Gus’ Little Coin Review

Posted by Amy Solomon on March 15th, 2012
+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Gus’ Little Coin is a very nice storybook that children will enjoy. Taking place in Paris, this tale revolves around the adventures of an anthropomorphic gold coin, named La Petite Pièce, part of the collection of coins a young boy, Gus, has obtained over time. One day, Gus decides to buy a donut with his favorite gold coin because he did not have any other money on him. The rest of this charming tale revolves around the adventures of La Petite Pièce as she travels to New York City and Brazil, having been given to a globe-trotting businessman as change made from the bakery that sold the donut to Gus.

I enjoy how involved this tale is, bringing this gold coin to interesting locations around the world, meeting other anthropomorphic coins with distinct personalities along the way until, and as luck would have it, this coin makes its way back to the pocket of the same businessman during his various travels, becoming once again change that he spends at the original bakery, allowing Gus to reclaim La Petite Pièce, adding her once again to his collection.

Children will enjoy the cyclical nature of this story. I do admit that as this tale began, I was not keen on Gus spending his favorite coin on a donut although doing so does create a nice set-up for this coin to go on an adventure. I am happy how this story redeems itself at the end, as Gus feels remorse for spending his coin on a donut, admitting that it did not even taste too good, presumably from the guilt he felt over his lack of impulse control, allowing parents to have open-ended conversations on why it was a poor choice to spend his coin, deep with sentimental value, on something as inconsequential as a donut.

The look of this app is colorful, and the included narration is enjoyable. It is also nice that both English and French versions are included within this application.

Without interactions, or even the need to turn pages (this happens automatically as the story is read by the narrator), this is a lovely story to sit back and simply enjoy. An index of pages is also included, always helpful especially in a longer story - this one lasting 16 minutes.

Mild animated elements are included that add to the richness of this tale, and four original songs included as well that are equally fun and engaging, introducing children to musicals in general - a nice touch that is not commonly seen in applications.

Gus’ Little Coin is good choice of storybook if one is looking for a tale for pre-school age or older children who have the attention span to follow La Petite Pièce on her travels - good to know as this fun story is a little more involved than other storybooks available.

iPhone Screenshots

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Gus’ Little Coin screenshot 1 Gus’ Little Coin screenshot 2 Gus’ Little Coin screenshot 3 Gus’ Little Coin screenshot 4 Gus’ Little Coin screenshot 5

iPad Screenshots

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Gus’ Little Coin screenshot 6 Gus’ Little Coin screenshot 7 Gus’ Little Coin screenshot 8 Gus’ Little Coin screenshot 9 Gus’ Little Coin screenshot 10
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