Hessler Picture Book App Assignment

Picture Book App Assignment
The Artifact by Slap Happy Larry (Lynley Stace & Daniel Hare). Requires iOS 7.1 or later.
Updated July 24, 2015. Made for Ages 9-11. $2.99.
8/11 Technical (See Figure 1a) 7/11 Content (See Figure 1b)
This app was written and illustrated by Lynley Stace, but the point and click style of
Daniel Hare’s coding harkens back to a time of early PC games. Personally, I found the nostalgia
of clicking around the pages to be an enjoyable experience that I feel could translate for younger
readers who do not have the patience for traditional stories. Certain pages also react to the
movement of the device, reminding me that we are in fact in 2017 and not 1997. Words do not
light up while the story is read, nor do the interactive elements have prompts, but I think this is
acceptable for the age range of 9 to 11 years old. The illustrations are very dreamlike, which
bodes well with the atmosphere of the story. The story itself is a simple affair about a boy named
Asaf who grows up from collecting to imaging to writing. The expansive vocabulary is a strong
point of the narrative. Although there are some lose ends that never get tied up, like his
relationship with his parents, it has a satisfying conclusion with our main character heading out
into the world full of ideas. The app developers promote their products as alternatives to the
highly advertised and commercial offerings to children for entertainment. It is a quick story that
works best with one reader and I believe would work well for an alternative to Angry Birds
during a car ride or wait at a restaurant, though there is a teaching guide if someone wanted to
expand this into a lesson. I recommend this app.

Chomp by Christoph Niemann for Fox and Sheep GmbH. Requires iOS 8 or later. Updated
October 14, 2016. Made for Ages 5 and Under. $1.99.
This app is definitely categorized in the app store as a book app, so at first, I didn’t
understand why there was no narration. Then I realized that it is the 21st century version of a
wordless story because all the little animations allow you to utilize your camera and place you or
someone else in the story as a character. I can be a skeleton or a lion or an alien, and what would
I do or say as one of those characters? Imagination play is an early literacy skill that fosters the
higher-level thinking needed to fully appreciate a story and develop a sense of creativity. When
you click the screen, there are silly little animations that the characters perform, which are sure to
amuse the five and under age group, though I think anyone under three years old might not get
much out of it beyond recognizing their own face. There are options to record yourself and save
to your device, which could be a fun gift to send to a grandparent or just rewatch with your
children. The opportunities for repeated use make it a worthwhile entertainment investment. If
you had access to several iPads, you could integrate this story into a storytime program by
having parents record their children with the devices being silly and perhaps they could
download these videos as a storytime souvenir. I do wish that there was an option for several
faces to be shown on one screen that way children could interact with each other through the app.
I recommend this app.

Doubting Dasha by Lazy Bird, Inc. Requires iOS 9.1 or later. Updated September 26, 2017.
Made for Ages 9-11. $2.99.
4/11 Technical (See Figure 3a) 3/11 (See Figure 3b)
This app was a total disappointment from most aspects. First, the navigation is very
confusing because there are no arrows that show you where to press to turn the page. I thought
that maybe it would do so automatically, but it turned out you had to tap the bottom right corner,
in a process that had me bringing up all kinds of outside menus. Only halfway through the story
does an arrow show up, but it is at a point where there are multiple arrows on the page and if you
click the one to turn the page then the story just skips to the end without any warning. The story
itself had odd phrasing and although the narration was done by multiple people portraying
different characters, sometimes the dialogue did not match the story or was hard to understand.
The story is rather wordy and on several pages the narration covers a majority of the screen. The
interactive elements were minimal, boring and did not enhance or progress the story. Most of the
elements involved tapping people to see an unspoken dialogue box or knocking on doors.
Finally, the app says it will sell your data to third parties if it sees fit and while there is nothing
too personal to provide, I think it is a poor business practice for something that I pay for to also
make money selling my information. I find it hard to believe that this would entertain any child
the first time, let alone for a second use, and I know better materials are out there. I would not
recommend this app.

