Games and Learning

Pablo the frog may show up in a lot more international markets thanks to this week’s deal.

The venerable publishing firm that for more than 130 years has published textbooks continued it digital revolution this week, acquiring the individualized learning system Curiosityville.

The financial details of the deal were not released, but the move comes only a few days after the publisher purchased Channel One, the news service for schools.

Curiosityville is a web-based service built using the science of brain development and with the concept of helping the youngest children begin to learn.

“If you can help a child learn to learn and in fact love learning at a young age, research has shown their trajectories were significantly greater than if you re-mediate at a later stage,” founder Susan Magsamen told Technically Baltimore last May.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt officials were quick to call the effort to beef up its early education offerings a core part of their business.

“We place enormous value in the impact of early childhood education, both at home and in pre-school settings, and believe that the incorporation of Curiosityville into our own robust offering for young learners will enable us to deliver a unique, engaging, research-based solution to parents and educators alike,” Linda Zecher, president and CEO of HMH, said in a statement.

Curiosityville charges $79 a year or $7.95 a month for up to four children in a family and it has drawn impressive reviews in the three years since it formed.

“Curiosityville’s learning activities, developed in accordance with several national standards-setting organizations, are soundly designed and age-appropriate; kids can learn from them,” Common Sense Media wrote in a review of the service. “The data collection engine is impressive…”

Throughout its work, Curiosityville has stressed its scientific basis, featuring neuroscientists and other academics in many of their promotional videos.

“Curiosityville bridges the gap between what is happening in science and what kids need to be successful,” Richard Huganir, a neuroscientist and investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, said in one video.

Now that mix of science and tools will now find a home in Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s international realm, potentially expanding the reach of the service to the 100 countries HMH serves.

“Curiosityville was created to bring together a collaborative and interactive community of families, educators and experts in the field of early learning,” Magsamen said in the joint statement. “With HMH, we have the opportunity to extend the reach of Curiosityville even further.” 

Magsamen launched the company in 2009 and has attracted nearly $5 million in funding from some of leading venture capitalists.