Fable: The Doves and the Hunter HD Review
Fable: The Doves and the Hunter is a nice interactive storybook, with versions available for both iPad as well as iPhone. This is the second app from this developer based on a story from The Panchatantra, a famous series of short stories from India which dates back to the 3rd Century BC. Much like Aesop’s fables, these tales are told from the point-of-view of members of the animal kingdom and include important moral messages.
This specific story is about a flock of doves and how, with teamwork they outsmart a hunter looking to capture these doves. Although it is obvious that the hunter is out to do them harm, the level of intensity never becomes overwhelming - good to know as these types of fables can get rather dark for some children.
Interestingly, these apps are stories within a story, each beginning with children Ravi and Sheila interacting with their grandparents, who here read from The Panchatantra to them at a park. In many ways, this app is a continuation of the first ebook as there is less setup about the relationship of these characters, but I think kids could easily enjoy this app on its own merits without having read the first application and I like how here, the story jumps in more quickly to the tale about the doves and the hunter.
As with the first app, I appreciate how the style changes from the look of the day in the life story of Ravi and Sheila to when the telling of the fable begins, as as these illustrations from The Panchatantra are bright, colorful and very well stylized. Do search for hidden interactions within this app, our personal favorite being the sounds of these doves to be heard with a tap. They sound very good here and surprised my son the first time he heard them, in a good way.
After this tale is complete, this app takes its focus back to Ravi, Sheila and family where they discuss the moral of this story in a way that is a little on-the-nose for my taste but informative for children, I am sure.
We enjoy both of these apps based on stories from The Panchatantra, a set of tales I don't think my son would be exposed to if not for these apps. I look forward to see if these developers add any new stories to this nicely done series of applications.