Category: Reading »

The Adventures of Captain Underpants is a very nice adaptation of the book of the same name - a popular choice among grade school children.

I can remember learning how to read in school, mainly how bored I was by the early reader titles that were made available. Although not specifically “Dick and Jane,” the stories I remember were so simplistic, uninteresting and genteel that they were on the verge of being condescending, without any humor or action to keep me engaged.

Because of this, I am always on the look out for beginner books that will keep my son interested when he begins to read books longer than sparsely worded picture books.

For this reason, I have been eager to share The Adventure of Captain Underpants with him for quite some time as I bought many of these books used from this series from our local library when he was a baby.

The Adventures of Captain Underpants is a cheeky story about two friends who love to pull pranks at school as well as writing comic books, especially The Adventures of Captain Underpants, about a super hero who actually flies around in his underwear.

Things become complicated for the boys when they are caught pulling pranks at their school by their principal, who blackmails them until they are able to hypnotize their principal, yet things take a turn for the worse as the principal takes on the persona of Captain Underpants.

There is a lot that I appreciate about the digitization of this book, as here the story is told in full color instead of the black and white used in my copy of the paperback edition. Even with the color added to these illustrations, the images and text remain the same. Yet very good narration is included which I enjoy a great deal.

The words are not highlighted when read which I find acceptable as most children ready for this story should be able to read along with the text without highlighting assistance.

What I especially like about the narration provided is that different voices are used when dialogue is spoken, breaking up the page a bit to keep kids interested, as well as the slight but effective use of ambient sounds found among these pages. The narration can also be turned off if parents would like to read this book to their children or children to themselves.

Comic Pages are also included that can be enlarged for easier reading, yet are included without narration - good to know if parents want their non-readers to enjoy this book by themselves as they will need help deciphering these panels.

I am grateful that this app does not contain any hotspots to interact with that would become distracting, but there are fun moments where the details from each page move across the screen as the pages are turned for a very nice effect.

I am also happy that this app does save the page one was reading last as well as allowing one to search by chapter to find the menu of pages that one would will then use to find a specific page as a reference.

I also really love how the flip-o-rama pages are included, maintaining the low-tech look from the publisher's copy originally allowing children to flip back and forth between pages to make a cute but crude animated flip book.

My only note is about the included mini-games found both within the story and the ability to select these games from the main page of this app as they are simple and mainly arcade-styled shooting where one tips the iPad to move one’s character while shooting at targets - much like Space Invaders.

It would have been nice if these games were a little less sophomoric - an almost hypocritical request as a fan of The Adventures of Captain Underpants, but I would have appreciated games based more on logic or memory that will in some way serve children. As is, my only hesitation is that my son, if given the iPad to read this book by himself with the aid of narration, may spend his time playing these games intently - not a great use of screen time.

Luckily, there is an avatar maker and a variation on a sound board that allows children to mix different sounds found in this book - both exercises that allow children to be a little creative. Yet it unclear how the advanced functions of the sounds section work as well as the locked content - presumably for this game but I am not really sure.

As a child, I remember being able to borrow albums of books being read out loud that were not abridged in any way such as Alice in Wonderland, and this was the catalyst for me to read books of length on my own.

I enjoy being able to use this app to bridge the gap from my son listening to shorter storybooks on the iPad to a longer chapter book that we can both listen to and enjoy. I hope this app will pique his interest in reading the other books from this series as well.

Although The Adventures of Captain Underpants is not great literature, I don’t think it has to be as long as the book is fun and encourages an interest in reading.

I do think some children could feel overwhelmed by the length of the paperback, while a short read for adults and first chapter book can seem overwhelming to reluctant readers - not an issue with an application.

Some adults may not be fond of the potty and even poop humor found throughout this story making this an application that is not suitable for all families. I do appreciate this story not only for its silly humor but for its dramatic structure of including a cohesive beginning, middle and end, as well as the friendship between these boys, one caucasian and one non-caucasian and their love of writing comic books - a hobby I would be proud for my son to share.

