Nedi the Yeti is a charming and simple interactive book for iPad about a peek-a-boo-playing Yeti and his animal friends who are hidden among these pages of this cute storybook.

Nedi the Yeti would make a great first app for babies and toddlers as the animals are friendly looking and engaging as well as not so well hidden that children of all ages could not find these creatures with ease, as a drag of a finger will coax these animals from their hiding places and a tap will trigger a speech bubble and a fun animal sound, be it either cartoony or realistic as is the case of the included bird or owl sounds found within.

Adults will be smitten by the visual style of this app, with the main color choices being white with shades of blues and grays – an appropriate palette for a tale about this kindly abominable snowman. Bright colors can also be found within as well, included among some of the animals one meets, making them pop nicely off the pages – a real treat for toddlers as they search among these pages. The quality of these illustrations themselves is wonderful, together with the light interactions and sounds, making this book very easy to enjoy.

Do be sure to tilt the iPad from side to side as doing so allows the background to pan sideways slightly, allowing readers to view more of the landscapes and hiding creatures, creating a nice 3D look that is very effective.

Without narration, this lovely app is designed to be read to small children, also making a nice early reader that kids in preschool or kindergarten will enjoy. Although this application may seem short from the point-of-view of older children, I think the length is just right for babies or toddlers who will enjoy Nedi the Yeti a great deal.

Animals, Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Just For Fun, Preschool, Reading, Reviews, Stories, Toddlers

The Edible Suit is a charming and wonderful adaptation of Edward Lear’s nonsensical poem, “The New Vestments” lovingly illustrated and subtly modernized by Jon Higham.

As readers may know, we are huge fans of Higham’s series of “Elly the Reindeer” apps, so I was really eager to review The Edible Suit, developed by Tizio, developers who are responsible for The Fierce Grey Mouse and Finn’s Paper Hat – other apps I love and highly recommend.

The Edible Suit tells the tale of an old man who creates clothing out of various foods as well as animal parts until other animals come to eat away at these clothes right off the old man’s back.

This app is wonderfully illustrated, painted with watercolors in a cartoony style and includes wonderful details that adults will enjoy as much as children will. This app may not be a family favorite among vegans, but we have really enjoyed this stories whit and charm.

I appreciate how this app includes only a line or two of this poem per page, really breaking down these verses which combined with terrific illustrations, aid in bringing this witty poem to life.

I also admire the modest editing choices, exchanging words that are not commonly used today for vocabulary that children will understand, such as substituting the word ‘belt” for “girdle,” or “stampede” for “tumult” as well as moving around a few lines to create a clearer narrative that could be told with the use of these marvelous images.

Some fun, varied interactions are included that my son really enjoys, triggering sound effects, mild animated moments and other elements, as well as panning across what would have been two pages of a traditional book for a nice effect, as this app is based on a previously published children’s book, The Old Man and the Edible Suit, also illustrated by Higham.

A coloring page is included allowing readers to fill in areas of this image that include some of the animals from this poem, paint-bucket style, but I did have some unresponsive moments when tapping to fill – an issue to look at into the future.

Another extra is a cute word game where one matches letters found on screen to their corresponding letter boxes, creating a word that represents an animal from this story, hearing this animal sound when a word has been completed, as well as the letters narrated when tapped and the word in question spoken when each word puzzle has been solved.

I have been universally fond of the use of professional narration in a nice selection of languages, including both UK and USA dialects which Tizio often incorporates within their apps. Here, this app includes Dutch, American and UK choices – always a nice touch. Autoplay is also available, as is the use of highlighting and text that enlarges as the words are read and as always, reading to oneself is also an option.

Without this app, my son probably would not have been exposed to this classic, creative poem full of whimsy and slapstick humor. The images that are included are also quite memorable, enriching my son’s own imagination as he intently listens to this grand, silly poem.

Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, Just For Fun, Language, Preschool, Primary School, Reading, Reviews, Stories, Toddlers

Explore Vincent is a wonderful app for iPad exploring the life and times of Vincent van Gogh, the brilliant yet troubled artist from childhood through adulthood, ending with his death in 1890.

This app is a true multi media delight as many mediums are explored within this app for iPad.

