Tag: Pre-school »

I'm going to come right out and say this. I love Sandra Boynton. To me, she is the most prolific children's story writers to come out in this generation, specifically for younger children. I put her alongside Dr. Seuss and Robert Munsch, and that's high praise.

"Moo, Baa, La, La, La" is produced by Loud Crow, the makers of the PopOut! book series (Peter Rabbit, Night Before Christmas, etc). Their books have been showcased by Apple for a reason, they are top notch in quality and production values. Designed to simulate a real "pop-up" type book, they include characters that spring when you touch them, tabs that move various parts of the book, and windows, doors and such that open and close. It really does give the books a tactile feel, and I honestly believe these books have more interactive elements than most on the app store.

It's clear that "Moo, Baa" is a silly book. It starts out normal, with a cow saying "Moo", a sheep saying "Baa", but the next page you lift up a curtain and it's 3 singing pigs saying "La, La, La!".

Like with most books in the app store, you can choose to read it yourself or have "The Big Guy Read it" for you. This book has an especially special narrator, Sandra Boynton's son, Keith (trivia fact, Sandra's middle name is Keith).

Inside, interaction ranges from touching Rinos to hear them Snort and Snuff, pulling back dogs like a slingshot to send them running at 2 cats saying "Meow". As the dogs leap after them, they leave their collars behind to hang in mid-air, a very cute touch.

Like most "board books", it's short, coming it at about 12 pages, but it's no slouch. Each page offers so much to the touch, almost everything you see does something, even if it's as little as a sound. My daughters spent probably twice as long enjoying the pages, the interaction, the art and the humorous sounds as they did of just the story. Hearing them laugh while touching each of the singing pigs at the start never gets old.

Now, the story itself is probably targeted to younger children around the age of 1 - 4, because of its simple language. The sentences are simple and they mostly consist of animal sounds except for the last of the book. It's a magical ending and one that will yield different results for everyone who reads it.

I would like to make it clear that even though the book is designed for younger children, you don't have to be young to enjoy it. My daughters are 6 and it is still one of their favorites. Because they're now fairly advanced readers, they're able to read the entire story easily and without having to struggle. In the path to learn how to read, I find this is far more important than pushing kids to read longer words before they're ready. I figure they'll probably be done with the book in a year, but between the physical book and this, I've gotten an easy 5 years out of it, not a lot of books that have that kind of staying power.

So, is "Moo, Baa, La, La, La" worth your $3? Yes, yes and yes. It's a simple story that's an amazing read for children, especially ones who are very young. It scales to older children who are learning how to read, and allows for easy comprehension. The app design is great, and the interaction is one of the best on the app store. You owe it to yourself, and your kids, to check it out.

"The Going to Bed Book" is one of two Sandra Boynton books available on the app store (the other is "Moo, Baa, La, La, La") and like "Moo, Baa" it is a fantastic book with top notch production value that takes a great story and adds some unique and wonderful interactive elements, making it a joy to read both as a parent and for our children.

"The Going to Bed Book" is produced by Loud Crow Interactive, the makers of the PopOut! series (Peter Rabbit, Night Before Christmas, etc). Loud Crow has been featured in the app of the week as well as New And Noteworthy because they're fantastic. They are designed to simulate a real "pop-up" type book, with characters that spring from the page, tabs to move back and forth, windows/doors to open. It really does give the books a tactile feel, and I honestly believe there is more interactivity in their books than almost any on the app store to date.

As with most of Sandra Boynton's books, they are very silly, and "Going to Bed" is no different. It's a story about a boat full of about 10 animals getting ready to go to bed. You get to follow them through quite a few different activities to get them there, starting with scrubbing them clean in the bath to scrubbing their teeth in the sink.

This interaction in the book is similar, in a very good way, to the PopOut! book series. There's not a single page that's left out from interaction. You can tilt your iPad and it'll swing a chain that's hanging, you can touch on an animal and they'll bounce like they're on a spring. Another you touch will squeak, moo or make some other sound. I hate to spoil this, but it's too good not to talk about... At one point in the bathroom, you get to turn on the hot water tap and very slowly and subtly, it starts to fog up the entire iPad screen. It's terrifically realistic and once it's done, you... I mean, your kids, get to use their fingers as a squeegee to clean off the screen. Yes, it's silly, but it's a really nice touch.