For these reasons I am glad that The Adventures of Captain Underpants has been adapted into an app for iPad. I hope more popular chapter books will be developed as well, both by Scholastic as well as other publishers.

McElligot’s Pool is an early Dr. Seuss tale about the vivid imagination of a boy who fantasizes about the fish he may find in a polluted body of water said to be too dirty to support fishing.

Published in 1947, the style found in this book is a little different from the expected pen and ink used in other stories, instead using what to me looks like colored pencils or possibly water colors creating a softer look that I find interesting compared to the sharp lines I am used to in these storybooks.

The zooming and panning of these illustrations are included, typical of the adapted apps developed by Oceanhouse Media to draw the eye to different sections of the pages for visual interest, yet the softness of these images leads to what can momentarily look like resolution issues, as these pictures lack a crisp edge that leads to easy enlarging. Luckily, these moments go back fast and will not register for most children.

I do like a great deal, however, how the black and white illustrations also found in the book look on the backlit screen of the iPad and iPhone.

John Bell, my favorite narrator, is back - much to my delight. I love his narrations, always bringing life to the books he is a part of, especially here bringing so much wonderment as the boy in this story first describes how this pool could possibly be connected to a larger body of water, a possible source in which fish could live. The cadence is perfect as a boy with a vivid imagination speaking on his feet, stretching a story farther and farther the way my son, who also has a vast imagination, might.

This story contains parts with a fair amount of repetition and lacks the Dr. Seussian whimsical words which can actually make Dr. Seuss books hard to read for some, making this story a great early read for the intermediate reader who is up for a lengthy yet simple to read story. It is also quite helpful that if one chooses to silence the narration, words can still be heard with a tap, always nice for children who may feel stuck on certain words.

Also available is the chance to turn off the fun ambient sound effects which I personally always enjoy a great deal as well as the ability to tap objects in the pages to hear and see these words displayed.

New to these apps is the ability to share personal narrations between those who each own this application.

McElligot’s Pool is a Seuss story which may be less known than some of his other titles but is worth checking out. I look forward to see what other Seuss titles are to be adapted into applications in the future as well.

StoryBox 2 is a second installment of the digital magazine StoryBox, based on the award winning children’s magazine of the same name and based in the UK.

Because my son has begun to enjoy published children’s magazines at this point, I am always interested in reviewing their digital equivalents.

StoryBox 2 consists of five different sections: a short story as well as two non-fiction sections, an area of games and activities and a second chapter to Polo - a serial cartoon without words.

I do enjoy the Storytime selection, A Night At School, about anthropomorphic animals spending the night at school to avoid a wolf who had been spotted near by, as this story includes an appropriate amount of suspense relatable to my son who I am sure would have a range of emotions regarding the idea of spending the night at school.

There is a very nice moment when the animal children meet the wolf for the first time, realizing that this animal is old and means them no harm - a moment that I think children will keep with them for some time.

Based in the UK, the narrator, to an American ear, has an accent as well as speaks a little quickly but should not be too much of a problem for children to listen to. It is also worth noting that one can record one's own narration - always a good option to have.

I was also quite impressed with the information explained in the Wonder with the Wizkid area of this app, as children learn alongside a curious alien child, allowing children to tap this character’s speech bubbles as Wizkid asks all kinds of questions - here about why humans have five fingers.

I especially like how more in depth the information gets as children then turn the page, tapping to read and hear more about this subject, comparing human hands to those of other animals such as cats, monkeys or fish.

This section also includes some Fun Facts about evolution, and I admire how it is explained that although scientists don’t know why exactly humans have five fingers, there is much that we do know about the subject. I want my son to begin to understand that for some questions, there are no good answers, and that this can nevertheless be ok.

Animal World is another very nice non-fiction section that discusses the world of stags, adult male deer.

There is a lot of information for children to absorb both by reading as well as listening, and I learned some interesting facts about these animals here as well. The illustrations included are wonderful, highly detailed and attractive, but it would have also been nice to see some actual stag photos.

Pull-up window tabs are also included that cover such information as where do stags live, what do they eat and what size do they grow to, but I wish more information were included than “They are a lot bigger than you” to describe the rough drawing of the scale between a child and stag, which could have been more fully explored.

