3 Little Pigs - Pop Up Adventure Review

3 Little Pigs - Pop Up Adventure is a fun, universal storybook app bringing another version of this classic story to devices.

The Three Little Pigs is on the short list of my son’s favorite stories, and we have read about their trials and tribulations as they try to make it on their own in the world in both classic book form, as well as in many storybook applications. This story has changed some from the original version first published in the 1840’s, usually letting all three pigs survive the wolf’s attempts on eating them. Today, this tale may be either very short, or longer depending on the amount of details included. I am happy that this version is longer, with some nice details about the building of the various houses as well as including the the moral that in more recent times been included in the telling of the Three Little Pigs, namely, doing your best.

Here, as the mother sends her sons out into the world, she reminds them of this moral, something I always appreciate when it is part of the story. I like that the tale also goes into detail about the construction of the pigs' houses, including how they obtained the raw materials and it is fun to watch the various constructions in action. I like that this app makes a point of the smartest pig learning how to build his own bricks in order to make a strong house, and then offers to share this information with his brothers when their houses get knocked down by the wolf.

The look of this app is also delightful; the pop-up qualities are very good here, and I like how at each page turn, the book being read closes and re-opens to the next page, with all the details folding and opening like a traditional pop-up book with very good effect. I am impressed with the world created here, as the rolling hills, wild flowers, and other details that can be seen in the distance give this app the feeling of depth. This all looks great on the iPad, but the details, as well as the text look a little small on the screen of the iPhone. I am glad that turning off the words - which highlight when read - is an option. One can tap on the characters as well for basic sounds and movements, and it is a nice touch that one can blow the houses down along with the wolf by blowing into their device's microphone. This is yet another lovely adaptation of this classic story that both my son and I enjoy. I hope to see more stories like this from the developers at Coleco.