Flip: Interactive Storybook is an interesting universal interactive storybook.

This short storybook is honestly hard to describe in terms of a narrative as here a girl leaves a city described as dreary, and is no place for her. Emma literally tears herself off the page of this book, also removing a hot air balloon from these pages and flies away first through a lush field that leads to a dark and menacing forest, ultimately being lifted by a funnel cloud high into the sky until there is nothing left and hits “The End”. From here, the girl fights her way back from this end page, back to the dreary city, deciding that it is in fact for her.

The style of this app is quite intriguing as many elements found among pop-up books have been incorporated and can be interacted with, such as the swipe of a finger to tear Emma off the page as well as helping Emma to pull tabs, or with a tap by the reader, opening up flaps one commonly finds in traditional pop-up books as well the tearing free a hot air balloon from these pages for Emma to use on her journey, a nice moment within this story.

This app create an interesting point-of view as one sees these articulated areas of this book from a vantage point of truly being within the story – not simply looking at these flaps or pop-up elements as one may from simply reading a book.

Although I prefer hand-drawn animation to that which is computerized, I do like the look of this app in general, as I enjoy how the accordion-style pop-up and fold down elements seen while turning the pages of a pop-up book are here almost characters themselves and are part of the storytelling narrative – not just elements found to create realism when turning a page. Emma herself also reminds me vaguely of a computerized Tim Burton character – high praise, to be sure.

Some interesting concepts are touched upon here because Emma is presumably a character in a book who is looking for adventure within this story without wanting to go beyond these pages. However, I simply wanted to know more about Emma, the dreary town and what was beyond the end – if anything – and why she chose to go back home.

I enjoy the moment where Emma removes the hot air balloon from the page and flies away as well as the twister that carries her away to the stars – reminiscent possibly of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – but I did not like the way the tone of this short app changes so quickly, cycling between emotions without fully realizing these moments.

Some readers may enjoy how this story is open to interaction, while others may find the storyline thin and more of a showcase for the use of the digital art within.

The interactions do nicely propel this tale along, include dragging and tapping that creates some nice effects, yet the interactions can be cumbersome and unresponsive as well as difficult to decipher. Hints are offered telling readers how to interact with this tale, yet they can turn abstract such as asking for “help” without specific instruction – an area that got me stuck when reading this book more than once. When in doubt, do tap on the hint word itself.

It would also be nice if the page turning of this app could be smoothed out in a future update as this roughness does distract from the immersive feeling that this app does create.

I fear that I may come across as overly harsh in my review of Flip: Interactive Storybook – unfortunate because this app does create images that I do find captivating, possibly getting my son’s imagination working as Emma comes to the end of the book and pulls herself back from going over the edge of the end. I just wish more explanation was given about Emma and her back story, as well as fleshing out what, if anything is beyond “The End” and the reason for her returning to her bleak city.

Having said this, I give this app credit for its style and imagery created within that may stay within the minds of readers for some time. I do feel, however, that compared to other apps within this price point, this app may surprise adults with its short length and lack of varied interactions.

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

Cuddly as a Bunny – Picture Me® is a lovely universal app which allows parents to include personal photos of their child within this application, creating images of their kids in wonderful animal-themed dress-up outfits.

This short yet sweet application is based on the series of Picture Me® books where parents can slip a photo of their child into the back of the book that includes a dye-cut section on each page where the child’s face peeks through, allowing children to see themselves in a wonderful selection of animal dress-up costumes or other themes.

This app jogs my memory as I was given one of these books a long time ago. I thought that this book – a dress-up costume story – was super-cute, but we had no specific photo of our son printed that would fit the cutout just right. I am embarrassed to admit that I never did find and then print the perfect photo for this book so the book remained unused, its whereabouts now unknown. These books have been around for 23 years and have sold over 30 million copies, so my experience is in the minority, but I was happy to have a second chance with this new application.

I discovered that finding appropriate images on my camera roll was not too difficult, and it is worth noting that one can take a photo from a device as well to use within this app if so desired. The framing of these images worked well for me as one can pinch or zoom in or out with fingertips, sizing and rotating the child’s head or face with ina faint outline of the costume worn on each page.

Four images can be added to the pages of this book, and it is interesting how there is a randomness to the use of these pictures among the pages of this book – a nice touch for re-reading.

The story itself consists babies dressed in the most divine animal full-body costumes one can imagine, with rhyming animal-centric text that introduces each animal nicely. The next page includes the child’s photo with text and narration, asking one to “imagine me” as the animal in question as well.