Fun and Games is an interactive area of this app that contains traditional activities such as a Dot-to-Dot, coloring or spot-the-difference pages. My favorite pages from this section involve the tapping to count different vegetables during snack time and a puzzle exercise where one drags puzzle elements which fit into the image of the larger page consisting of a maze that is then completed with the drag of a finger. I do wish an eraser were offered as a tool to aid children as they complete the dot-to-dot and maze activity, and it would also be great if one could tap for hints or simply see the completed Find the Difference page as children may not complete this section without help.

Polo is the serial comic of StoryBox. Without words, this story is dreamlike, picking up from the end of the first chapter where Polo, a dog character, travels up into space from his bedroom window. This adventure continues into a new venue promised for the next installment. I do love the gentle storytelling of Polo, but I do wish each chapter were a little longer as I simply would love more.

Do note that one can tap these comic book-inspired panels, enlarging them to full screen as one wishes as well as recording one’s own stories based on what is seen. Although I don’t often make my own recordings when narration is included, I see great benefit to being able to have children record their own stories - here told without words and wonderful for their creativity. This music included here is also perfectly relaxing, making this section especially desirable at bedtime.

Although I don’t think that a few of the activities such as a single coloring or Dot-To-Dot pages are what make this app stand out from others in iTunes, I truly enjoyed learning about the topics of human hands and stags as well as the other included stories, making this an easy application to recommend.

This is the second in a series of StoryBox applications. If interested, please read my first StoryBox review on GiggleApps as well.

Rounds: Parker Penguin is a delightful universal app that nicely blends elements of Life Sciences into the story of penguin life in Antarctica, the second in a series of Rounds apps from Nosy Crow.

Rounds: Parker Penguin wonderfully captures the life cycle of these creatures from birth to procreation, depicting three generations of offspring.

There are two basic ways of exploring Rounds: Parker Penguin. In Read and Play, follow along with highlighted text as one listens to narration. Tap the screen to interact with surroundings, especially looking for blue dots used to highlight interactive hotspots, also keeping in mind that Parker and other characters may also speak if touched.

In Read to Myself, the use of sound effects and music are still included, but the text is silenced allowing children to read to themselves, including the added dialogue of the penguins, now seen only as speech bubbles.

I really appreciate all the polish that has been included within the Rounds apps, as the interactions bring not only richness to this story but their actions often propel the narrative and are never random or distracting in any way and sometimes going beyond a tap or drag to create wonderful moments which add important facts or details to this application.

The palette used of blue, white and shades of grey captures Antarctica beautifully, as do the stylized illustrations with a heavy use of circles and half circles that I have come to expect from the Rounds series.

I admire the slow pacing of this app, as children will need to take their time allowing moments to unfold, tapping characters more than once to hear extra penguin facts. The included musical score, sound effects and whale sounds found within the ocean all work together to create a thoroughly relaxing experience children and adults will enjoy a great deal.

Although one can turn the pages at any time, this function is asleep and needs to be tapped twice to forward the pages before everything has been explored within, then becoming black and bouncing, letting readers know it is safe to turn the page - an inclusion I greatly appreciate.

As gentle as this app is, children will also have a lot of fun with the speed Parker can slide or swim, yet maintaining the serene environment - an element that has mild arcade elements while sustaining a relaxing tone. Likewise, I enjoy helping Parker feed, as he swims after little fish yet avoids larger fish who may also be hungry, nicely touching upon predator and prey in a way that is sensitive and age-appropriate.

As this app progresses, Parker grows into an adult and goes on a march looking for a mate. I love the music and dance used to express the mating ritual of these animals as well as the egg passing made famous by the movie March of the Penguins.

When it is time, help the egg hatch with a tap, learning about baby penguins along the way as this new penguin grows into adulthood as well, mating and becoming a father himself.

Three generations of penguins are included with different names but same life experiences as this app cycles over to great effect. I do wish, however, that parents had a choice to end the app after three generations if they choose to in order to create an endpoint often found helpful in reining in their children, especially at bedtime.

