Jörgits visit ca we found in the Helsinki City Map. The Jörgits have Twitter accounts, you can read their tweets about things they care about. Ah,  something smells nice!  Piparkakut, or Finnish Gingerbread cookies – you find the recipe in the book.  Warmly recommended.

Go here for a recipe on Piparkakut. This photo is not from the book.

Photo: “Girl Eating Raspberries” by Michal Marcol