The effect created with the inclusion of personal photos is quite good, and the child’s image added to this app really looks like it belongs within this storybook.

Mild sound effects and interactions can also be found, such as children making animal sounds like the “meow” of a cat or the ability to drag small objects like butterflies or fish across the page.

Like other Oceanhouse Media books, the illustrations enlarge to show details – here with the tap of a finger. Although I really appreciate this feature within their Dr. Seuss apps as well as others, I have mixed feelings about this storybook. It is nice that young children have a chance to see the close-up of their photos as well as the other babies within this app, as babies are programmed to want to look at faces, but the quick zooming movements here may be distracting to children still new to tracking images with their eyes. The interactive elements of this app one drags with a finger are also relatively small for children to manipulate, especially for the babies this app is designed for.

In reality, this app may be best as a lovely keepsake for parents, as the images created are really quite nice, transforming children into adorably cuddly animals. One of the pages which includes my son’s face in a Dalmatian dress-up – a fancier version of a favorite Halloween costume of my son – makes me daydream a bit about him when he was younger and how much older he has gotten, and I really appreciate how these images can be saved on one’s camera roll or emailed to friends and family. Nice narration is included. Parents also have the chance to read this story to their children as well, further personalizing this app.

It would be nice, however, if multiple users could have their images saved simultaneously so families of multiple children don’t have to search their camera rolls to swap images, although one always has the chance to use up to four family members within the book as well. It would also be nice if one could save a few favorite photos to a gallery within the app, helping the image selection process for those who may want to rotate the photos used in this storybook.

To email, save or print from an air printer, tap a photo page at the center bottom of the screen to retrieve a pull-up menu – a section parents may overlook at first when exploring this book – yet intuitive to use once found.

All in all, this is a very nice application for babies and toddlers, and it is also nice to know that my preschool-age son did enjoy seeing his photo added to the story as well. I can see this storybook as an especially nice choice for those who enjoy playing dress-up or pretend to be animals. If interested, other apps from this series are also available through iTunes.

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

Cool to be Clever: Edson Hendricks is a wonderful biography for iPad that tells the life story of Edson C. Hendricks, the brilliant mind behind the design of the Internet.

This is a very nicely written application, narrated effortlessly by Hendricks himself, who has a wonderful speaking voice which reminding me of a less flamboyant Spaulding Gray making him a great talent in re-telling his own story.

Although written by another author, Leanne Jones, the words presented on the page and spoken in the first person ring utterly true as they guide readers through Hendricks’s early life as a child, being bullied for his intellect as well as for his red hair color, through his groundbreaking work with computers at MIT and beyond as he worked to design a method of connecting the world’s computers, sometimes misunderstood by those in authority at this workplace.

I do really enjoy this story of how the technology for the Internet was born, as I do Hendricks’s personal story, growing up and feeling an outcast until he found his place in college – a relatable experience for many.

Hendricks’s method of delivery is modest and humble, always remaining very much of an everyman including his lovely delivery of his life story to his interviews, which are also included within this application.

I find it interesting that Hendricks is widely regarded as a genius yet never uses this word himself, and I wonder if children will fully understand how unique an experience it is to be a self-taught reader or how difficult admissions to MIT is – topics that parents or teachers may feel the need to touch upon.

I also appreciate how this application also includes moments of drama and suspense during a chapter that goes into detail about Hendricks and a friend sailing through a hurricane on their way to Bermuda, Hendricks being depressed at the time over an invention that was not well-received and how having to fight for their life helped put things into perspective.

Another interesting section of this app includes an anecdote about a peculiar cat that I also was impressed by regarding how this story is tied to the rest of the app in a most thoughtful way.

Please do not expect many interactions as this app is primarily a recorded book and a terrific learning tool that not only teaches about the history of the Internet but may also whet the appetite of children for other biographies or interesting people.

I really enjoy how this app combines the written story narrated by Hendricks as well as other sections that include much other information about the Hendrickses’ family life, the Internet and other scientific topics, also including moments of Hendricks giving wonderful advice to programmers as well as to children who feel different.

This app also includes a lengthy section about bullying in schools and what can be done about this very serious topic. The music used throughout this app is also touched upon in a separate section – a nice touch.

It is easy recommend this application for children who have the attention span to listen to this lengthy, interesting audio-book of an iPad app keeping in mind that Hendricks notes a particularly dark time for him that may be not appropriate for some younger children.

