Elmer’s Special Day – iPad App Review
Elmer’s Special Day is a very special e-book available for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. Brilliant graphics, professional narration and high-quality audio come together to make this an entertaining and exceptional app for children.
The story is very simple, filled with excited elephants readying themselves for a parade. They are making so much noise that they are upsetting the other animals, so Elmer invites them all to participate in the parade. In the end, there is a special surprise for Elmer.
The app itself is very well designed. The graphics, illustrated by David McKee, are colorful and bright and the narration is clear and easy to understand. The background noises, mostly made of up of animal noises, are very well done.
As the user, you are able to choose between reading the story yourself or having it read to you. Both options include fully interactive content –tap nearly any item in each picture to have it named for you both aloud and in a written word on the screen.
If you choose to have the story read to you, the words are highlighted as they are spoken, promoting reading recognition in small children. If you choose to read the story yourself, you can tap any of the words on the screen to have them spoken for you.
What I liked: I like that if you choose to switch modes, whether reading the book yourself or being read to, that you are given the option of starting over or resuming from where you last left off.
What I didn’t like: When you are having the story read to you, you can still tap on pictures to hear them identified, but the audio doubles up on itself making it difficult to understand.
To buy or not to buy: If you have children that enjoy stories or are learning to read, this is a must-have app. To date, this is my favorite interactive e-book for children.
- App Name: Elmer’s Special Day
- Version Reviewed: 1.0.8
- Category: Books
- Developer: Oceanhouse Media
- Price: $2.99
- Score:
