Penny Finds Her Brave is a charming storybook application – an especially good choice as a bedtime story. Without narration or a soundtrack, Penny Finds Her Brave is intended to be read to children as a traditional book and is the story of Penny, a young girl who is scared of most everything – especially the dark. Such a shame are Penny’s fears as she is lucky enough to live upstairs from the toy shop where her dad has invented the world’s greatest toys that she is also afraid of.

I love the tender way her father approaches Penny, explaining that she has a whole lot of brave inside of her that she just needs to find – something she is at a loss about how to do.

Then one night in her room while trying to sleep, she meets a single-eyed creature with blue fur named Seymour, a cute and cuddly bravery detector that her dad invented to help Penny discover the brave within herself, giving Penny the confidence to play outside and explore the fun things that used to scare her a great deal.

The look of this app is as delightful as this story includes fun stylized images and is in general bright and colorful, as well as including a good use of darker colors, especially during nighttime scenes that will keep the backlit iPad dark – a nice touch for reading this story in bed to children before they sleep.

There are elements that are reminiscent of Dr. Seuss’s There’s a Wocket in my Pocket, specifically when readers are introduced to the fantastical toys invented by her father as well as moments of rhyme found throughout. I also appreciate that there are moments of text without rhyme as well, as this combination works together for a very nice effect and lovely storytelling that I am quite partial to.

A few extras such as a Bravery Scanner and a Night-light are included.

The Bravery Scanner is an image of Seymour which will detect bravery within children who tap him as he offers affirmations that are translated into text at the bottom of the screen. These animated moments are super-cute and nicely varied – fun for children as well as adults.

The Night-light includes an image of Seymour sleeping comfortably with a teddy bear. His peaceful snoring and rhythmic breathing amidst a dimmed iPad are intended to relax children, lulling them to sleep.

Penny Finds Her Brave is a perfect story to read to children as a bedtime story, including a very positive message about bravery and confidence. Simple yet effective hotspots are included which are fun yet do not distract, especially important in a night time story such as this, yet I did have a few moments of accidental page-turning when looking for these hotspots – something that I hope can be worked out in the future.

Even with this mild note, Penny Finds Her Brave is a wonderful storybook that is easy to recommend. I would love to see more of Penny or other stories from this developer in the future.

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