http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/28/the-best-childrens-books-on-the-ipad/?smid=tw-nytimes&seid=auto March 28, 2011, *8:16 pm* The Best Children’s Books on the iPad By WARREN BUCKLEITNER <http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/author/warren-buckleitner/> A screenshot from Go, Clifford, Go! An e-book designed for children.
Once upon a time (five years ago), e-books for children came on shiny CD-ROMs that cost $40, plus a few dollars for sales tax. Today’s children’s e-books cost just the sales tax. All you need is a $500 iPad. Just a fad, you say? Perhaps, but recent e-books for Apple’s iPad indicate that the professionals have arrived in the apps store. These e-books can sound out hard words and move you with illustrations that change based on the tilt of the screen. Today’s kids can actually blow the little pig’s house down, by way of the iPad’s microphone. As in any emerging medium, quality varies—in this case, widely. There are thousands of e-books to wade through, and some are not much more than scanned pages. Here are 10 noteworthy exceptions, ranked by age, with some honorable mentions. Go, Clifford, Go!<http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/go-clifford-go/id410616822?mt=8>($5) is one of Scholastic’s first e-books, which, along with I Love You Through and Through<http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/i-love-you-through-and-through/id410619137?mt=8>(also $5) that lets you tilt the screen to make cars move, trees sway, waves roll. 2-up. Finding Nemo: My Puzzle Book<http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/finding-nemo-my-puzzle-book/id424991260?mt=8>($1) is one of a series of movie-inspired e-books that mix jigsaw puzzles with a scavenger hunt, plus the ability to record your own narration. 3-up. PopOut! The Tale of Peter Rabbit<http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/popout-the-tale-peter-rabbit/id397864713?mt=8>($5) respectfully presents Beatrix Potter’s classic illustrations on the multi-touch screen, with touch-and-hear text, and pull-tabs that pull you into the action elements of the story. 3-up. Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed<http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/five-little-monkeys-jumping/id418019881?mt=8>($3) Eileen Christelow’s color pencil illustrations help a child learn to read, by connecting the words with the pictures, at the touch of a finger. The same technique has been used in other Oceanhouse Media’s Dr. Seuss titles. 3-up. Goosed Up Rhymes<http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/goosed-up-rhymes/id422877720?mt=8>($1) six funny, noisy versions of nursery rhymes guaranteed to make you smile. Ages 3-up. The Three Little Pigs<http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-three-little-pigs-other/id366696747?mt=8>($8) is one of the best renditions of the classic story in the app store. Besides excellent graphics and sounds, you get to help the wolf blow down the houses by way of the iPad’s microphone. 4-up. Nash Smasher!<http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nash-smasher-for-ipad/id405340373?mt=8>($2) pulls you into the world of Nash, a 7-year old mischief-maker who likes to break things. You “pull” on tabs to do the smashing, or if you like, the un-smashing, on the way to a happy ending. 5-up. Ultimate Dinopedia: The Most Complete Dinosaur Reference<http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ultimate-dinopedia-the-most/id407565149?mt=8>, ($6) puts the embellished details of 600 dinosaurs at your fingertips, as if dinosaurs needed any embellishments. 6-up. Bartleby’s Book of Buttons<http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bartlebys-book-buttons-vol/id384841276?mt=8>($5) turns traditional storybook pages into combination locks, that won’t open until you figure out the right mix of switches, buttons, and sliding controls. It helps to read carefully. 7-up. Wild About Books<http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wild-about-books/id407309460?mt=8>($5) is an expertly adapted version of the printed Judy Sierra book, with 16 Marc Brown watercolor illustrations that celebrates the book, in every form, by way of quality narration and hidden surprises. 8-up. Nancy Drew Mobile Mysteries: Shadow Ranch<http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shadow-ranch-hd/id416282670?mt=8>($10) choose your own path through the book-inspired story, while you find clues hidden in the text. 10-up. *Honorable Mentions* Cinderella<http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cinderella-a-princess-story/id422384603?mt=8>($2) There are beautiful 3D transitions between pages and an orchestrated soundtrack. Olivia the Great<http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/olivia-the-great/id390897761?mt=8>($3) An app that turns your finger into a spell-casting wand. Three Little Pigs HD<http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/three-little-pigs-hd/id389761748?mt=8>by So Ouat! ($4) There is on-the-fly toggling between French and English, with a phonetic breakdown. How Rocket Learned to Read<http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/how-rocket-learned-to-read/id410674362?mt=8>, ($5) 40 pages of interactive delight, with text narrated by actress Hope Davis, plus reading games) The Penguins of Madagascar<http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-penguins-madagascar-read/id397489149?mt=8>($7) Two ebooks: record-your-own-narration plus mazes, coloring and an open-ended kaleidoscope Magic School Bus: Oceans<http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-magic-school-bus-oceans/id410622343?mt=8>($8 or a free lite version) Ms. Frizzle’s iPad debut includes videos and facts about underwater life. Solar System for iPad<http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/solar-system-for-ipad/id406795422?mt=8>($14) If science posters were interactive, this is what they’d look like. Toontastic <http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/toontastic/id404693282?mt=8> ($3) Why read e-book stories when you can make them, compete with your own narration and background music? Puppet Pals <http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/puppet-pals-hd/id342076546?mt=8>, (free) A good alternative to Toontastic, although additional sets of puppets cost money, purchased through in-app sales. -- PJ C. Reyes -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "gimik" group. To post to this group, send email to gimik@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to gimik+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/gimik?hl=en.
