Dylan Monkey & Squishy Face – App Review

By Juli | April 23, 2011 | No comment yet

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If you have kids and an iPad, then you’ve inevitably been introduced into the wide world of children’s books, games, and learning applications. There are a lot of amazing and beautiful books available for kids on the iPad, but Dylan Monkey & Squishy Face is definitely the cream of the crop.

Dylan Monkey & Squishy Face is based on those whimsical and creative ideas that only kids can come up with. The book is absolutely adorable, with enticing art and a unique and interesting story line that is both funny and educational.

Join Dylan Monkey, his brother Squishy Face, and their mother Frazzle Dazzle as Dylan goes on a mission to construct new hands for his brother, who, in Dylan’s mind, needs one for holding his bottle and an additional four for crawling. Dylan must come up with a plan to create the new hands and conduct experiments to test his wacky ideas. The book includes lessons on safety and experimentation. It encourages children to explore and come up with creative ways of thinking. In the end, Dylan learns that helping his brother is the only viable option, and the end theme countenances working together and helping others.

Each page of the story was meticulously and gorgeously crafted using ink, water colors, and photographs. Every page is animated, and they all have interactive drawings that you can tap on for zany actions and fanciful sounds. The hand drawn look is completely captivating, and the entire story is bright and colorful. It’s really a joy to look at.

There are several ways to explore this book: read to me, read to myself, and auto play. With the first option, the story is narrated, but you turn the pages. The second option allows you to narrate the story, but retains all the sounds and animations. The third option will allow your child to use the app on their own, because the pages will automatically turn after the narration and animations, which is excellent for car trips. At the end of the story, there are questions that you can use to start dialogues and improve reading comprehension.

Interactive books like this one are certainly the future of children’s literature, because they are so immersive. I know people who believe that actual books can never be replaced, but a book that you can touch and really explore is enthralling for a young audience. Dylan Monkey & Squishy Face is certainly a great contribution to the interactive literature genre.

What I liked: I loved the art style, the vibrant colors, and the animations.

What I didn’t like: I could not turn the book pages during the animations. At times, I accidentally clicked an animation when I wanted to flip to the next page, and as a result, there was a delay of several seconds before I could move on.

To buy or not to buy: Yes, absolutely. This app is perfect for bedtime, car trips, or anytime you want to entertain your children with a lively, interactive story that’s fun, thought-provoking, and humorous.