A video section is included that does a wonderful job of introducing Van Gogh as a child to viewers, expressing the emotions Van Gogh presumably felt from boyhood through adulthood. These videos are not straight narratives but a montage of styles including the use of split-screens and a graphic use of color, lines of text music and other elements working together as much as a graphic designer’s work of art and that of the video director.

I appreciate the casting of Van Gogh himself, a red haired young man in his twenties, wonderful as the casual Van Gogh fan may have only a recollection of him as an older man found among self-portraits of his own work.

These wonderful videos really tell a tale of this man’s life and interpersonal relationships with his family as well as ill-fated attempts at relationships with women.

These scenes are not without drama, which I find intriguing and enjoy, yet at times come across as heavy-handed. For example, at the beginning of the first clip, Van Gogh tries to defend birds’ eggs from bullies, expressing his great love of nature and animals. It has a tone, however, that makes these clips seem like prequels to Norman Bates or Dexter Morgan’s life as a child, as the musical tone and voice-over elements make me fear for the animals Van Gogh is actually trying to protect or love – possibly foreshadowing his unstableness nicely, even if at times consisting of a misplaced intensity.

Historical details are found throughout these videos as well, with a favorite moment of mine being the time period of Van Gogh away at school during a cholera outbreak because here, the flair for the dramatic works to great effect.

Other areas of this app are equally abundant, as “Van Gogh’s TIME” gives more historical details of the time periods as one explores the included time line, especially about events in art history – both in general for this time period as well as pertaining directly to Van Gogh and his family.

A nice use of tabs that one can tap to open is incorporated in order to read the included text which, combined with photographs or places or objects as well as small representations of artwork found throughout, gives readers a real sense of visiting a Van Gogh museum themselves.

Along this time line as Van Gogh begins to produce his first pieces of art, a new section is available to explore, Van Gogh’s WORK, focusing on the art created during different time periods of Van Gogh’s Life. I especially appreciate how this app leads readers through important time periods for Van Gogh, especially the great change in use of color from a darker, more muted palette to the bright, bold colors Van Gogh may be best known for when exploring French Impressionism. This section nicely incorporates a map showing where art in question was produced as well as a chance to scroll though Van Gogh’s original letters, drawings and paintings.

The navigation of Exploring Vincent can be tricky when first experiencing this app. It is helpful that readers are brought to the video first within each time period explored, then have a chance to move to Van Gogh’s TIME by scrolling up or scrolling down to ponder Van Gogh’s WORK. One can also be brought to these sections with a tap of the finger found on a menu page after the video clip has been viewed. After spending time with this app, the navigating becomes easier, and I like the inclusion of a guide explaining how to play this app as well as the menu of all included application pages, which simplifies this app.

Games are also included, but maintaining the style of this app, these games are actually quite cerebral as one may fill in Van Gogh’s family tree, included text for hints on placement and choosing correct photographic images of city life found in 1866, with pitfalls including objects such as cars which came later than the time period in question. One can also match paintings with the scenery as seen today or the sketches found within Van Gogh’s letters to the letter itself, using the letter’s context as clues or an exercise in art history as one sorts images into the different styles of painting of the Brabant and French Period as well as sources of inspiration – my favorite game included.

These games, nicely interactive and also reminding me of an installation at a more hands-on museum can be found throughout this app but also contained together at the end of this app – a very nice touch.

I do wish, however, that it were easier to re-watch these videos – something I would love to see in a future update. I was also mildly disappointed that ill health, anxiety and mental illness of Van Gogh were not touched upon this app more, as I would have liked to see some of the possible causes of his darkness explored here as well – from possible lead poisoning, epilepsy or bipolar disorder which may have been aggravated by his fondness for absinthe, which was mentioned within this application.

Even with these notes, Exploring Vincent is a marvelous application that should be part of any library of applications for middle school and high schoolers.

I am very happy to announce that Friday, March 30th, Exploring Vincent Van Gogh Hd will be free for the day to celebrate Van Gogh’s birthday and will be half price that Saturday and Sunday as well – a wonderful gift to the public as this app is of the highest production value possible and is simply terrific!

Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, For Parents, High School +, Just For Fun, Middle School, Puzzle, Reading, Reviews, Social, Stories

The Noisy Book GAMES is a creative and fun application that allows children to discover the sounds found among objects in their world – some common, some interesting choices for an application such as this. It is also good to know that French as well as English languages are provided, a thoughtful inclusion especially for French speaking, bilingual and other families looking to expose children to languages other than their own.

Parents who have perused iTunes will be aware of the abundance of apps such as this geared toward teaching new sounds, be it animal, vehicle or the like. What makes The Noisy Book GAMES stand out in a crowd is that the included noises are all created with the use of a human voice, not samples from nature or devised electronically, creating whimsical sounds adults will enjoy as much as their children will.

The main section of this app is the book itself, consisting of multiple pages one can scroll through, each containing six illustrations one can tap on to hear narration read in order to explain the object or concept being explored. Listen to these sound effects and enjoy the animated illustration as well, such as “The bee goes ZZZZZZZ…” or “The watch goes tick tock…” but for me, the most interesting selections are those more obtuse, such as the choices of “Pain” or the electrical socket going “no.”

The cute animation included further brings these words to life with nice effect, and I enjoy that these images have the same hand-crafted quality that these voiced sound effects do, keeping this app lovingly low-tech.

One also has the option of reading this book to oneself, recreating the sounds found throughout or coming up with one’s own unique noises.

I appreciate how the different sounds found within are randomly displayed among these pages and that one can flip though pages of this book looking for a specific sound, but I don’t like how after a sound is explored, it is grayed-out and can no longer be selected – an issue for children who may want to come back to a favorite sound over and over again.

After one has enjoyed the sounds found throughout this app, do test one’s memory of these noises as a game. “One, Two, Three sounds” is also included.

The look of this game is similar to a page from the book, consisting of six images. A sound is then heard, challenging players to select the corresponding sound.

This game has a nice level of difficulty, as one needs to remember a lot of sounds, and these answers are not always obvious. I do not like, however, that one mistake ends the game, never allowing children to know what the correct sound was that they were hearing. I would much rather see this as an activity which allows children to simply try again, showing children the correct answer after a few wrong choices, as well as letting players move on to the next question.

A memory game is also included where players turn cards over in order to make pairs – nice touches include choosing between easy and hard difficulty, as well as these cards turning over as quickly as the players can flip them – good to know as the slowness of having to wait for the cards within memory style games is a common complaint.

The last section this app offers is called Noisy Rap, a sound board based on the same layout found in the book and quiz sections. Here one can tap on an image to hear the sound it makes, together with background music also playing. These new songs can be recorded, and it is nice that a demo song is included to hear what can be created with a little practice. This section, as the name of this app implies, is rather noisy and will be a hit or miss depending on what the player finds appealing to listen to, but as a single section, I don’t see this as a major flaw within this app as the book and quiz modes are quirky and fun.

I have enjoyed the various sounds the human voice can make within this app, but I do think the price set for this app is expensive compared to their other apps at this price point, something to think about.

Animals, Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Just For Fun, Language, Music, Primary School, Puzzle, Reading, Reviews, Sounds, Toddlers

Shapes & Puzzles by Pirate Trio is a very nice universal tangram app which allows children to create pictures of objects or animals by dragging and dropping classic geometric shapes that together make up these images.

With 180 puzzles for iPhone and more than 200 for the iPad, this app is very content-rich, and it is nice that subjects are included which may be of interest to boys who may need extra help with mini-motor skills or cognitive learning, such as big construction machines like a crane or cement mixer or fork lift, as well as helicopter, robot or dinosaur, among others.

A nice selection of animals is also available, such as turtle, peacock or penguin.

Children will enjoy having the name of the puzzles they have created narrated as well – important as some of these images are abstract and although fun, it can be hard to tell what is being created.

Typical of tangram apps such as this, the puzzle to complete is offered center screen, showing the empty spaces that need to be filled by the colorful corresponding shapes found right of the screen in a column one can scroll through. Drag and drop these colorful shapes with basic wood grain details in their correct holes, slowly filling in this image.

