At 3 years old my son is often (ok all the time) more techno-savvy than I am, so I need to be careful what he has access to. He gets into stuff on my iPod I didn’t even know we have. I was happy to review the newly released digital version of Byron Barton’s classic Planes for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.
I had neither previously read any books by author/illustrator Byron Barton nor downloaded a book onto my IPod Touch so the whole experience was new to me. It was so easy to do and with an introductory rate of .99, the price is right for any budget! This is to be the first in a series of Barton digital books being released by Oceanhouse Media.
My son loves all things that ‘go’. We have read and re-read so many books about transportation that I feel like I could recite them in my sleep. I was pleasantly surprised at how my son took to this easy reader. It is aimed at toddlers and preschoolers and really engages them with vibrant pictures of various types of planes. After reading it through twice with my son he then took it over himself. He was easily able to touch different objects on each page to interact with them. By touching the plane he was told what it was, such as a cropduster or jet, then it made the sound of a plane. We then discovered that you can move the various objects around the page. He especially liked the sky writer and I have to say I smiled at the message ‘Drink Milk’. I would say that at 3 years old he still can enjoy the vibrancy of the pictures on each page, the ability to move items all around the page and the sounds they made. I had my friends almost 5 year old try it out also. He definitely bored of it a lot quicker than my little man but that could also be attributed to the fact that he plays more video games.
Overall I thought the app had great ease of use, delightful graphics and sounds on each page and was a good match for my son. I would recommend this to other parents and I could see it being used before going on a trip to familiarize children with planes and also as a great app for travelling to occupy young ones. It sure beats kicking the seatback of the person in the row before you. Heck you could even ask them to spot you the .99.
Tennille lives in the Great White North with her hubby and two sons. She enjoys sleep but is learning to appreciate caffeine as a perfectly viable substitute.
Guest Posting opportunity: Do you have an apple device such as an ipad, iphone, or ipod touch that you use to occupy your child? Please send me an email at 5minutesforbooks (at) gmail dot com if you’d be interested in posting some guest reviews here for these types of apps. We get offers with free download codes for review, but we either don’t have apple devices, or don’t have young preschoolers (which most apps are aimed at), and I’d love to feature more of these reviews. Put “book apps” as the subject of your email, and in the body give me your name and let me know the age and sex of your children and if you have an ipad, iphone and/or ipod touch.