Tag: "Book App"

Cat-Nav Aims to Take the Guesswork Out of Choosing Book Apps

By Emily | January 20, 2012 | No comment yet

Persian Cat Press, the independent, Manchester-based publisher just released Cat-Nav, its first app, aimed at helping readers find the best picture books, graphic novels, and other book apps. Each week Cat-Nav choses six book apps to highlight with thorough, entertaining reviews that include cheers and jeers for the apps in question.

Cat-Nav will be a boon for new iPad owners since it makes the overwhelming nature of Apple’s App Store more manageable. Readers who really want just the cream of the crop can go to the “Our Favourites” section for a more limited selection of can’t-miss titles. Cat-Nav also allows users to access its archives, which means that over time it will become an indispensable resource to all book app fans.

By Cristi | November 27, 2011 | 1 comment

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We have reviewed many Loud Crow book apps and today we are happy to partner with them to provide our readers with a chance to win one of several different codes for their little ones: Charlie Brown Christmas, Barnyard Dance! – Boynton, Going to Bed Book – Boynton.

By Emily | November 17, 2011 | No comment yet

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The iPad was made for apps such as Dan Garson’s Woodstock Experience. As a photography and music-obsessed 17-year-old from New Haven, CT, Garson snagged press credentials and attended the now legendary “An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music.” This app shares what he saw during that time.

DGWE reconstructs Garson’s long, strange trip to Max Yasgur’s farm with diary entries, various ephemera, as well as the coup de grace: a photo gallery featuring the images he shot during the festival’s run.

By Emily | September 30, 2011 | No comment yet

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Interact Books is a company whose mission is to get kids reading. The organization offers a multifaceted approach which includes a free iPad app, a number of free books, plus additional titles available for in-app purchase. The company also offers InteractBuilder, software that allows users to create books which can be read inside its application.

These offerings intend to broaden children’s knowledge as well as to spark their imagination. The app acts as a library that stores a variety of titles which are available under the Interact umbrella.

By Cristi | July 20, 2011 | No comment yet

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Black Dog Books has once again hit the App Store and this time they have ventured away from the Violet series and introduced a new interactive children’s storybook app called Witchemina. Written and illustrated by Allison Keeme, Witchemina is the story of a “sweet and gentle little witch” who thinks and acts much differently than traditional witches.

Witchemina lives in a dark and mucky swamp together with her sisters and while they spend their time casting spells and boiling brews, she enjoys much different interests like drawing portraits of friends, casting good spells and baking chocolate chip cookies. But, more than anything else, Witchemina likes to garden and works very hard to turn ugly weeds into flowers.

By Cristi | July 14, 2011 | No comment yet

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If your kids enjoy watching the mischievous 10-year-old Ben and his gang of alien heros in Cartoon Network’s Ben 10, there’s a new book app available in the App Store they will almost certainly enjoy reading. Designed for three to seven year olds, Frog Dog Media brings the cast of Ben 10 characters to the iPad, iPhone and iPod in Ben 10 Triple Threat.

The race is on to locate and deactivate an alien spy transmitter! Who will be the first group to get it done and win Grandpa Max’s respect — Manny, Helen, and Pierce or Ben, Gwen, and Kevin? Sit down with the iPad, enjoy reading and discover the outcome of this exciting adventure.

By Cristi | July 1, 2011 | No comment yet

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Add another book to your children’s app collection with The Truly Great Noodle from developer Grids Interactive and do your part to help Kids Against Hunger in the process.

When Nate sits down to dinner in his kitchen and begins to eat, he encounters an unbelievably long noodle. ”Off the table and onto the floor,” Nate’s noodle stretches “right out the door.” Twisting and winding from Muddy-Bottom Lake to Fiselbert Park, over the town’s tallest tree, eventually stopping at Gower’s Junk Store. Nate ate late into the night only to find a big surprise waiting for him in the end.

By Cristi | May 3, 2011 | No comment yet

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We’ve watched countless episodes of Arthur and his gang of friends on PBS over the years, so I was excited to hear ScrollMotion Kids and Marc Brown Studios have joined forces to bring everyone’s favorite aardvark to your iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. Each book app will be narrated by author Marc Brown and includes characters your kids know and love.

Arthur Turns Green is the first of nine apps based on the popular children’s book titles written by Brown. In it, Mr. Ratburn challenges his class to “find ways to make our planet a better place to live.” When Arthur arrives home talking about “The Big Green Machine,” D.W. claims he is acting weirder than usual and becomes extremely concerned when her father, Arthur and Buster appear to be turning green. Discover what Arthur does around his house to go green and save energy in this New York Times bestseller.

By Cristi | April 25, 2011 | No comment yet

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The Royal Wedding is just days away and every time you turn on the TV, it seems like there is something related to the upcoming event going on in London. If you are tracking the wedding progress in anticipation of the “big day,” there are several iPad apps available and that includes kids apps too. Will & Kate is a new children’s book app about a prince named William and his soon to be princess, Catherine.

The cute story of William and Catherine includes seventeen pages of interactive elements and sounds effects. Kids discover lots of hidden surprises by simply tapping and swiping objects on each page. Join the couple on a hot air balloon ride, control a fireworks display over the skies of London, help Catherine find the perfect wedding dress and more in the pages of this fun book.

By Cristi | November 29, 2010 | No comment yet

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This Black Friday / Cyber Monday Weekend App Contest features four apps from developer mytales digital. Little ones will enjoy bedtime even more when you incorporate these lullaby apps into your nightly routine and once awake, they’ll have lots of fun interacting with the whimsical little Duck in One Rainy Day.

We have one app bundle to give away and it includes the four apps listed below. Entering our contest is easy, just follow the steps after the break and try your luck!