The number of shapes needed to complete some of the more complex puzzles is impressive, and I enjoy how one of the four main sections to choose from is dedicated to puzzles that have extra details included, such as scales on a fish or feather details that are found within the bird choices. These added elements really bring to life the objects or animals created within and are unique to this specific app – a very nice touches indeed, as is the toddler section dedicated to the teaching of these shapes, asking players to choose the correct color and shape one is being asked about.

I do not understand the organization of the other two puzzle sections available, however, as the differences between the puzzles included within each are unclear.

Personally, I would have liked to see these puzzles arranged by the number of pieces, as these puzzles can be at times impressively involved. Players or adults may want to search for simpler puzzles as well, and arranging by the number of pieces would simplify this search.

Another nice area of this app is a list of puzzles that gets checked off when completed. I enjoy perusing this list, but it would be nice if a “tap” on a favorite word would bring players straight to their choice.

This is a good application for those looking for a tangram puzzle, especially with the addition of the creative details that bring some of these puzzles to life. With 180 to 200+ puzzles depending on the device being used, this app will keep kids entertained for a long time.

Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, Just For Fun, Preschool, Primary School, Puzzle, Reviews, Toddlers

Felt Board is a lovely app for iPad, a charming simulated rendition of a traditional felt board.

I have fond memories of using a felt board as a child, and I was happy to share this experience with my son. Not being crafty enough to create small and intricate pieces of felt myself, I confess that I bought a set from a local craft store on sale for my boy. The felt board was a huge hit, but sadly, even after keeping all the pieces in a zippered bag, the felt board soon became a memory as somehow inexplicably all the pieces vanished even after my son promised to be careful and not lose the pieces, only to randomly find felt bits clinging to clothing and furniture where one least expected to find them.

This digital felt board does not take the place of the traditional activity and cannot replace the magic of children finding out for the first time that this soft fabric sticks to itself without glue or mess, being able to be re-arranged indefinitely. This is a wonderful application, however, for families like mine who simply can’t keep track of all the little pieces or would love to allow their children this experience when traveling or simply out and about as this app, like a classic felt board itself, is a creative and quiet way for children to spend time.

This application is intuitive to use with an abundance of elements to choose from that felt boards in real life would be hard-pressed to include. Nice selections of backgrounds are offered, both basic solid colors as well as landscapes like a beach, ocean view or mountain landscape as well as a theatre, boat, and bedroom scenes. Other backdrops included as well. Like a traditional felt board, the backgrounds are sometimes simple, abstract and effective, and I appreciate the faint soft felt texture seen throughout this app.

Body choices can be made, and as in the classic style, the character pieces are devoid of all details as these can be added later. Six colors can be chosen, including three shades that could roughly represent skin tones of found among a diverse group of people, a nice touch that I would love to see broadened in the future. Do fully explore the selection of hair, beard, mustache and face choices by scrolling through this section with the aid of a scroll bar that unfortunately becomes invisible when not in use – problematic as players may not be aware of the selection of details to choose from within each of these elements that are too numerous to see on any given page.

Parents and teachers of special education children will especially appreciate the different expressions among the face choices such as the placement or shape of the eyebrows and mouth, teaching about these emotional cues along the way.

Cute clothing for all are included, including outfit elements that one may expect for both men and women, as well as plenty of unisex clothing and a few dress-up choices representing knights, a doctor, firefighter and police as well as a Santa suit and astronaut jumpsuit, tux and traditional men’s suit.

Another section consists of all the accessories one could desire such as shoes, mittens, scarves, hats, glasses and extras such as wand, sword, baton or umbrella.

A lovely selection of animals is also included, from butterflies and other insects to traditional farm animals, fantasy creatures and ocean dwellers. Storytellers will appreciate how spider, monkey and speckled frog choices are included to aid in the re-telling of classic stories that involve these characters.

Other objects one may look for to complete their motifs are also thoughtfully included, from flowers, plants and other choices found in nature, to symbols to represent weather, such as sun, moon or rain as well as buildings and other structures which can also be found.

Lastly, letter and number sections are included, each with their own related extras such as punctuation characters, shapes and arrows, which have also been added.

