A Jazzy Day - Music Education Book for Kids Review

A Jazzy Day is a lovely universal interactive educational storybook that teaches children about the instruments used to play jazz music. Narration is included as well as the ability to read this book by oneself.

Children will enjoy how this app opens up one morning as a daddy cat wakes up his two kitten children early to spend the day learning about jazz, taking a trip to hear Big Band music, meeting musicians and learning about their instruments. The illustrations are cute and include watercolor details that are always appealing. Mild interactive hotspots are also included that will trigger banter and subtle movements from these characters with the tap of a finger.

Soon, the jazz instruments are introduced. I really like the different sections and instruments found here such as the Rhythm or the Bass Section which are articulated with both words, illustrations and animated moments when instruments are tapped, allowing children to see and hear these instruments being played.

I enjoy how animals are used as the musicians such as trumpet-playing dogs, trombone-playing mice or saxophone-playing goats. Really cute details are also included, such as head-nodding or toe-tapping and tail-wagging as the animals perform, really getting into the playing of their music, as well as individual fingers strumming the bass, pressing the keys of a flute or trombone with the chest moving in and out the way one would expect, as well as other charmingly accurate details within these illustrations.

There is a nice interactivity found within this section as children can trigger these animal musicians to play their instruments, but I especially like being able to tap to play the vibraphone - a favorite instrument of mine.

I enjoy how these animals are styled to be very cool as the cat dad wears his red beret to the jazz hall. The other animals wear hip hats or sunglasses or the like, making them look jazzy themselves.

The included instrument sounds are great as well and have been recorded by professional musicians - a nice touch.

Some other sections are included, allowing players to tap to hear the sounds of the instruments as well as to move them around the page and stretch them with their fingers to enlarge them to see details.

I also enjoy the two games: “Find the instruments” where one is asked to find the instrument in question from a page of instruments as well as “Which instrument sounds like this?” where an instrument sound is played that one needs to match to the correct picture. I found these sections nicely done, but I wish it were easier to choose either game because as of now, a tap will bring players to either game rather randomly.

There is also a section that reinforces the names of letters found in these instruments, such as “p” for “piano or “c” for clarinet.

I really appreciate that this app has chosen to focus on jazz music as the other music apps I have seen through iTunes tend to be focused on classical music appreciation instead. For this reason and more, I can easily recommend Jazzy Day for toddlers and the preschool set.