Illustrations are included which are equally well done, but at times when Hendricks is describing the computer room in college where he worked, it seems like a missed opportunity that the illustrations do not represent what is being described as this could have helped children visualize these most outdated computers and other hardware being discussed. Also, an image of Woodstock is incorporated into the text – an event that Hendricks experienced firsthand, yet it is only 1965 in the timeline of this story, with a jog into the future while discussing other scientific achievements to come. This may be a little confusing for readers, especially those who think of 1969 when thinking about Woodstock – possibly less of an issue for children not familiar with these dates.

The production value of the audio recording of Hendricks’s story is a little rough – something that I found mildly distracting yet not something most children will pick up on, I am sure.

This app is not only great for children, teens and interested adults, but for teachers as well, as this app has a very nice section about dealing with bullies in school and how this could have helped Hendricks possibly fit in better in school.

This application is thoughtfully written and includes a lot of information children can feel inspired by, from the design that led to the Internet to Hendricks’s personal story of overcoming bullies as well as touching on the difficult yet very real topic of depression that Hendricks also includes as part of his life story.

Equally interesting are the interviews with the author of this app, Leanne Jones, who discusses her experiences as a teacher, how she discovered Hendricks’s story, and what she learned from writing this biography – all interesting notes that add to this app’s overall experience.

Cool to be Clever: Edson Hendricks reminds of me the It Gets Better Project for Gay and LGTB Youth, yet here this app articulates that life can get better for those bullied during their childhood years, making this a story worth telling in homes and schools, especially within gifted classrooms.

By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, For Parents, Health, High School +, Just For Fun, Middle School, Primary School, Reading, Reviews, Science, Social, Stories

Astrid and Siri is a charming interactive storybook for iPad. This lovely tale centers around Astrid, an Arctic girl, who with help from her magic purple thread is a wondrous seamstress creating intricate clothes for all her animal friends.

This app is utterly appealing and includes a very effective use of fun, simple, yet highly creative interactions for a terrific effect. It is also nice how this app starts out with an interesting Viking scene, telling readers that this story is actually an old tale that has been spread the world over by these Vikings, creating a mythology to this story that kids and adults will enjoy.

Parents, especially those of girls, who believe in the old the adage – “It’s not the clothes that make the man, but the man who makes the clothes” – will appreciate this app, as here, Astrid, along with her best friend, an Arctic fox named Siri, love to sew clothing for their animal friends, using a tremendous amount of skill and thought to create every piece of clothing by hand.

I love how her supportive animal friends are always willing to model the sometimes silly outfits, and how Astrid works through the winter contemplating her new designs she wants to sew, yet waits patiently until spring, when the sheep family is happy to donate their wool for Astrid to work with.

This is a delightful story for all young children – especially for girls who are fond of princesses and all their accoutrements – as this story revolves around wonderful fancy clothes, yet the main character is a hard worker who is grateful to the sheep family for giving her their wool. She in turn designs wonderful clothing for them to wear to an upcoming formal tea party, allowing children to really enjoy all the pretty clothing found within this storybook, devoid of the sense of entitlement that often goes along with princess stories.

There are many elements that are most enjoyable, such as the sheep family visiting the salon for their hair to be cut, with nice details such as sheep under hair dryers, wearing curlers, having their hair wrapped in a towel, or painting their hooves with nail polish.

Wool is also delivered to a traditional hat maker, giving children the chance to see the old-fashioned tools used by milliners – a nice touch.

Every page includes interactive hotspots to trigger with a tap or swipe, adding richness to the reading experience and never distracting. The illustrations are a treat as well, with a multimedia flare that I really love as the many textures found in materials such as wool yarn, ruffled material and embellishments can be found among these characters’ new clothing, as well as other perfectly imperfect details that add nice textures to this app.

What has impressed me the most within this app is the use of interactive finger-painting allowing one to fill blank sections found throughout this app, allowing one to help Astrid fill these pages with terrific sketches of hats and clothing, with an added detail of a paintbrush that moves as one drags a finger, creating a genuine feel of creating these drawing themselves. This finger-painting style of interaction can also be found as Astrid sews fancy clothing onto her animal friends or onto hangers, also decorating a beautifully detailed purple wool blanket – a gift for the sheep family’s graciousness. For a great effect, a needle full of magical purple string can be seen to move when the children’s finger is dragged across the page.