To re-size these elements, pinch or spread of one’s fingers – an element that I appreciate as the fine motor skills of picking up small pieces of felt with one’s fingertips is lost as the swiping of a finger is not as much of a workout for fine motor skills, but the pinching and zooming to re-size can in fact work these same muscles. It is also nice that one can glue down these pieces, aiding in the moving and re-sizing of these characters together as a single unit. Tap the camera icon to take a photo of one’s scene. To remove a piece of felt, simply drag to the recycling bin at the bottom right corner of the page.

I recommend this app to anyone interested in art or craft applications. The selection of felt pieces is wonderful and I enjoy being able to change backgrounds under the other pieces already laid down, something that could never be accomplished with such ease on a traditional board. I can imagine not only a great activity for children, but also in aiding the storytelling for all ages. For these reasons and more, I recommend this app.

Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, Just For Fun, Preschool, Primary School, Reviews, Shapes, Toddlers

Draw and Tell HD – by Duck Duck Moose is a creative and fun art app that allows young artists to record personal narration to their finished pieces, including a multitude of art supplies to work with. Both iPad as well as iPhone versions are available.

Children have a choice of expressing themselves by choosing a blank page to begin their art work or choosing a coloring page to work on. Another wonderful function of this app is the ability to choose a photo from the device’s camera roll to use as a background as well.

I enjoy the various backgrounds offered, including brightly colored pages to work on, as well as some fun pattern choices such as colorful stripes and dots as well as classic standard rule of notebook paper and graph paper. I really appreciate the textures found within the single colored background, reminiscent of hand-made decorative paper as well as backgrounds with a marbled watercolor look that I am drawn to.

A vast selection of tools is included, such as a wonderful assortment of stickers including animals and vehicles, letters, numbers and speech bubbles plus more. Personal favorites include the foods and silverware fit for a tea party as well as the hats, mustaches and other details one can add to style members of personal photos being used. It is terrific how easily one can resize these stickers, but my son would also like to be able to flip these stickers, making it possible for these illustrated characters to face each other while talking or even embracing.

A paint brush, pencil and crayon points are included each with 27 shades to choose from, including a rainbow and an interestingly textured glow-in-the-dark choice. I like the inclusion of both pencil-sized eraser as well as a bigger classic pink eraser to remove parts of one’s artwork, and I also enjoy the fun and bright pattern choices one can choose to paint, draw or crayon with, creating these patterns and colors with the swipe of a finger. It would be nice if a few more paint brush sizes could be added in the future as well.

iPad users will have a series of stencils to choose from that can be moved around the page and re-sized. My son really has a lot of fun painting over these stencils, allowing him to create these shapes without having to rely on his free-hand drawing skills – something he still lacks at the age of four. Being able to re-size these stencils is nice and simple even for little hands, but being able to flip these stencils to work with a mirror image would be nice as well.

The selection of coloring book pages is also very nice, including 18 images to choose from. I appreciate the use of “Paint Bucket” mode, allowing one to fill in the spaces found within these pages with the tap of a finger – my go-to mode for working with coloring books, but the lack of “Paint Brush” mode, using a finger to paint with, may disappoint others.

All the same tools can be used to decorate these coloring pages, making an especially nice use of the pattern tool that can be used to fill in the shapes found within these coloring pages for a very nice effect. I was not a huge fan, however, of certain editorial choices having been made for players in terms of color grouping, as more than one area may be colored in at once, such as both tires on a tractor being filled in with a single tap, making it impossible to create different color wheels as well as minimizing the number of areas one can fill in.

Another issue that I found was that certain details such as the eyes, teeth and other details on the included animals remain white and are unable to take color, as does other areas of other objects included in the scenes.

The choices is made for the player to follow a certain logic and maybe some children may find his helpful, but I would love an option to be able to color in all sections of this app individually, allowing animals to not only have colored eyes, but different colored eyes as well if my son wants to be creative this way.

Even with these minor limitations, I really enjoy all the virtual art supplies offered, especially the stickers and stencils, allowing children to have a lot of fun with this app without having a lot of drawing or painting ability.

My son has really enjoyed decorating photos from our iPad both with animal stickers and stencils, creating scenes reminiscent of Mary Poppins or Snow White, allowing him to create images of him interacting with cartoon characters. It is a treat that characters from other Duck Duck Moose apps are available, as are an abundance of other sticker choices.

