Category Archives: interactive book apps

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100 Diggers and Excavators

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The e-book, 100 Diggers & Excavators, was FREE for the iPhone/iPad last week but it is now $.99. This book is easy to use and features over 100 HD pictures of diggers in action with sound clips! There is text on every page describing a digger or excavator, its location, or the job that it is doing. The list in the upper right hand corner can be used to preview/access individual pages in the app. The book does have not to be read in order since it is not telling a story. It is simply describing the machines pictured on each page. Also included is a video clip of a digger in action. If you have a lover of heavy machinery in your life – you may want to check out this book 🙂

Keep reading my blog to find out when apps become FREE.

100 Diggers and Excavators - Whyse ApS

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Magic Town

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Magic Town, FREE for the iPad for 2 -6 year olds, is an interactive world where stories live. To use the app you must first register via Facebook or email. Then you set up your children’s profiles – for up to 4 children. After registering, you get six free permanent stories which are housed in the Aesop’s fables/Hans Christian Andersen houses. Also, every day Louis the Lion flies into Magic Town on his magical airship to deliver a FREE story to your child. Your child will only have access to that FREE story for one day, unless you subscribe. Paying for a subscription gets you access to all of Magic Town’s content – one month is now (4-3-13) only $3.99 (originally  $11.99) and a year is $74.99. If you do not want to subscribe, you can also buy books one at a time. The stories are wonderful and can be enjoyed in four modes: explore, read together, watch, and play. Magic Town is a great source of quality interactive stories for kids!!

Here is a link to the website where you can watch an introductory video: http://www.magictown.com/ 

Highly Recommended!

Magic Town - Discover a World Where Stories Live - Mindshapes Limited

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Who Stole the Moon? Lite

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This Lite FREE version of the app is really only a preview of this interactive story – specifically the first 6 pages. It is the story of Bertie Brown who loves looking through his bedroom skylight to see the moon. He gets worried one night when he doesn’t see the moon and thinks that someone has stolen it. The full version continues the story from this point on. It also includes games and songs. The preview is beautifully done – great artwork, nice music. It seems like it would make a nice bedtime story – the cost is $4.99 to find out 🙂

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Bean Bag Kids present Little Red Riding Hood

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FREE for a limited time – an interactive fairy tale for the iPhone/iPad. Read along with this classic tale presented as a play by the Bean Bag Kids. Tapping the 3D characters, makes them act even better. The app has 3 modes – read to me, read alone or autoplay. Words are highlighted as the story is read so children can read along. Children collect hidden stars on each page to unlock the Bean Bag Kids’ bios. There are also simple 6 piece puzzles at the end of the play. One minor concern that I have is that the font may be difficult to read for little ones. Other than that, it’s definitely cute and worth downloading 🙂

Bean Bag Kids present Little Red Riding Hood - Mundomono

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Starring You StoryBooks

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JibJab has been around since 1999. During the 2004 presidential election their Flash movie, This Land, featured George Bush and John Kerry singing a parody of the Woodie Guthrie song, This Land is Your Land. It became a huge success, received millions of hits, and was featured on several major news channels. The company has continued to make videos but added a commercial site several years ago where you can find 1000+ Make & Share eCards and 500+Starring You videos. Their videos are made for adults so you will want to use the app for your kids rather than explore the website.

Four days ago, JibJab expanded into the children’s market with StoryBots. The initial launch included 5 products – one of them is a FREE iPad app that lets parents make their child the star of an animated book. The Starring You StoryBooks app is replacing JibJab Junior app that I reviewed on August 9. It is very easy to use. Just choose a picture of your child from the photo library, Facebook, or take one with your camera. Place your child’s face in the opening, adjust it to fit the space, and then add his/her name. Make sure you choose the correct gender so that the pronouns are correct. If you have more than one child, you can create books starring each of them. The book has animations on each page. There is not a read along option because your child’s name is inserted in the text. The first book, Dancin’ Feet, is free. After that you may purchase individual books ($7.99) or join the book of the month club ($3.99 a month until you cancel with additional books only $1.99 each). I have been a fan of JibJab for years so I am VERY excited to see them come out with products for kids – fun stuff!!