Other nice moments exist as well, such as Astrid going through the process of dyeing her fabrics in tea and other natural substances, showing the entire process and hard work involved as Astrid designs her fashions. Children can also partake in the tea party, helping the animals eat their treats – moments my son really enjoys.

The included narration, a simple, thoughtful storyline, and unique interactions all come together to create a story that could easily be a family favorite application. The quality here is very high, and I love how Astrid’s and the animals’ outfits are styled, with a nod to antique children’s or doll clothing that are simply wonderful. Children can also enjoy this story by reading this book to themselves if they so desire.

A very nice dress-up game is also included, allowing one to dress up Astrid from the clothing found within and letting readers see these pieces in more details. The look of this section is great as well, also lovingly stylized with many details, but I would love to see more clothing choices offered in the future, possibly also including the animals of this book.

The one note that I would like to make is that it is easy for readers to turn the pages of this book, not realizing that more paragraphs of narration and text are part of the page being read – an issue I hope can be looked at for the future.

Even with this issue, Astrid and Siri is a great application for iPad that young children and their family will greatly enjoy, with a relaxing ending that readers will find very satisfying. I would love to see more Astrid and Siri storybooks in the future.

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

The Shape of Me and Other Stuff – Dr Seuss is a lovely adaptation of the title by of the same name – part of a series of Dr. Seuss books developed by Oceanhouse Media.

For those who may not know, The Shape of Me and Other Stuff is a Bright and Early Dr Seuss book, containing the rhyming cadence Seuss is known for without the wondrous nonsensical tongue twisters that can make his work cumbersome to read or follow by the youngest children. I have always been a fan of these simple-to-read books as they were some of the first stories we read to our son when he was born, and I am sure they will be the first books my son reads to himself as well.

The Shape of Me and Other Stuff teaches children about the concept of shapes beyond the traditional geometric shapes that one is commonly taught, instead being a message about imagination as well as an easy-to-read or listen-to story that rolls off the tongue very nicely.

The plot is simple and is not fully narrative as a boy and a girl explore the shapes of the objects in the world around them.

I appreciate how Dr. Seuss’s wonderful style of illustrations can be found within, as all the items included, even the boy and girl characters are wonderfully silhouetted in black, with the objects, creatures or characters sometimes also silhouetted in bold color choices or even in white when displayed on a colored page that is found among the pages of this book. I enjoy the look of these silhouettes, showing off the line detail of these illustrations – something that is not always focused upon when looking at the pictures in another Dr. Seuss book with the traditional brightly colored drawings.

Narration is included, here with two different voices in use, presumably those of the boy and girl characters from the story. I really enjoy the girl’s narration found towards the second half of this story, as she speaks clearly and with enthusiasm. The same can be said for the boy’s narration, but I think this voice in general too saccharine for my taste and not as enjoyable to listen to as other narrators who are used among the Dr. Seuss series of applications. It is worth noting that my son does not have this issue, and as these apps are primarily for children, this is a minor point.

I have been uniformly pleased with how the Dr. Seuss books have been translated into applications, keeping the style and spirit alive from the original published books, now including a chance to look at close-ups of these illustrations with the use of the “Ken Burns Effect” of panning and zooming of these pages draws the eye to areas of the page for a nice effect.

Subtle background music and ambient sounds are also incorporated that bring something new to this story not available when reading a traditional book – nice elements that add to the experience without distraction. Interactive hotspots are included as well, as readers can tap any detail to see the item labeled with text as well as spoken, yet never talking above the included narration – a nice touch.

Individual words can also be tapped to heard, aiding children in reading this book in case they become stuck and need help – a lovely inclusion that makes Oceanhouse Media apps in general wonderful resources for young readers.

Like the other Dr. Seuss apps developed by Oceanhouse Media, as well as their applications in general, one also has the chance to read this book to oneself. Autoplay is also included, turning the pages of this book automatically when listening to the narration.

I have been a huge fan of OceanHouse Media’s Dr. Seuss apps from their very first release of The Cat in the Hat, and I always get excited when a new Dr. Seuss app becomes available. I especially love that the easy-to-read Bright and Early Books for Beginning Beginners have been turned into storybook applications as well. I hope to see more of these titles developed including those written by other writers such Stan and Jan Berenstain as well.

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

Henry, you’re late AGAIN! is a cute universal storybook that children, especially of grade school age, may appreciate, based on the published book of the same name.

Henry is a boy who is always late to school through no fault of his own as his family in general has issues with time management, much to Henry’s frustration as well as the frustration of his nemesis, Miss Timberlane, the school secretary who needs to fill out his late slips.