Even with this mild note, Rounds: Parker Penguin will be a wonderful addition to any digital library. The writing is thoughtful and is quite conversational, delivering facts about penguins that will stay with children for a long time.

I have also greatly enjoyed the first app in this series Rounds: Franklin Frog. I hope to see more of these apps in the future as they are top-notch in every way and are screen time that adults can feel good about.

I simply adore Martha Speaks Story Maker, an app for iPhone based on the hit PBS show and previously published storybook, Martha Speaks, about a talking dog – an educational show which teaches synonyms and new vocabulary to children.

I am a big fan of this PBS show because I think it is an effective and ingenious way of improving children’s vocabulary, as this show is liberally peppered with sophisticated words using both the context of the story as well as Martha explaining these words in ways most conversational.

Martha Speaks Story Maker opens with a series of questions for the players about the story they would like to create - be it characters, locations or items of interest to be used in their own unique and fun adventures. These choices are then used in a cute and creative story and there are enough variables to choose from that each story can easily be different from the last and can be stored in this app's library to be enjoyed in the future.

I also really appreciate the inclusion of traditional pop-up book taps that one can pull to see animations stylized as traditional pop-up book movements that I find utterly cute and charming.

Another section of this app is the Word Bone Zone where children are tested on the words that they have just learned by asking them to choose the correct synonyms, further emphasizing the new vocabulary that have been learned.

If needed, tap on Martha to hear the question again, but I wish the two possible word answers were also read out loud again for children who can comprehend these larger words yet may not be able to read them.

Even with this minor note, I really enjoy the time I spend with this app. The choices that are made by children fit seamlessly into this app to create really cute and funny stories that children can feel proud about constructing.

I can think of few better ways to introduce new vocabulary words to children, thus possibly making this app useful for English as a second language as well as an app for children with special needs who could benefit from learning new vocabulary as well.

This is the third app based on Martha Speaks for either iPad or iPhone. My family enjoyed each of them, and I have had the pleasure of reviewing the two most recent apps. If interested, please search for my review of Martha Speaks Word Spinner here at GiggleApps as well.

I hope that more wonderful apps based on this terrific show are developed. I have come to realize that an app based on a favorite TV show or magazine does not guarantee a great application, but after experiencing the other Martha Speaks apps that have become available, I will be very eager to explore any new Martha Speaks apps that may be released in the future.

Paddington Bear is the digital adaptation of the celebrated children’s classic A Bear Called Paddington.

This app is a very nice introduction to Paddington, complete with wonderful narration and lovely modern drawings to represent this story - an abridged version of the original presumably due to time constraints, yet still containing much of the slapstick humor found in the original story.

It is worth noting that this application includes with what was the first two chapters of the book, where Paddington Bear meets his new British family and goes home with them, flooding their house from his first time using the bathtub and then falling a sleep in a chair, exhausted, leaving out the other adventures from this chapter of the book.

Interactions are included and highlighted with a subtle twinkle as well as gentle musical sounds heard when one touches the page and contain simple pantomime of the story being told. Early on, however, other hot spots are included at the train station to show the hustle and bustle, originally included in the story with written details not included in this version - interactions that I honestly found to be distracting, although they demonstrate the energy of a busy train station nicely and only last a brief time.

I do appreciate the ability to view the text of this story or not, with the ability to pull out windows that include the story written, as well as being able to simply listen to this tale without reading as well.

I also wonder if this bear coming from “Darkest Peru” will not raise an eyebrow with some parents as being culturally insensitive, but probably not as issue for most families.

This new, shorter version of Paddington Bear may not stand up well to the memories of these stories to a true purist, but casual fans and children new to Paddington will enjoy meeting this bear and the humor found within this app.

I do hope more Paddington Bear adventures are included in future digital adaptations as this application does contain a lot of polish and also includes a section allowing one to take photos with Paddington and a short biography of the author. There are more stories to tell about this bear and by application would be a nice way of bringing Paddington to life.

