Elly Book 8 Review

Elly Book 8 - “ the rainy day” is the latest delightful universal storybook, part of the “Elly the Reindeer” series of books. My son and Elly have been great friends for a long time now, and there is no greater surprise for my son than to be told I have a new “Elly” book to read to him. Marked Interactive hotspots are included with various sounds, bringing an added level of richness to these stories. For the first time in the “Elly” series, narration is included and is a nice choice to have, making this story accessible to pre-readers when looking at apps by themselves. Of course, this book can also be read out loud by a parent and would make a good first reader as well.

For those who do not know, the Elly books are simple, wonderful stories involving Elly the Reindeer and her tightly knit group of friends, both animal and human, as they have adventures together. I am glad that these stories revolve around the same group of friends, really teaching about friendship and socialization - important things to emphasize as my son will be going to preschool soon.

Here, Elly ventures out into the rain to look for her friends as they do not answer their phones. The ending is very sweet and speaks much about their tender friendships since the group finds their friends outside looking for each other as well.

When I first heard that Elly was going to have narration included in future books, I was honestly a little concerned that the narration was not going to meet my high expectations relating to everything Elly. I am very happy to report that the narration, performed by author Jon Higham's niece who is a drama student, is excellent and hits all the right notes, especially with the use of suspense clearly in her voice as Elly does not recognize a friend right away, and is aware that she is in the company of a possible stranger.

As my son gets older and ventures a few steps further on his own, without holding my hand, I plan on focusing on this moment of the story as Elly is being true to herself and her sense that something may not be right - even if just for a moment before all is well.

My son, in all honesty, has not allowed me to play this thoughtful narration for him. In no way is this a reflection of this app - simply that my son loves hearing me read the Elly books myself, and he does not want the precious time together to change. Like with all Elly books, one book lead to a full Ellyfest, reading many of her books back-to-back. My son did not say much as he listened to these stories about good friends and good times, but he had a huge smile on his face throughout these books and listened intently as I read. My boy finds these simple and sweet stories utterly satisfying, and I enjoy them as well.

Elly Book 8 - “Rainy Day” is a wonderful addition to the Elly library. I am happy to see such nicely done narration offered as I am not always around to read to my son when he wants me to. I hope there are more Elly stories to come; it is by far my son’s favorite series of ebooks, and he has decided that Elly lives in the park by our house and we now visit her often. Elly is family. We can’t wait for more.