Searching for a new way to keep the kids entertained? Once Upon an App can probably help. The Winston-Salem-based company is taking timeless children’s tales and digitizing them into iPhone applications. Stories such as Humpty Dumpty and Little Miss Muffet are retold using rich illustrations, simple melodies, and interactive designs.

“People are happy to see that these stories aren’t being lost in time,” says Chris Jensen, one of three full-time employees at the company.

The idea started last spring when founder Libba Evans noticed a lack of apps for children on her new iPhone. After collaborating with a handful of local illustrators, narrators, musicians, and designers, Once Upon an App was born. The company started releasing apps to the public in late September, then watched as one its creations, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, shot to the top of iTune’s “What’ Hot” list in December.

Now, with download totals exceeding 10,000, company officials are looking to expand both locally and globally. They’re planning to release new apps each month in varying languages, and they’re also working with local authors who want their works digitized. As Jensen concludes, “We like to think we’re bringing the stories to a whole new generation.”

Apps typically cost 99 cents. For more information, go to onceuponanapp.com.