Living Stories: The Lost Heart is a new storybook by Ravensburger Digital. I really appreciate many of the elements used within this application as the story, about a girl who finds a robot who is missing a heart is quite well written and also includes music, narration and illustrations that combined make for a lyrical experience.

Borrowing from classics such as The Wonderful Wizard of OZ and possibly Alice in Wonderland, the narrative of this story with its pacing and the various unexpected characters one meets on their adventure is very impressive. Although going on a quest to find one’s heart is not exactly a new concept, I am won over by how this story unfolds.

This app contains interactions that sometimes add to the magical experience in subtle ways that I really appreciate a great deal, such as the interactive depiction of how this robot lost his heart and why he needs a new one, complete with simple yet captivating music which is also used as the score for this app in general and creates quite a moment within this story.

I also really enjoy the moment when the duo finds a tunnel that may lead to wondrous lands, guiding them finally to a place where all the things are different as well as the tapping of gears shining brightly like stars in trees and the other poetic hotspot sound within another beautifully moody moment of this application.

The illustrations included are lush and colorful with images that fade from sepia-toned into full color for a nice effect, as do the mild animated details such as the rain effects found in many of these pages.

What I was not fond of, however, is that also included are some more generic interactions such as the ability to knock down a tower of blocks or open a wardrobe allowing a toy to roll out across the page in a bedroom scene, the ability to flush the toilet, run the sink or bathtub in a scene taking place in the bathroom or the inclusion of a malfunctioning blender or popping toast from the toaster in a scene in the kitchen.

I find that these interactions can distract from what is wonderful about this story - a tale that I would enjoy without any interactions at all. Although it may seem counter-intuitive to some if only the meaningful interactions were included, devoid of anything standard and distracting, this book would be an even richer experience.

Even with these notes, I am a huge fan of the ability to tap a question mark to see where all the hot spots are hidden within each page - an inclusion that should be a part of every storybook.

Also included is a jigsaw puzzle on each page of this storybook, found with a tap within a pull-down window of this app. Personally, I did not use this function much so as not to be taken out of the story, but these puzzles are of a high quality, with pieces that snap together in a way quite satisfying when the correct parts come close to the correct areas of these puzzles.

Even with the included notes, I really have enjoyed the time I spent with this storybook and its included mythology. I do look forward to more Living Tales by Ravensburger. I would love to seem more editing in terms of including only the important, sometimes poignant, interactions to achieve the most meaningful experience possible.

My Beastly ABC’s is a great new app for iPad that will be of interest to children of various ages.

An ABC app, My Beastly ABC’s tells the story about a boy who one day meets different beasts or monsters from A to Z.

Parents can attest to how many ABC apps are available through iTunes, and because a good deal of time will be spent learning letters, it behooves parents to find alphabet apps that will entertain themselves as well.

I really appreciate not only the colorful look of this app, complete with wonderful illustrations and mild animated moments containing both a vintage sense of style as well as a modern look and feel, but also the pitch-perfect use of suspenseful, jazzy music and perfectly realized narration by celebrated voice-over artist Jim Dale as well.

The choices of monsters used are also terrific, and I appreciate a great deal the global aspect of this app, as creatures from all cultures from the chupacabra to Quetzalcoatl are chosen to be represented.

The illustrations that accompany these creatures are cute and not scary from my point of view, but parents should decide for themselves if their toddlers will enjoy hearing about such characters as a two-headed Ettin that would not have fazed me as a young child but may put off others.

This app can certainly be used to teach the alphabet by the right family, but I also enjoy how older children will also enjoy these fantastical creatures as well.

The selection of monsters, also included in a monster index, is quite vast, and even the most seasoned monster lover may need to research a creature or two to read more about their mythology, allowing parents to use this app as a springboard for future reading.

Interactions are included which are often subtly highlighted when they propel the action of this story forward, but also be aware that other hot spots are available of a more generic nature that may distract a little from this story. Luckily this is only a minor note within a terrific application.

Trains is an adaptation of the book of the same name, one in a series of books by Byron Barton now developed into applications by Oceanhouse Media.

