Picture books have long inspired squeals of delight and gleeful smiles from young children, who find themselves absorbed in the colors and story. When I was little, the newly released electronic versions—whose buttons provided exciting sounds and tunes to accompany each page—were a world of magic.
Today, the children of the iPad and smartphone generation have so much more to choose from. Interactive picture books and story apps have taken the world of infant development by storm! Here are five of the best, which are sure to go down a treat with any child with a penchant for picture books.
- Dandelion
As the first in-house release from development company, Protein, this enchanting story is truly an innovative masterpiece. Leading the way in tablet technology, they managed to achieve a totally new way of interacting with the screen that is perfect for a book of this name—allowing users to physically blow things off the page.
The anti-bullying rhetoric of the story makes it a fantastic resource for young children who are nearing school age. The content was written by a father whose son was experiencing problems of this nature, and the heartfelt message he created has resonated so much with users worldwide that the app has received numerous awards.
- Goodnight Moon
“Goodnight Moon” has been placating bedtime tantrums since its release nearly 70 years ago in 1947, but the new app by Loud Crow Interactive, Inc. has well and truly brought this story into the twenty-first century. The interactive format is simple; it allows you to flip through pages of the story and accompanies each sentence or section with a delightful animation.
From the cow jumping over the moon, the bursting red balloon and an old lady whispering hush, these little moments of action are sure to immerse your child into the story. Which each page cleverly designed to encourage your little one to drop gently off to sleep, this is an essential resource for difficult sleepers.
Animalia
Another classic release that has been re-vamped for the age of technology is “Animalia” by Graeme Base. The original book was created as a fantastic tool to help young children get to grips with the alphabet. With beautiful illustrations and an animal dedicated to each letter, it has been perfectly translated into an interactive picture book experience for the iPad by AppBooks.
Plus, as an additional feature, there’s a boy who appears throughout the book and plays a sort of “Where’s Waldo” role. Kids will delight at searching through the beautiful animated illustrations to try to uncover his hiding place as they turn through the pages.
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The Unstealer
“The Unstealer” is another fantastic language learning tool that masquerades itself in a fun and interactive storybook app. The premise of the story follows a crafty thief, who goes around stealing the prefix “un” from the start of words. This has the charming effect of transforming the words into their positive counterparts.
Not only does this help understand prefixes, but it’s also a fantastically upbeat story and an excellent way to get young children thinking positively and enthusiastically. The app has received fantastic reviews from many sources for both its literary content and the clever inclusion of animation and interactive elements, so it is sure to go down well with all children around six to eight years old.
5. Book Creator
This app is a fantastically unique concept that allows you to put the power of the picture book into the hands of your child. The simple set-up lets you create your own stories, place text, insert pictures and work, page by page, to create your e-book! You can even try and publish to Google Play or iBooks directly from the app.
The franchise has seen great success in the school environment, with teachers using it to create a unique educational resource for their classes, but it has also proved extremely popular among children who enjoy making their own work. This can either be for school projects, to help them learn more about a particular topic, or just to nurture the inner author inside them. It’s definitely a fantastic follow-up for older children who love picture books but are getting too grown up for them.
These five apps are all a great way to enhance your child’s experience with picture books, but there are many more like them. If you know of any other interactive stories or fun related apps, be sure to leave a comment below! We’d love to hear your ideas.
About the Author: Caroline is an entertainment and technology blogger for Culture Coverage and Secure Thoughts. She loves that her combined interests help her find the latest innovations in books and film and hopes to share all she’s learned with fellow parents!