Hush, Little Baby: a Read a-Long, Sing-a-Long Lullabies
Sleep, Baby, Sleep: a Read a-Long, Sing-a-Long Lullabies
Rock-a-bye Baby: a Read a-Long, Sing-a-Long Lullabies
One Rainy Day: a Read-Along, Play-Along Story about Colors

PadGadget has partnered with top iPad app developers to bring our readers some of the latest iPad apps for free during this holiday weekend. Be sure to check back on a regular basis through Monday. We’ve got lots of contests planned and you don’t want to miss out!

Enter the contest after the break »

Pedlar Lady of Gushing Cross for iPad – First Look

By Cristi | August 24, 2010 | No comment yet

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The Pedlar Lady of Gushing Cross is the first in a series of “Classic World Tales” from Moving Tales. Based on similar tales from different countries around the world, this story depicts the journey of an old woman who eventually discovers a wonderful treasure.

Living on “a parched bit of acreage,” the old pedlar spent the majority of her days tilling the dusty earth and collecting old bottles and hubcaps in the nearby town. The pedlar lady slips in and out of dreams and reality and decides to travel to Capital City where she gains the knowledge to uncover the treasure buried right at her own feet.

Moving Tales has created “a state-of-the-art digital ‘mash-up’ of methods from the worlds of ebook publishing, graphic novels, film and interactive media.” When the words of the story literally fall into place, you realize the movie-like 3D animation of this story takes book reading and storytelling on the iPad to the next level. The Additional features of The Pedlar Lady of Gushing Cross include:

sophisticated 3D animation
original music, voice over and sound effects
swipe or tap for page turning
auto page turning option
sound effects only option
randomly select alternate views and extras
listen in English or Spanish

By Cristi | August 2, 2010 | No comment yet

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Aesop’s Fables Audiobook (Preschool Kids Edition) for the iPad is a classic collection of stories with a modern twist. Most people remember at least a few of Aesop’s Fables from their childhood and this beautifully created app covers many of the important moral lessons you learned as a child, and at the same time, lets you teach them to your own kids.

You’ll enjoy favorites like “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” and “The Tortoise and the Hare” from the list of 20 fables included in this app. Simply spin the Fable Wheel and fate will determine your story selection. Although this app is more like a traditional reading experience and does not include interactive pictures on each page, the stories are timeless, the illustrations beautiful and the language options nice. Readers may choose to read the stories themselves, have the stories read to them in English, Chinese or German or record their own version (a great option for parents who travel or grandparents who live far away).

After you’ve read five fables, you’ll have access to “Spot the Difference” games. Each game includes two similar pictures with five differences. Have fun playing with your kids while racing against time to identify all the differences! It sounds easy but it’s not always as obvious as you’d think.

By Cristi | July 31, 2010 | No comment yet

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Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy is an enchanting story written by award-winning author Tina Turbin and beautifully illustrated by award-winning illustrator Aija Jasuna. This story is sure to entertain young children and is coming to the App Store for the iPad soon.

In the story, a little boy named Jimmy finds a very unique seashell during his trip to the beach. When he discovers the shell can talk, his adventure begins. Once Jimmy arrives home, he finds his incredible little seashell houses a surprisingly big green dragon named Danny and his navigator, Skipper. Together they spend time with Jimmy’s family and have some fun. This feel-good story teaches important lessons like: despite our differences we can all get along, it’s nice to have good manners and even doing chores can be fun.

Mom’s Choice Awards® recently awarded the story’s high standards with the “Silver Award for Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy; named among the best in family-friendly products.”

By Cristi | June 4, 2010 | No comment yet

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Keep your kids entertained this summer with two new Dr. Seuss apps released by Oceanhouse Media. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and Up with a Fish are two more wonderfully created apps worth adding to your collection.

Like other Dr. Seuss book apps released by Oceanhouse Media, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish combines education and entertainment into one complete package. There are three reading options which allow kids to interact and follow along with the story:

Read to Me – The story is read to you and you turn the pages when you are ready.
Read it Myself – Read the book yourself, tap the text if you want to hear it read to you and turn the page when you are ready to continue.
Auto Play – More like a movie mode, the story is read to you and advances automatically.

The use of Dr. Seuss’s original artwork and text delivers this classic children’s story with a modern twist. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish is currently in the New and Noteworthy section of the App Store.

Up with a Fish is a fun game sure to entertain both kids and parents. Catch and stack objects as they fall from the sky by tilting your iPad back and forth from left to right. The more items you catch, the higher your points. Pay attention to the fish bowls! They’ll help you increase your multiplier or end the game if you miss three. Stay away from Thing 1 and Thing 2! Your whole tower will tumble if they get in your way.

For $5.00, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish ($3.99) and Up with a Fish ($0.99) will provide hours of summertime fun for the kids. Money well spent, if you ask me!

MeeGenius! iPad App

By Cristi | May 21, 2010 | No comment yet

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Kids learn by doing, and what better way to help them learn, than to provide them with the tools to do just that. MeeGenius! launched its children’s iPad storybook app and is currently listed in the “Staff Favorites” section of the App Store.

Based on the philosophy that “children learn the most when they love what they are doing,” MeeGenius! allows parents and kids to read and personalize a number of books using its digital reading app. Your purchase of the $1.99 MeeGenius! app, gets you 12 classic children’s stories. Readers may select a book to have read to them, or choose to modify a story by changing character names and read it themselves. Additional books are available for $1.99 each.

Founded less than two years ago, MeeGenius! has already gathered quite a following. The iPhone version has received great reviews in the App Store and been downloaded thousands of times. Its repeatedly spotted in the Top Ten Paid Book apps list, as well as in “New and Noteworthy” and “What’s Hot.”

We’ll see how the iPad app fares, but if the iPhone version is any indication, it’ll be a hit!