My son has consistently enjoyed these apps which focus on vehicles and include very engaging narration which is highlighted when spoken, also allowing readers the ability to tap objects around the page to trigger the labeling of these items - both spoken as well with text.

Young children who love trains will especially enjoy this bright and colorful early non-fiction storybook that notes many aspects of trains in a way that is conversational yet educational as well - elements my son especially enjoys.

I also appreciate how one can drag the trains, cars and people around this app - details not possible in the original published book.

My son, almost five, found this app himself on my phone and took to it quickly.

Although this short, sweet book may be geared to a younger child, the ability to read along with highlighted narration as well as being able to read this book by himself while tapping words to hear them spoken will prove to be very helpful for my son and other early readers.

It is easy for me to recommend Trains as well as the other apps by Byron Barton and Oceanhouse Media in this series of apps. I hope to see other Byron Barton books developed into applications as well.

Geography Drive USA is a wonderfully engaging educational app that teaches about American geography in ways children will love.

As one can imagine, it is not uncommon for friends and family to ask me to recommend apps for their children in grade school as many apps out there are for preschool-aged children. Geography Drive USA is a title that I can easily recommend as an application that is both highly educational and a lot of fun.

The main focus of this app is the ability to drive around a provided map of the U.S., traveling to neighboring states, answering geography and state history questions, gaining money along the way. I also enjoy how as one visits each state and the gas gets used up, one needs to answer questions to earn more fuel for the trip.

Do study the visitor center as this section contains information to read about each of the 50 states as well as a collection of both regional and state maps.

There are over 750 questions included in this game that covers things such as capitals, flags and postal abbreviations, plus much more.

There are also some additional fun activities such as a few mini-games like the Hawaii spelling bee or a visit to the state fair where one can gain a lot of money for correct answers to customize one’s car.

I really like that this app is intended to save the game that one has played for future dates, as there is a plethora of questions to be answered and trophies to win when regional areas of the map are filled in as well as other elements too numerous to list in this review.

The look of this app is also quite polished, bright and engaging for older children starting in grade school through adulthood.

Added elements such as upbeat music and a narrator congratulating players are appreciated, especially as the narrator brings a great deal of richness to this app with an inviting, perfect-for-radio voice and comments that go beyond the canned “good job” or clapping heard in other applications.

I have always been uniformly impressed with the apps from Spinlight Studio as they have done something I have not seen executed by other developers.

Spinlight Studio has been able to develop a variety of apps for all ages from a first app for the youngest players through grade school and beyond - each with the highest quality, whereas other developers have more of a niche that they stay in.

Each of Spinlight Studios apps may share the same sensibilities in terms of graphic design and bold colors used, but they cover themes ranging from apps focused on teaching letters or numbers to young app users as well as a“choose your own ending” storybook board game for preschoolers.

Also included in their catalogue is a retro-inspired carnival game high on style as well as serious educational apps for grade schoolers such as a math app with a terrific spy theme, and now a geography app which is full of whimsy and reminds me of the best moments as well as music reminiscent of “The Price Is Right” to keep kids learning as well as entertained.

I strongly invite readers to learn more about Spinlight Studio. I am eager to see what new apps they develop next.

Hansel & Gretel: Lost is a well crafted re-telling of this classic story for iPad, wonderfully illustrated with animations as well as including top-notch narration, music and sound effects. Auto-play is also an option as well as silencing the narration to read this book by oneself.

It is easy to tell from the first page that this app is something special. The illustrations are lush with color and beautiful to look at with a marbled textured style that I always find appealing. Every element in this book is at a superlative level of quality that adults will greatly appreciate, as will their children.

The interactions are thoughtful and propel the story forward, and the narration is great as are the voice talents that can be heard with taps of these characters.

Excellent music is also included for each scene that conveys mood - be it happiness or suspense, adding even more richness to this experience.

There are some really creative elements here as well, from being able to remove the candy from the witch's house to eat, to being able to pull the lever down on a machine to force-feed Hansel - a moment that is great fun and thoroughly modern without being over-the-top for children. This app hits all the right notes, bridging the gap between modern and classic as well as looking hand-crafted while being an interactive application.

