Millie’s Book of Tricks and Treats Review

Millie’s Book and Tricks or Treats is a application starring little dog Millie, now in a Halloween-themed interactive activity book, part of the “Millie was Here” series of apps that children love - here a universal application.

My son and I have had a lot of fun with the first two apps in this series, each wonderfully juxtaposing tall tales about Millie’s greatness with photos and video clips of the simple and sweet truth behind these grandiose claims. Having heard about a new Halloween-themed app from this series, I knew this was something I wanted to review based on how much my son enjoys Millie’s adventures.

This app is super-cute, and it would take a person with a heart of stone not to smile at this application. Here, help Millie fill her bag of treats as she goes door to door trick-or treating in her neighborhood. Each door visited is nicely decorated with Halloween decorations that children will enjoy, each with its own theme such as witches or vampires that have some fun, visual elements but are never remotely intense or scary.

It is really fun to knock on these doors or ring the doorbell, prompting the door to open to a spilling wheel-of-fortune which lands on a thrilling “Tricks" or “Treats” that Millie performs which kids will enjoy. A "trick" typically entails a trick that Millie has mastered, in her own silly, stylized and lovingly absurd way, such as mooing like a cow, running faster than a cheetah or drinking through a straw. Treats here focus on Millie’s favorite food, bacon, such as a bacon picnic or a birthday cake (with bacon). I love the use of video clips within these apps, as these clips found behind a closed door to be opened truly make Millie look as if she is within these apps with great effect. It is also good to know that over 40 video choices are included within this app that takes MIllie to 10 homes in her neighborhood, creates an experience with this app is never exactly the same - great for re-reading this interactive tale all year long, well past Halloween season.

Also nice is that every page there is also a photo to discover of Millie wearing one of her Halloween outfits. Uncover this image by scratching the top surface with the swipe of a finger to find this mystery photo.

Stickers are found on every page as well. Search high and low, tapping all over to find them, and note that in a pull-up menu from the bottom of the screen, one can see a simple outline one is looking for. Even with this information, I was not able to find all of these stickers, kind of a bummer, and it would be nice in a future update to add a hint option among these pages.

Like the first two apps, the included narration is wonderful, as is the music used - both elements wonderfully found in the first two apps - but here the music has a fun Halloween sound as well, in keeping with the theme of this book. It is also good that the narration explains exactly how to use this book - already an intuitive experience that kids will adore and have no problems exploring on their own, and it is nice that a menu of pages is included here as well.

Another interesting feature is that each app in this series includes a “Bedtime Mode” that silences loud noises and dims the screen a bit to create a less-stimulating experience when used as a bed-time story - a very thoughtful inclusion to say the least.

I can’t imagine a young child or dog lover who would not thoroughly enjoy this or the first two “Millie” apps. This is a simply delightful series of apps that all ages will enjoy, and a Halloween app one can buy with confidence knowing that there is nothing included here which could remotely scare the youngest or most sensitive children.