"It's an extremely clever invention."
That's the jury's take on Besties, a line of cardboard figures that, when activated, activate an audiobook.
The idea behind Besties is to "stimulating children's imagination, it reduces screen time, and it connects audio to retail," the jury writes at the Amsterdam-based Groep Algemene Uitgevers association, per Gizmodo.
Besties will receive $10,732 as part of this year's Innovation Prize from Maven Publishing and Besties.
The other winner, Innovation in the Classroom from Hebban, will receive $2,683, per Gizmodo.
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Vandana Shiva, a scientist and environmentalist known for her activism against GMOs, globalization, and patents on seeds and traditional foods, co-founded Navdanya.