Once upon a time there was a book…

The objective of this thesis was to explore which products could cater to the requirements of the customer segments of children's book publishers, and how. Because of digitization, today's children are growing up with touch screen devices like the iPad, and apps. Children's publishers should anticipate these developments by innovating their business models. It was assumed that they could do so by reviewing their business models with the Business Model Canvas as a tool. There is not only one successful model, but there are several 'ingredients'' that could contribute to success. Interactivity is one element, like good content, flexible teams, and marketing- and tech-savvy staff. In order to jump to that conclusion, this thesis explored the four business model building blocks - Value, Customer, Production and Financial - of children's app publishers. The main question asked was: How can Dutch children's publishers create a successful business model for narrative children's iPad apps? They should start with approaching apps as new products. With the help of an exploratory research through ten expert interviews and case studies performed on ten "finalist apps", an insight is given in various business model elements that could contribute to a successful business model for children's iPad apps. The results of this research indicate that Dutch children's publishers are struggling with the Production and Financial blocks. These are seen as the most problematic, especially because of the time intensive and expensive production process. Children's publishers consider the need for tech-savvy third parties the biggest problem. On the contrary, the case studies demonstrate that these tech-savvy parties are responsible for making the finalist apps of the BolognaRagazzi Digital Award. Thus, intangible resources like knowledge and experience seem to play an important role in app production, because these can accelerate the production process and save costs by insourcing. The most important lesson to be learned from this thesis is that children's book publishers should decide whether they want to compete with these flexible tech-savvy companies or hire them for development. Book publishers should focus on their own advantages, like bigger budgets and networks. There are various possibilities for them to adapt; they can explore these possibilities by reviewing their business models.