Saving one’s work is easy, and it is nice that children can return to their pictures to continue on adding more creative details as well. A go-back button is also included – a nice touch users may find helpful as did I.

A very special component of this app is the ability to record narration to finished art projects, emailing them to loved ones or simply saving to preserve a moment in time of one’s children at a specific age. The ability to create personalized parts or letters for friends and family with the inclusion of personalized voice-over is wonderful for children and their adults alike, and it is super-cute how the stickers can be moved around the page as narration is being recorded, possibly as one is telling a story to a distant loved one.

It is also a nice inclusion that if one drags a finger around the image or photo in use, a blue highlight can be seen during the recording and playback of the narration, allowing one to motion to a specific area of the image while telling a story about the picture in question.

It would also have been great, however, if the process of painting or coloring, stenciling and the like could have been recorded, as seeing details appear on the screen could be quite captivating to look at, making wondrous Harold and the Purple Crayons moments possible, allowing children to watch illustrations appear on the page as a story is told.

This is a lovely application that will be of interest to a wide range of ages through grade school and beyond. The possibilities are endless for the creative and artistic projects one can create with this app. Parents and other adults will surely cherish these pieces of art, especially with included narration of little voices captured as precious keepsakes.

I only wish that the process of these creative activities could be captured, as the process may be more important to children than the finished piece, especially if one could record the banter of a parent and child simply enjoying this app together, recording their give-and-take while experiencing all the artistic elements found within this application.

Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, Just For Fun, Preschool, Primary School, Reviews, Social, Toddlers

The Bravest of Us All is a lovely storybook based on a previously published picture book of the same name.

Told in the first person, this story opens up with younger sister Ruby Jane going into great detail about the bravest sibling she has – older sister Velma Jean, who possesses the confidence to do just about anything, making Ruby Jean feel somewhat ordinary. Things change, however, when their family farm is hit by a tornado and Velma Jean is afraid to go into the basement until Ruby Jane, facing strong winds, comes to Velma Jean’s aid and coaxes her to safety, proving that she is in fact pretty brave herself.

I really enjoy this storybook, appreciating the tall tales told about Velma Jane, making her larger than life then in turn making her all the more human and relatable when her secret is revealed.

Everyone has secrets or foibles that can sabotage them in some ways and I appreciate this this story for developing a complex character who has a secret as well as the tender way that even in the face of danger, sister Ruby Jane demonstrated a strong sisterly bond.

My son is now very much into super-heroes and firemen. I would never begrudge him these interests, but I admire this story for sharing with him a story of an ordinary girl being brave in her own way, as this can also be the start of open-ended conversations about being there for others when help is needed.

The illustrations found within are wonderfully hand-painted and include a vintage style adults will enjoy. The text is written in a country vernacular that children may find cumbersome, especially if reading this book to themselves, but the story makes this children’s book application worth reading.

Nice, simple ambient sound effects are included and I always appreciate an app that is universal, but I did find that within the iPhone version, the text size may be difficult to read because of its scaled down size. I would love to be able to enlarge the words in some way in the future. Narration is included as well, making the small font size less of an issue.

This application contains no interactions – something I sometimes gravitate towards when looking to create a relaxed and calming experience for my son. My son really enjoys this story but I think slightly older children of grade school age and their adults will get a lot out of this story as well, with a nice re-readability factor as once children understand Velma Jean’s secret, the story can be enjoyed from a different point of view – a nice touch that makes this tale worth being purchased by parents as well as teachers.

Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Language, Preschool, Primary School, Reading, Reviews, Social, Stories

No Dogs Allowed is a charming storybook about a mystical creature, the No-Dog, seen only by children much like Sesame Street’s Mr. Snuffleupagus before he was revealed to adults. Children get to learn a lot about these creatures, creating a nice, memorable fable that kids will enjoy, especially as it re-enforces imaginary friendships children are known for.

No Dogs Allowed is written in rhyme and beautifully illustrated with a lovely use of lush, bright colors and an almost child-like yet elegant use of style.