Learn more here: http://www.jibjab.com/kids

Check out the FREE preview of Monster Games which would be a cute Halloween gift for your child 🙂

Highly Recommended!

Starring You StoryBooks - JibJab Media Inc.

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Jack and the Beanstalk by Mindshapes

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FREE app for the iPhone/iPad – this interactive read-along is a humorous, modern version of a classic tale. The animations & illustrations are delightful with interactivity on every page – really cute and definitely worth downloading!!

Recommended!

Jack and the Beanstalk by Mindshapes - Mindshapes Limited

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Avatar Books: Cinderella, PeterPan, Alice in Wonderland,

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These three books from Avatar Book collection for the iPad are currently FREE: Alice in Wonderland, PeterPan, Cinderella. Using these apps, it is really simple to make your child the star of a fairy tale. Just take your child’s picture/use an existing photo, adjust the photo to fit the face line, then watch as your child’s avatar becomes the main character of the fairy tale. The brightly illustrated story is read aloud by a narrator. Because there is no option to read it on your own, it feels more like a movie than a book. The narration is fine but the words are not highlighted for kids to follow along. The appeal of this app is that your child becomes the main character. If you think your child would enjoy that….try one!

AvatarBook Cinderella - JDF Cinderella

AvatarBook PeterPan - JDF PeterPan

AvatarBook Alice in Wonderland - JDF Alice in Wonderland

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Collins Big Cat Story Creator Apps

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6 of Collins Big Cat Story Creator apps are currently FREE (for a limited time) for the iPad. Collins Big Cat is a reading series used by over 9000 schools in The United Kingdom. Titles included are: Around the World/ Farmer’s Lunch/ In the Garden/ It Was a Cold,Dark Night/ My Bike Ride/ The Steam Train. These apps normally sell for $3.99 each so take advantage of this great offer if you have young readers/writers in your life.

These apps, geared towards children ages 4+, include an animated story (with hidden surprises on every page) and a story creator. The story creator allows the child to transfer what they just read into writing. Children can create their own story using the scenes, characters, etc. from the book. There is also the option to record the child’s newly created story. Nicely done for young readers/writers!!

Highly recommended!

Around the World       Collins Big Cat: Around the World Story Creator - HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

The Farmer’s Lunch       Collins Big Cat: The Farmer’s Lunch Story Creator - HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

In the Garden       Collins Big Cat In The Garden Story Creator - HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

It Was a Cold, Dark Night       Collins Big Cat: It Was a Cold, Dark Night Story Creator - HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

My Bike Ride        Collins Big Cat: My Bike Ride Story Creator - HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

The Steam Train       Collins Big Cat: The Steam Train Story Creator - HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

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Read Me Stories – Children’s Books

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Read Me Stories is an app for the iPhone/iPad that offers a selection of read along picture books for kids ages 4+. The FREE version of the app is loaded with the series, Tuffy’s First Adventure, and 6 books from other series for you to try. Available as in-app purchases are: additional books (from other series) and a new book every day. There are two options: “read to you” or “read yourself.” In the “read to you” option, the words are highlighted as they are read. Other than that, the interactivity is limited.

The stories are brightly illustrated and the story lines are fine but not wonderful (in my opinion). Teaching elementary school for 30+ years & reading literally thousands of kids’ stories has made me very picky. I do agree with the philosophy – the way to develop the habit of reading is by reading every day; but personally, I prefer the selection of books available through the Reading Rainbow app  – see my July 18th review.

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Hiding Hannah

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FREE today, Hiding Hannah is an interactive book for kids 2+ for the iPhone/iPad. Hannah loves to hide everything, including herself. Narrated by Tom Kenny (the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants) and illustrated by Melanie McCall, this book is adorable! Your child will love reading through the story and finding where Hannah has hidden things. And the best part is that the hiding places change every time you read the story. Really cute!!

Highly recommended!

Hiding Hannah - Squeaky Frog