Category Archives: interactive book apps

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Lincoln – Quelle Histoire

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lincoln

FREE today, just in time for Presidents’ Day – Lincoln. This app includes a story about Abraham Lincoln’s life, a portrait gallery of Lincoln & others, and some games. The book can be read by a narrator or on your own. Lots of bigger words in this one, for example: envisaged, eloquence, adversary, promulgated. So… it might be best to read the story as a group. Then, the class could figure out the meaning of the words together using context clues. This book can be read in 4 different languages. This is a great feature, but I wish the developers would have used native readers. Because of the larger words, I think younger kids could have some difficulty with the narrator’s pronunciations – another reason to read it together. I liked how the story included dates and/or Lincoln’s age on almost every page. For that reason, the story could also be used to teach kids how to create a timeline. This app would work in a one iPad classroom with teacher and students reading/working together. 

Lincoln - Quelle Histoire - Quelle Histoire

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ILoveMountains

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mountains

FREE for a limited time, I Love Mountains for the iPad. Author Sloan Graham shares her love for the mountains in her first book for the iPad. Kids read along to learn about how mountains are formed, where they are located, what kind of plant & animal life live there, and more. Kids tap on arrows and plus signs to move the interactive story along. Written at a level that young children can comprehend, this colorful book is nicely done! 

Recommended!

I Love Mountains - Forest Giant, Inc.

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You & Me: We’re Opposites

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FREE for a limited time – the electronic version of the book by the same title. Colorfully illustrated zoo animal present 14 sets of opposites. The app also includes a cute little song and a matching activity. Perfect for little ones as an introduction to opposites!

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Miss Spider’s Bedtime Story for the iPad

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spider-bedtime

This app is the digital version of David Kirk’s beautiful picture book by the same name. It initially sold for $4.99 but is now FREE. There are several nice features: children can watch the story in 3-D animation, they can read along with the narration, or they can read the story on their own. As they read they can touch the illustrations to reveal special surprise effects. Also included are games, puzzles and pictures to paint.

Worth downloading – highly recommended!

Miss Spider's Bedtime Story for the iPad - Callaway Digital Arts Inc.

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Kissing Hand

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kissing hand

FREE for a limited time – the digital version of a beautiful story for children. LOVE this book!!

From the publisher: Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of the children, parents and educators in Newtown, CT. In support of the 1,600 copies of “The Kissing Hand” physical book being donated to the children of Newtown by Tanglewood Press, we are offering the digital book app free to children everywhere for a period of time. We hope this story about the power of love will offer comfort to your family as we all heal.

The Kissing Hand - Oceanhouse Media

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Paddington Bear

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paddingtonFREE today – The classic story of Paddington Bear by Michael Bond for the iPhone/iPad. The classic illustrations of R.W. Alley have been animated and sound effects have been added. There is an option to record your own voice reading the book, you can hear the narration of Paul Vaughan, or you can read it on your own. The app also includes a photo page. Take your child’s photo taken with Paddington Bear!  A wonderful story that has stood the test of time (over 50 years old) – download this must-have classic today!!

Paddington Bear - HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

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What Does Santa do on Boxing Day?

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boxing day

What Does Santa do on Boxing Day? is currently FREE for the iPhone/iPad. Told in rhyme, it’s a story that tells what Santa does on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas. According to this 45 page tale, he travels around the world taking presents to animals. He visits the jungle, the sea, the desert, a farm, & the arctic regions. Santa’s gift choices for all of the animals are great – well thought out and funny. For instance, he brings a foal tap shoes since she likes to clip-clop with her hooves. I wish the author would have left out a few details – Santa’s burp/nasty stomach and Santa needing “the loo”. The inclusion of those kind of details in kids’ books is a personal pet peeve of mine. They really don’t add anything to the story. Other than that, the story is quite cute!

pocket story - What does Santa do on Boxing Day? - Wotsamaflip

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Ice Age Movie Storybook Collection

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FREE today for iPhone/iPad, this app normally sells for $.99. The storyline is developed from the Ice Age movie and features some of its favorite characters – Manny, Sid, Diego, and others. There are three ways to  enjoy this book – read to me, auto play, and read to myself. This e-book uses the images from the movie and the narration is nicely done. The story is not interactive – there is nothing to tap, find, move, etc. on the individual pages. Regardless, you will want to download this app if you have a child (2+) that is a fan of the Ice Age, the movie – it is nicely done storybook.  Ice Age 2,3, & 4 are also available as in-app purchases.

Ice Age Movie Storybook Collection - zuuka incorporated

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Treasure Kai and the Lost Gold of Shark Island

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FREE for a limited time for the iPhone/iPad, Treasure Kai and the Lost Gold of Shark Island is an adventure story of a 10-year-old treasure hunter named Kai. Kai is always dreaming about treasure and looking for it in his parents’ store: The Treasure Shop. Kai’s dreams magically transport him to Shark Island where he finds a treasure chest. And so the adventure begins…. Kids help in the hunt for gold by choosing from 8 different treasure chests. Each chest reveals another clue – leading Kai through more adventures. Along the way there are animations to discover, great sound effects, and an original score. This digital story is similar to the “choose your own adventure” books with an “Indiana Jones” feel to it. It is different every time it is read with thousands of ways to find the treasure. This app would be great for kids who are a bit older and becoming independent readers. Very cool 🙂

Visit the website for a preview http://treasurekai.com/. After reading the story, your child can go back to the website for a variety of extras: watch fun fact videos, go behind the scenes, play a video game, work some puzzles, and more.

Highly Recommended!

Treasure Kai and the Lost Gold of Shark Island - Interactive Book App for Kids - Treasure Bound Books

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Pete and the Secret of Flying HD

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pete

Pete and the Secret of Flying is an adorable interactive e-book for the iPad about a little bird named Pete who has a dream.The story takes place back in the time when birds went everywhere on foot. Pete dreams of playing in the clouds and decides that perhaps he should try his wings out. And so the story unfolds… The narration & text can be turned on or off. There is also an option to autoplay the book. The graphics are great – simple drawings in blue and white with a bright yellow birds! Kids 2+ will love playing with Pete  – he interacts when he’s tapped. Really cute for little ones!

Pete and the secret of flying HD - Shape Minds and Moving Images GmbH