Although mild interactions are present, No Dogs Allowed is primarily a storybook that children and their adults will enjoy. Part cautionary tale, it is interesting how this No-Dog is children’s best friend, yet not completely unconditional, as the No-Dog’s smell is good when children are being good yet smells like dead fish if children are naughty. As with other moments, the relationship No-Dog has with children is dependent on the children’s behavior.

From the first time reading this cute story, it will be fun to point to “No Dogs Allowed” signs in public to children familiar with this book, taking on a new meaning involving these fantastical creatures.

Two coloring pages are available, as is the ability to add one’s own photo to this application, interweaving it into a few places within this app, creating a nice effect.

Do experiment with the narrator choices, as both American as well as British accents are represented, as is Dutch.

It is also nice that one can choose to highlight words when spoken as well as raise or lower the volume of music found throughout this application, but I wish the same were true for the sound effects as well, as the buzzing of flies – even the giggling of the No-Dog himself – can be distracting in the relaxing, peaceful story.

All in all, this is a charming story that creates mythology children and adults will appreciate, with a lovely visual style.

Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Just For Fun, Language, Preschool, Primary School, Reading, Reviews, Stories, Toddlers

The Lion and the Mouse – An Interactive Children’s Story Book HD is a charming interactive universal storybook with a bold look and great sense of style. Very nice narration is included, as is the option to read this story to oneself and auto play is also included.

The Lion and the Mouse is a classic story based on an Aesop’s fable about a little mouse who, grateful to be spared by a ferocious lion, promises to do the lion a favor in the future, although the lion being big and strong, does not ever foresee needing help from a tiny mouse.

I like how this tale has been updated, keeping the spirit and message alive yet avoiding any overt violent undertones, as the original story has the lion threaten the mouse, who is simply grateful to have not been killed. Yet within this story, the lion helps the mouse reach trees to pick fruit and for this, he is very appreciative. The ending has been changed as well, from the lion being captured in a net by hunters, to this lion jumping through the jungle and getting caught in vines that the mouse is able to gnaw through, freeing this beast.

Parents may find the look of this app familiar as it is based, where we live, as part of the television series “Nina’s Little Fables,” part of PBS Sprouts “The Goodnight Show.”

Although the images used are the same, with a wonderful use of shadow puppet animation, creating silhouettes that represent these characters and using a stark black, white and gray color scheme, as well as incorporating a few other, sometimes muted colors for great effect, the narration and music are different, now spoken in rhyme and including a very well-done voiceover and a thoughtful use of pitch-perfect World Music. This brings a good sense of drama and importance to this story not found in the corresponding version narrated by Nina, the host of the “Good Night Show,” that although pleasant, is also a little saccharine for my taste.

I do appreciate the version of this tale found within this universal app, both in terms of story as well as visual style. The high contrast look of this application, using a stark palette, is a refreshing change from other favorite apps that have a brighter, more colorful look to them.

Interactions are included that are simple and lovely, such as being able to tap elements within, hearing the sound of a percussion instrument with each interactive tap, creating a wonderful effect.

A few included details such as the sun or rocks incorporate a nice use of color that also with a tap changes these colors, shade-by-shade of warn neutrals which make their way up the scale to the use of red or yellow found peppered throughout.

Some elements also become animated, as are the mouse and lion characters, as well as the fruit hanging from the trees or the rocks found as background details, this being the case of “less is more” as these subtle effects create a wonderful visual style more engaging for young children than other, highly interactive applications, as here tapping to hear the lion roar the first time has more of an impact than another app that may be cluttered with many other distractions.

When reading this app, one will notice the text found in the top left of the page that can also be closed if one would like simply to listen to this story without reading along.

I do find it counter-intuitive, however, that the paragraph as a whole is in red type, yet the line in the process of being read is highlighted gray, making this line of text fade into the background instead of popping to gain the reader’s attention. I would love to see these colors reversed, with the paragraph in general appearing in gray and line of narration being spoken appearing in red, really standing out and aiding young readers.

It is really enjoyable to see how all these elements of the shadow animation, narration and wonderful use of music as well as included interactions, creating an experience that adults as well as children will enjoy together.

I look forward to seeing more of these “Little Fables” turned into applications; the quality here is quite high.

Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Just For Fun, Language, Preschool, Primary School, Reading, Reviews, Social, Stories, Toddlers