Elly Book 9 Review

Elly Book 9 is yet another charming and delightful universal interactive ebook about Elly the reindeer and friends as they get ready for a costume party. Very nice narration is included as well as the option of reading this book to oneself and some fun interactive hotspots are also included, adding fun sounds to this lovely story.

My son is a huge fan of the Elly series, and this book is no exception. Halloween is right around the corner for us, and my son has been waiting to go trick-or-treating since the end of Halloween last year. This app is a cute and fun story about Elly and friends as they get their costumes ready for a party later that night, and it is very sweet indeed how these friends help each other out with home-made costume ideas. I love that these characters are each trying to dress up specifically in spooky costumes, iconic of the Halloween season that contain a perfect level of spookiness which is great fun but not at all scary.

Oftentimes there is a momentary bit of suspense within these tales; in this story, Elly comes across a bat she thinks she does not know, but it is in fact her dear friend Owl dressed up in a bat costume - a moment that my son really enjoyed as he at first became a bit quiet as he sees Elly come across the bat on her way to a friend's house, but he really smiled as he understood who this was and the costume that Owl was wearing.

There is always a wonderful social aspect to these stories, sharing and warm feelings in general towards each other are common themes in these stories. Here, Elly and the gang share fabric among themselves so that everyone can make a nice costume for the party. I like how Elly’s quest for a costume idea is not instantly figured out but is a work in progress throughout these pages until the end, as Elly takes her time to figure this out. She is not instantly gratified with an answer to her problem and is willing to graciously ask for help from loving friends, concepts I am happy for my son to be exposed to. It is also nice to see her help a friend with his costume as well.

Having made a pointy black hat early in this story and having gathered some black cloth as well, parents will not be surprised to see Elly ultimately dressed as a witch, but I think my son was wrapped up in this story, not knowing for sure what Elly’s costume was going to be until the end, which satisfied him nicely. Jon Higham’s illustrations are always darling, but I especially enjoyed seeing old friends dressed up in these very cute costumes, nicely disguising these familiar characters in ways that adults will appreciate - possibly even more than children will.

The narration delivered by Rose Higham is very nice as well, no surprise as I have been impressed with her narration of these “Elly”’ books before. However, I have to admit that my son still will have nothing to do with anyone but me reading him these books as he loves his “Elly time” that we spend together and is not looking to mix it up with another narrator. I would not be surprised, though, if he listened to this option when alone with the iPad or iPhone.

As with the other “Elly” stories, sound effects have been added, easily found at the outer corners of these pages. Although I enjoy hidden hotspots as well, I appreciate knowing where one can tap to hear these sounds as searching for hidden sounds can also be distracting, especially for younger children. It is also super-cute that the "Elly's theme" has been re-vamped here to have a spooky Halloween feel to it as well.

As with the other “Elly” books, Elly Book 9 would make a lovely first reader as well, especially to read to a younger sibling or friend. My son considers himself a great personal friend of Elly and her her cohorts as he has read many books about this gang and their adventures. I hope that as my son grows older, he has a group of friends like the characters found in these stories; truly nothing would make me happier.