I love the new details just as much, such as Gretel dipping the witch’s glasses in butter to make the witch unable to see - a moment that works so well it could have been an element from a Grimm’s fairytale.

What I really appreciate the most about this tale is that it completely bypasses the concept of the evil stepmother, as these kids simply stumble upon the witch’s house while playing in the woods and getting lost.

There are also no jewels to steal - another part of this story that has always bothered me, as here, Gretel simply finds a map and uses it to make their way home to loving parents who make them promise never to go off into the forest again. Do tap on this map in order for it to become an interactive maze activity as well - a nice touch.

There are just so many fun details in this app such as the little forest monsters who eat the bread crumbs dropped by the kids that children and their adults will simply adore this modern take.

Although parents and children may be familiar with this story in general, there is much new here that the tale still excites, while maintaining the general tone people expect and love from this classic such as the witch's hinger for children, locking Hansel in a cage - details my son has always loved from a young age.

I can’t recommend this app enough for parents who are looking for an interactive storybook for their children, especially as Gretel is a strong female role model, taking an even more active role in saving her brother than in the original version.

This is the first app from PB&J Publishing, but I hope they create more storybook apps in the future as every element in this app is perfectly realized in every way. I can’t wait to see what these developers come up with next.

The Chalk Box Story is an interactive app by Auryn based on the lesser known story by Don Freeman, best known for writing the Corduroy series of picture books.

My son loves the Corduroy books, as did I as a child, but I was unaware of how prodigious a writer Auryn was until he began developing his works into storybook applications.

The Chalk Box Story is another such title, adapted nicely from the original 1976 version.

Although the text remains the same, the story of cooperation and imagination is told as crayons work together to draw a picture which takes shape among the pages of this book.

Here, the reader focuses on a single screen consisting of the paper that one draws on, as the box of crayons is seen at the corner of the blank drawing area instead of being part of a two page spread as it is found in the book.

A window opens on this page that delivers the text, also including highlighted narration if the reader chooses it.

The narration can be forwarded with a tap as can the interactive elements of children choosing a crayon with a prompt, then coloring in the elements of the picture being drawn.

I like the level of interactivity here. A child opens the box of crayons, selects the crayon the story asks for and then colors in details of this image without the concern of coloring outside the lines, making children who can only scribble still successful at assisting in this drawing.

I did find it a little problematic with the first crayon one draws with, as although readers are asked to draw the sky and ocean as the entire background is to be filled, there is less of an outline for one to stay in the confines of, making this first section almost seem like a free-play drawing app. The intent of this story becomes clearer as the picture develops, however, and I enjoy how the text is an excellent prompt to children into the story and these interactions. It is also possible to go back and fix any drawings at a later time if children wish - a nice touch.

I do enjoy this creative interaction, but it is interesting how the interactions of children dragging each crayon to the page to color do change the story as originally the crayons come alive and become anthropomorphized instead of a child creating these images. Because of this, I wonder if the magic is changed to have the children participate in the way that they do.

Also of note is how the final drawing comes alive with animation in a way that works wonderfully in the story, really popping off the page. Of course, in the book, these images do not move. Instead, children use their own imagination to see these changes take place.

When adapting a book into an application, the experience of the printed book and the app is often different, and I do not consider these differences to be flaws.

Although my own mind is not used to imagine the end of this story, I do enjoy watching it unfold, listening to the ambient sound effects as well and allowing my mind to relate moments of other stories similar to it. This did not happen for me when reading this book to myself.

It is also worth noting that there is a bonus feature allowing children to interact with bonus animal objects, adding them to the drawing to see additional moments of animation which all work well within the story while maintaining the subtle 1970’s look that I found charming.

I was lucky enough to find a copy of The Chalk Box Story from my local library, but because it is out of print, many children will never come across a copy of this book. Because of this, I am happy that this app as well as the other Don Freeman apps exist for children to appreciate. The narration in these apps is uniformly excellent - always a nice inclusion for young pre-readers.

I am pleased to announce that book publisher Tangled Press has donated 1,600 copies of the popular printed book, The Kissing Hand, to the children of Newtown, Connecticut as families begin to heal after the tragedy they faced.