Fox Tales - Story Book for Kids written by Lukasz Rutkowski & Piotr Ruszkowski and
illustrated by Piotr Foksowicz & Piotr Ruszkowski for OhNoo Studio. Requires iOS 6.0 or
later. Updated October 18, 2016. Made for Ages 5-12. $1.99.
This app felt much more like a video game than a storybook, which makes sense because
it was created by game designers as opposed to authors, but personally I really enjoyed that. The
story is an adventure tale about two foxes traveling around their island. It is nothing ground
breaking, but it does provide a captivating story. The narration was very easy to understand and I
appreciate that there are so many language options. The illustrations are very well done and
move with the motion of your device, but not in a distracting or sea sickness inducing way. The
backgrounds are lush and tropical, with the interactive elements standing out just enough to
make sure you are not tapping around aimlessly. The apps best feature though is to collect the
stars on every other page to unlock a secret page. Collecting the stars involves tapping around,
tapping somethings multiple times and being quick about it. This element could help bring young
readers back a second time in order to capture those stars. I could see this being considered a
distraction from the story because you can start collecting stars before the narration is over and it
takes some skill. But honestly, I think this app could provide a subtle way to incorporate reading
into the activities of someone who might be more inclined to game. It is a very single player
experience though, so it would not make for a good group activity because I could see children
fighting over who gets to tap and collect the stars. I recommend this app.
Grandma’s Great Gourd written by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and illustrated by Susy
Pilgrim Waters for Literary Safari Inc., Requires iOS 8.0 or later. Updated October 25,
2016. Made for Ages 6-8. $1.99
7/11 Technical (See Figure 5a) 8/11 (See Figure 5b)
This is the only app that I reviewed which was based on a previously published work and
perhaps that is why the interactive elements were all separate from the story. There is a game
where you must choose the height and power to propel grandma in the gourd, which is fun but
not necessarily adding anything to the story. The other activity, “Explore Grandma’s World,” is
more informative because it explains the area where this story takes place, though the focus is
definitely on learning over fun. I did appreciate that the words lit up as the narrator spoke if you
selected the read to me option. This was the only app that had that feature and I think it makes it
a preferable choice for younger readers. I also like the record your own narration option which
helps personalize the story and you could work with a friend to add voices to the characters. I
should mention that this app had the most bugs and often froze up and shut down on me while I
was using it. This could lead some kids into a clicking panic and end up causing more trouble
than they started with. If you wanted to include this in a program, you could have the children
help record a narration of the story and play the informational bit about where grandma is from
on a large screen via projector or some other device. All of this could be done after you read the
story aloud from a physical book so that you can incorporate old and new media. I would
recommend this app, but only if you have a fair amount of apps in your collection and are
looking to supplement some more.

Appendix
Figure 1a.
Yes (1) No (0) 11 Elements Found in High Quality Story and Toy Apps
(Technical/User Experience)
X 1. Is the app’s navigation clear for the intended audience?
Does it have intuitive way-finding?
X 2. Does the app work free of glitches?
X 3. Do sound effects, if included, enhance the game
experience? Are there settings for turning on/off music
and other sound effects, if they are not crucial to the
story or play?
X 4. Does the app feature a clean, uncluttered display?
X 5. Is the necessary equipment available to offer a positive
experience? For example, is a large monitor needed to
best view the app? Or is the tablet screen appropriate?
Does the app require additional physical hardware?
X 6. Is the app free of links to social media and the internet?
If not, can access be disabled on the app or device
setting?
X 7. Does the app developer state it will NOT collect data
about you or your child within the app?
X 8. Are there developmentally appropriate cues for
interactivity?
X 9. Are there parental tips, restrictions, and settings within
the app and/or within the device’s settings to customize
the child(ren)’s experience?
X 10. Do the app’s technical features encourage joint media
engagement?
X 11. Is the app free of in-app purchases or in-app ads? If not,
are they easily ignored and hard to access by young
children? For example, can in-app purchases be disabled
in the device settings? Can a password be required for
in-app purchases?
Figure 1b.
Yes (1) No (0) 11 Elements Found in High Quality Story Apps (Content)
X 1. Does the app feature a great story with high quality
images and a narrative that entices the reader to read
again and again? (Repetition deepens a young reader’s
understanding of the story.)
X 2. Is the story original or is it a previously published story
that is strongly enhanced in the digital form?
X 3. Does the app include accurate information and
grammatically correct content?
X 4. Are the story’s characters culturally and ethnically
diverse and include experiences that reflects today’s
diverse families?
X 5. Is the content appropriate for the targeted age group?
X 6. Are opportunities to strengthen the Every Child Ready
to Read early literacy skills, where appropriate,
included?
X 7. Does the app include meaningful interactive elements
that maintain the story’s flow and add to the story
instead of being only for interactivity’s sake? (Elements
should engage the reader and should help the reader
better understand the content instead of distract from the
story.)
X 8. Is the font plain and highly-readable, both of which are
beneficial for the learning reader and for groups who are
experiencing the app on either a small or big screen?
X 9. Are read-to-me and read-to-myself options available,
allowing families to read and listen together? (Narration
should be well-spoken and expressive.)
X 10. Does the app include multiple language options and a
voice record option to foster literacy in home
languages?
X 11. Does the app’s content encourage joint media
engagement?
Figure 2a.
story or play?
setting?
interactivity?
engagement?
in-app purchases?
Figure 2b.
diverse families?
included?
story.)
languages?
engagement?
Figure 3a.
story or play?
setting?
interactivity?
engagement?
in-app purchases?
Figure 3b.
diverse families?
included?
story.)
languages?
engagement?
Figure 4a.
story or play?
setting?
interactivity?
engagement?
in-app purchases?
Figure 4b.
diverse families?
included?
story.)
languages?
engagement?
Figure 5a.
story or play?
setting?
interactivity?
54. Do the app’s technical features encourage joint media
engagement?
in-app purchases?
Figure 5b.
diverse families?
included?
story.)
languages?
engagement?

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Picture Book App Assignment

Updated July 24, 2015. Made for Ages 9-11. $2.99.

expand this into a lesson. I recommend this app.

October 14, 2016. Made for Ages 5 and Under. $1.99.

I recommend this app.

Made for Ages 9-11. $2.99.

4/11 Technical (See Figure 3a) 3/11 (See Figure 3b)

recommend this app.

2016. Made for Ages 6-8. $1.99

7/11 Technical (See Figure 5a) 8/11 (See Figure 5b)

looking to supplement some more.

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