Kickstarter launches for interactive Amazon Diary hardcover with rainforest video

Photojournalist Mark Greenberg and illustrator Hudson Talbott are relaunching Amazon Diary: The Jungle Adventures of Alex Winters through a Kickstarter campaign for a premium hardcover edition. The book will use QR codes to unlock real Venezuelan rainforest video from seven spreads, adding a classroom-friendly interactive feature aimed at young readers and libraries. Why it matters: - The campaign aims to turn a long-acclaimed children’s book into a more durable hardcover edition with an interactive format that could appeal to families, teachers and school libraries. - The project also preserves Hudson Talbott’s final work on Amazon Diary after his death in January 2026. - The edition is built around real expedition footage, which sets it apart from heavily illustrated or digitally animated children’s books. What happened: - Mark Greenberg launched a Kickstarter campaign for Amazon Diary: The Jungle Adventures of Alex Winters on June 17, 2026. - The campaign seeks funding for a premium hardcover edition of the book. - The new edition includes QR codes that open real video footage from the Venezuelan rainforest. - The campaign link is the Kickstarter page . The details: - Amazon Diary was created after Greenberg and Hudson Talbott traveled deep into Venezuela’s rainforest on a humanitarian mission with an NGO serving the Yanomami. - The book follows Alex Winters through a diary-style adventure built from real photographs, hand-sketched pages and expedition-based storytelling. - Greenberg said every animal, river and encounter in the book comes from real expeditions. - The original book was published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons in the U.S. and Viking UK. - Steven Spielberg read an early manuscript copy and called it “Amazing.” - The new hardcover uses seven QR-coded spreads that link directly to video from the authors’ expeditions. - Greenberg said the photos and video are real and not AI-generated. - Greenberg’s earlier books, OBAMA: The Historic Front Pages and OBAMA: The Historic Presidency of Barack Obama, were both national best-sellers. - Greenberg described the hardcover as important for book-market adoption, legacy distributors and school libraries. - The fundraising goal also supports fulfillment and shipping to Kickstarter backers worldwide. - The campaign is meant to help launch future Diary Adventures, including the planned Emily Winters series set to begin at the new Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza. - Hudson Talbott was a prolific illustrator and the author of 28 children’s books. - Hudson Talbott’s legacy is highlighted at Hudson Talbott’s website . - A short film about the book and its interactive features is available on YouTube . - More information is available at the project website . Between the lines: - The relaunch leans on authenticity as its selling point, using real jungle footage and a humanitarian backstory instead of fictionalized adventure tropes. - The Kickstarter format suggests Greenberg is using direct fan and educator support to finance a premium production upgrade that traditional publishing may not fully underwrite. - Talbott’s death gives the campaign a memorial dimension that could resonate with longtime readers and children’s literature fans. - The book’s interactive design also appears aimed at keeping print relevant in a market crowded with screens and digital entertainment. What’s next: - Backers can fund the hardcover through the live Kickstarter campaign. - Greenberg says the videos have already been filmed and the book already exists, leaving production and distribution as the main remaining steps. - Greenberg also says Amazon Diary is the first chapter in a broader series of Diary Adventures. - Media inquiries, interview requests and review-copy requests can go through Mark Greenberg’s contact page . The bottom line: - Amazon Diary is being repackaged as a real-world adventure book for kids, with a premium hardcover and video extras designed to stand out in classrooms, libraries and gift markets.