Things take a turn for the worse as Henry is dropped off at school on a teacher work day that students are not attending, yet in this more laid back setting, much to Henry’s pleasant surprise, Miss Timberlane is not exacerbated by this mistake and is really quite kind.

I enjoy the stream of consciousness style as we see the world from Henry’s point-of-view, complete with moments of interesting mythology about Miss Timberlane as Henry wonders such things as what kinds of feet she has (human or dog) as they can’t be seen behind her large desk, if she “owns” a baby of her own or sleeps at school. I also appreciate how Henry’s perception of Miss Timberlane is altered when their interaction is on a different level for the first time, creating a character in Miss Timberlane that is multidimensional – something that I always enjoy within a story.

The illustrations are fun and include some very subtle animated and audio hotspots, but the main focus here is storytelling. Narration is included, and it is nice that a child’s voice, presumably Henry himself, or that of author Mary Evanson Bleckwehl can be chosen. I really like the sound of both these narrator’s voices, especially Henry who brings a lot of earnest emotion to this fun tale, and I enjoy how the concept of “patience” is gently introduced within this story.

The actual audio production value is a little rough though, although I don’t think children may pick up on this as easily as I do. I have also noticed that the image quality, although the illustrations are really a lot of fun, are not quite as high a resolution with iPhone or iPad – something I hope can be worked out soon.

Even with these notes, I have had a lot of fun with this storybook. The style of writing, slightly lengthy, descriptive and quirky at times really brings Henry and his experiences to life for me and makes him an utterly real person – something not easy to do, and for this reason I recommend this application.

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

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

Easter is almost here, a favorite holiday of mine especially as a child, interesting as I never grew up with Easter having much of a religious significance. For me, it meant winter was over and spring had begun.

I still love to see the Easter treats and decorations in the stores, as the soft color palette found at this time of year is so much more appealing to me that the red and green or orange and black found during other holidays.

I have not decided yet if I want to treat my son to the Über mess that dyeing Easter eggs can be, and I have not encouraged the sweet tooth I had as a child so he does not share the same excitement I have seeing the rows of Peeps or Cadbury eggs lining the shelves of our local stores.

I do want him to have some Easter fun this year, however, be it on a secular level. We are going to an Easter egg hunt at preschool, and I am excited to share a new app with him with an Easter theme as well.

KidsMag, Easter Special Edition is children’s magazine app, part of the KidsMag series of apps that my son and I really like, much akin to reading Highlights and includes fun interactions as well as engaging instructions for baking and crafts that children will enjoy.

Easter-themed, this app includes a really nice story about bunnies decorating Easter eggs, gently teaching about art and inspiration in a way that both parents as well as children will appreciate.

As cute as this app is with an abundance of eggs, bunnies and carrots, it’s nice to see how educational this application is as well, as sequencing of ideas is taught in a variety of ways.

To hear the main story found within this app about the bunny egg decorating story, tap on each individual panel of this storyboarded tale to hear short passages that relate to the illustration included in each panel, teaching children about the different sections of beginning, middle and end that one can find within a story.

Very nice instructions for baking Easter cookies are included as well. Tap on each image in sequence to hear and read these instructions, nicely broken down to be able to be followed by children in their kitchens at home. Likewise, crafty directions for making bunny ears are also included. Tap on each image to be led throughout this activity from beginning to end.

The arranging of scenes is also taught, as Easter-themed images, such as searching, finding and eating chocolate eggs are explored, as children sort these illustrations from 1 to 4, again teaching the basics of a beginning, middle and end.

I also appreciate how during many of the included activities, the iPad can be shook to bring players to additional pages of the same activity, such as spot the differences, hidden picture carrot, chocolate bunny searches or hopping bunny dot-to-dot. Basic addition, colors and a puzzle are covered in this bunny-themed application. Kids can also get creative with coloring pages as well as an egg-decorating section.

With 17 pages of content – more when one includes the shaking of the iPad to expand many of these activities, this app will keep children occupied for a nice amount of time.

Being a special addition, this app at 17 pages, is shorter than an issue of KidsMag each which have around 30 pages, but it is also less expensive and well worth the money as are the other KidsMag applications within this series, some of which have been reviewed here at GiggleApps. Please search for them if interested.

Animals, By Age Range, By App Feature, Counting, Just For Fun, Preschool, Primary School, Puzzle, 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!

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