Hedgehog Book 4+

This app is eye candy, and my daughter visited all three stories twice each, with great interest. My personal favorite was Daisy Girl, and my least favorite was Banana Flower, but all three stories are BEAUTIFUL, visually. The old coffee pot is particularly charming.

The narrator reads enthusiastically, and his rendition of all three stories is considerably above average (I say this as a person who has listened to MANY narrators absolutely kill as story with flat delivery and bizarre vocal inflections). I think the weakness with this collection, if there be any, lies in the translation from Portuguese into English, particularly with the third story, which is also quite short, and not particularly clever, as translated.

Having said that, I would purchase other children's stories from this developer, because I found them quirky (in an amusing way that makes repeating the stories very fun) and beautifully illustrated.

The Hedgehog Book (3 stories) is a MUST HAVE app for the preschool and elementary classroom engaged in creative literacy activities. Pictures & sound effects are delightful. All interactions are manual, which provide time for asking open-ended questions to elicit creative thinking. Children can delve into a discussion about the whimsical similes and prose (and create their own), while at the same time develop skills in following directions and sentence recall. Question (hint) button is helpful. Daisy Girl (create a girl from a daisy flower) and Volcano Coffee Pot ("An old coffee pot without a handle, filled with strawbverry jam is a volcano full of lava") are my favorites and worth the $1.99. The banana flower has potential - poem in my opinion needs some tweeking, but can provide creative discussion in the classroom. Once you are in the story, no arrow to go back and forth. There is a "home" button.

This is a charming storybook app that my kids really enjoyed. Would love to see them all utilize the same interactiveness as "Daisy Girl" along with the length. Otherwise, perhaps an added mini-story or game play perhaps? Overall, it was great for both of my kids who are 5 and just turned 7. They had their favorites each and the subtle noises in each story were enjoyed along with the narrator (dubbed elf). I'd like an opportunity for more stories even IAP purchase for a grouping of three or more in the future. Again, these are a little different in that the child listens and reacts in order for the story to progress - it was and is a lot of fun.