PK-12 e-Book Provider Tumblebooks Launches Facebook App

TumbleBooks Library, a collection of e-books suitable for children in pre-kindergarten to grade twelve, has recently released a Facebook app. From @TumbleBooks:

As of February 25, 2011,  you can access TumbleBooks via their classic browser-based model, by purchasing and downloading mobile apps and now through Facebook. A quick look at this free app reveals:

• Access eText in the following formats: Audiobooks, EBooks, Read Alongs and TumbleBooks.
• Sort by Title and Author.
• Preloaded library of a variety of eBooks.
• Ability to SHOP and add new titles to the MY SHELF section of the app.
• Post reviews, comments and recommends to your Facebook wall.
• Invite your Facebook friends to the app.

This is certainly an interesting development in the eBook arena. TumbleBooks are clearly targeting the middle-high school demographic with this initiative, and understandably so, since 13 is the official age at which a person is allowed to create their own Facebook account. Stats from January of 2010 show that 13-17 year olds made up about 11% of the 103 million Facebook users in the U.S.

What remains to be seen is whether teenagers will embrace and enjoy this app, how widely used it will become, how teachers can leverage the app to create blended learning experiences for students, and, probably most important, how eager teens will be to pay to add new eBooks to their Facebook TumbleLibrary.

What do you think?