The story is about 13 pages long and allows you to either read it yourself or "Have the Big Guy Read It". The narrator is perfect as his voice is deep, warm and inviting, like the perfect grandpa. With the narration off, you can touch on each of the words to hear them spoken aloud, something I find important in the path to learning how to read.

On that note, the language in the book is very simple. There is more of a complete story here than you'll find in "Moo, Baa", but the language is still very easy to understand and comprehend. I'd still say the age range for the direct target would be 1 - 4, but I can confidently say that this would be a hit for children as young as 6 months to as old as 6 or 7 years old. My daughters still absolutely love it and I believe they will at 7, a testament to the quality of the story and humor.

It is clear by now that I'm smitten with these books. But it's not that I'm blinded by the author, if the books weren't good I'd be the first to say it. But they are good. No, they're great. They're experiences that shaped my daughter's early years of reading, and I hope that you'll find they do the same for yours, too.

iSee123 - A  Counting Adventure is a nicely animated interactive app that would be a good choice to introduce number recognition. Text, narration, numbers and animation are incorporated together to help kids learn their numbers and count from 1 to 10. The music and ocean sounds make the animated scenes peaceful and relaxing to watch. 

I am really impressed by the unique aquatic animals chosen, making it stand  apart from the usual barnyard-themed  applications.  My son (aged 2 1/2) has known his numbers for a long time but is still engaged. He quickly found the section of this app where he could just watch the animations and went through all 10 of them again, sitting quietly.  

Although great for number recognition as well as being beautiful and creative, many of the animations don't alone lend themselves well to counting. Before the animation begins, I would like to be able to touch and to count each animal as the narrator counts for me and then the animation should start. Having said this, I still recommend this app because of the peaceful sounds and intriguing animal choices. 

“Animals' World" is an interactive book app which introduces you to the sights, sounds, and other facts about animals.  Learn where these animals live by looking at a 3D globe,  or see how large they are in comparison to an average male adult. Tap on the animals to hear the noises they make.  You have the option of enlarging in order to see more detail as well. There are over 60 animals in Animals' World, and I find the sheer number to choose from  impressive. 

My son enjoyed scrolling through the animals, tapping them to hear their noises.  I showed him the other choices too, and he enjoyed making them bigger, but the other features did not grab his attention.  My husband, however, did enjoy the globe and scale.

I think kids of all ages will like this app, but they need to be older than my son (2 1/2) to fully enjoy it. I wish there was narration to explain more about what’s going on in the globe and scale areas to engage younger children. It’s probably best for grade school and up. 

"Let's Bead Friends" is an application that lets you design your own friendship bracelets and email them to friends, post to Facebook, or add them to your jewelry box.  This app is intuitive and easy to use. There are five basic shapes as well as a multitude of colors and designs to choose from.  When you are done beading, you can add a message charm such as “miss you” or customize your own and then send the bracelet on its way. 

I did not know if my 2.5 year old son's attention would hold, but he really enjoys this app.  After taking a moment to show him how everything works, he took over designing his own beads and the stringing of his bracelet. "Mom, I'm good as this," my son said, smiling.  It's really fun to see what shapes, colors, and designs he likes to choose, and he enjoys the sound effects and sparkles that play when your bracelet is done. There is also a button to tap to add more "fairy dust," and he taps this button often, saying "it's pretty." I would recommend this app to any child who is into crafts but also to crafty adults.

The duck is back! “Captain Duck” is a story book app based on the popular children’s book written and illustrated by Jez Alborough from HarperCollins Publishers.  “Captain Duck” is a continuation of  Alborough’s  book and iPhone app “Duck in the Truck.” This story begins where “Duck in the Truck” left off, with the duck out of the muck, but now his truck needs gas. He stops by his friend Goat’s house to borrow some, and along the way invites himself on a boating trip with his old friends from the first story. All I can say is that antics ensue, and it is great fun watching it all unfold.

My son may enjoy “Captain Duck” even more because there is some real slapstick humor happening and even some drama and suspense. Without giving anything away, there is a point in the story where the tone changes, my son’s eyes grow wide and he gets very quiet, extremely engrossed in the story. Beautifully illustrated and with a lot to tap on, the animals “speak” as they move across the screen, and there are many other ingenious sound effects as well. The  narration is superb, but you have the option of reading it yourself as well. If one is looking for an entertaining story book for an iPhone, I recommend “Captain Duck."