In support of this generous donation, Oceanhouse Media has made the app of the same name free for a limited time.

The Kissing Hand is a beautiful adaptation of the original book about familial love and separation anxiety as young raccoon Chester fears going to school for the first time and is then given what he needs from his mother to feel secure going into the world on his own.

The illustrations - hand-crafted on textured paper - look wonderful on the back-lit screen on iPad and iPhone. Zooming and panning is also included to draw the reader's attention or to create movement - always a nice touch - as is the highlighted text if listening to narration as well as the option to auto play as if watching this book unfold like a movie.

Listen to the sounds of nature, as well as tap the characters and objects found to see the labels with both text and narration - details that can also now be turned off as well.

Another new feature from Oceanhouse Media is the chance not only to record this book by oneself but to be able to send the new narration to other families who also have this app so they can share in one’s personal recording.

The Kissing Hand, a New York Times best seller has already been enjoyed by many families, and for a period of time, children from all over can download this app for free. Please do so without delay.

A Very Mice Christmas is a simple and sweet Christmas app with an interesting sense of style using collage-like illustrations that contain photographic elements to create charming images that children will enjoy. Listen to narration or read this book out loud. Auto tune is also an option. This app is available for both iPad as well as iPhone.

Written in rhyme, enjoy mice as they go Christmas shopping for items such as stockings, a tree, ribbon, or ornaments. It also has a cute ending where all the mouse shop keepers get invited in to share Christmas as well in this cute holiday app.

In my son’s preschool class, they have a family of pet mice that my son enjoys watching. This app is fun for those like my son who enjoy small animals such as mice as here, they are dressed up in little clothing and shop or enjoy warm drinks like little people, reminiscent to me of Beatrice Potter mice using the multi-media style of images instead of drawings that show these creatures darlingly anthropomorphized. Do tap on these mice as well to hear them speak in squeaky, mouse-like voices.

Originally printed as a “Touch and Feel’ book by Wendy Wax, the ability to feel the different textures is hard to replicate, but I enjoy the details throughout this book that hint at a tactile experience.

The best part about this book is that children, with the help of their parents, can create a completely new story based on these images as one can personalize the text and narration with the use of a record feature - a very nice touch that works well here as these collage-like images are quite imaginative, possibly bringing out the creative side of children who can now make their own storybook using these pages as a template of sorts.

A memory game is also included where one turns over tiles in order to look for pairs, also including a hint button that when tapped will narrow choices down by highlighting tiles that may be a match - a nice touch, but I did not like that a timer is also included as I am not a fan of making young children feel rushed.

Also included is a series of three hidden object activities with a nice if not slightly challenging level of difficulty as well as an included hints button that narrows down where to look for the items hidden within.

All and all, a nice holiday app for children, especially those who may enjoy making up their own stories about what they see in these delightful, mousy illustrations.

Peter, Paul and Mary’s "The Night Before Christmas" is a lovely universal re-telling of the classic Clement C. Moore tale of the same name, lovingly narrated by Mary Travers in her last performance before passing.

Music and harmonizing from the group can be heard both during Mary’s narration as well as if one reads and records this app oneself. The music and sounds can also be muted individually, a nice touch, as is the choice of auto play during the included narration, allowing the youngest of children to sit back and relax without having to turn pages.

Another aspect that I appreciate is the tab found on the side of this app that can be pulled out to read the text along with the narration - a very nice way of including the words of this story as an option for children without taking away from the perfect artwork.

Illustrated by celebrated French artist Eric Puybaret, the included paintings are beautiful to look at, rich with deep, vibrant colors that make this app really quite special. Subtle yet effective interactions are included that add richness without being too distracting and are thoughtfully highlighted to be found easily - a nice touch.

Peter, Paul and Mary’s "The Night Before Christmas" will be enjoyed by children as well as adults alike. The music, as one can imagine, is of the highest quality, as are the narration and included paintings. For any family looking for an adaptation of this classic story for iPad or iPhone, this is a very good choice.