Explore the Grand Canyon with cute mice!

Two cute mice star in this cartoon-style book app about the Grand Canyon from the creators of ABCmouse.com (a fee-based pre-school/kindergarten website with learning games and books). Their names are "123" and "ABC" and they explore this natural wonder in a way that will captivate young readers and listeners. This app doesn't have any fancy enhancements, but it makes up for this with a fun storyline, music, and expressive narration for each character.

The story begins with the mice inside what looks like a box with a screen facing out; readers will soon realize that these two friends are actually inside a computer. They can travel anywhere in the world through the Internet, magically traveling in this episode to a computer in a ranger station near the mouth of the canyon. This fun way of exploring natural history, geography and science will have kids (and adults) learning new facts and getting to be the ultimate 'armchair travelers'.

Text doesn't highlight with the voice-over, however the easy-to-read 'speech bubbles' for the cartoon characters are at the perfect reading level for 2nd/3rd grade. Kids love these types of cartoons and will really enjoy this app. Simple settings are included that allow the book to be set up with or without narration.

In 'I Can Read It' mode, it is not obvious at first that you need to tap the page several times before turning, to get each new speech bubble (the text goes away and an arrow appears once you've seen all the dialogue, making it is easy to use otherwise). There are also two pages at the end of the book with 'search and explore' ideas for animals that are present in the story. This is a fun addition, although all ten animals are on just two of the pages (the 'white-water rafting' scenes). 

Overall this is a stellar early reader series that even includes a glossary for words children might need help defining within the story. There is also a fun "Grand Canyon" theme song. Children will certainly enjoy this book app, but it is also a great title for teaching about history, culture and the natural world. Highly recommended.

All reviews are of the app, not the platform/device. Based originally on iPad versions. Minor technical details may vary.