iOS

Frederick Thomas Children's Book

Frederic Thomas Children’s Books sparks curiosity with its Seek & Find with Freddy and Ellie® series, blending storytelling and discovery for young readers. To bring this experience to iOS, they partnered with Noble to create an interactive Animal Town app, letting kids explore the whimsical world of Freddy and Ellie on iPhones and iPads anywhere.
Frederick Thomas Children's Book App

Solving the Business Problem

While the Seek & Find books are beloved by families and educators, FTCB saw an opportunity to expand their impact by entering the digital space. Their goal was to create a fun, repeatable mobile experience that retained the tactile joy of their books, but added the magic of animation, sound, and gameplay mechanics that kids love.

The challenge: design and develop an iOS app that was interactive, intuitive, and flexible enough to grow with future books—starting with Animal Town. The app needed to be easy for kids to use independently while incorporating clear guidance for grown-ups when in-app purchases were available. And, most importantly, it needed to reflect the warmth and playfulness of the original books.

Noble's Collaboration

Noble partnered with FTCB to turn the Animal Town experience into a fully interactive mobile app. Starting from the proof-of-concept scene, “The Park,” Noble designed and developed a beautiful iOS app that introduced three additional scenes from the book series—each available through a kid-friendly in-app purchase system.

The app features:

  • A home screen with four illustrated scenes, including one free scene and three unlockable scenes
  • Drag-and-drop Seek & Find gameplay, where kids match items to hidden locations in richly illustrated environments
  • In-scene animations and sound effects for both correct and incorrect guesses
  • Visual progress indicators, including timers, fastest times, greyscale completion icons, and reset options
  • A secure and intuitive purchase flow, with child-appropriate language and Apple’s built-in parental purchase controls
  • Playful, branded UI design, inspired by freddyandellie.com, and optimized for both iPad and iPhone

Freddy and Ellie’s personalities shine through in every detail—from friendly celebratory messages to charming animations that reward curiosity and attention to detail. The app was developed with scalability in mind, ensuring that additional scenes, books, and products can be added in future updates.

Project Importance

Seek & Find with Freddy and Ellie® is more than a game—it’s a digital doorway into the world of early discovery. The app gives young users a sense of accomplishment and wonder, while reinforcing object recognition, focus, and memory. For FTCB, the app is a natural extension of their mission to create meaningful, screen-smart content for children and families.

With Noble’s help, Frederic Thomas Children’s Books has taken its first step into the app marketplace with a thoughtful, expandable platform that brings the beloved book series to life—scene by scene, smile by smile.

Screens

Noble Applications