Watch a 19th Century poem come alive ...

In 1872, Lewis Carroll wrote Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (a sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland). Part of this novel was Jabberwocky, a poem considered by many to be the finest English language 'nonsense' poem ever written. Nonsense verse is "light, often rhythmical, (and) usually for children ... depicting peculiar characters in amusing and fantastical situations" according to Wikipedia.

In educational settings, this poem is often a useful tool for building language skills and inspiring creative writing assignments. Examples range from using Jabberwocky to teach creative writing to middle schoolers, inference to first graders, and 'parts of speech' to all grade levels. This is truly a text worth bringing into the digital era and the finest example in the AppStore for educational use. As a digital presentation, this book app takes the medium to a new level, tempting young, modern readers to explore this unusual 19th century verse.

Each of the eight pages of this short poem are presented with lightly interactive and animated elements that truly enhance reading comprehension, especially for readers over age six. "Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun the frumious Bandersnatch!" is much easier to comprehend with imaginative images of monsters in a dark forest, animating when tapped. I think Lewis Carroll would have been impressed! This visual presentation of the beloved and classic poem could even be useful for engaging older, reluctant readers with this complex literary jewel.

A fun hidden 'easter egg' is also included; discover the Cheshire Cat's 'smile' on each page to reveal the whole cat from Carroll's classic. All of the interactions in this digital app are well crafted, along with ample settings to control the audio and even record your own theatrical voice-over. Recording your own narration works well in a short title like this and is perfect for auditions by young performers.

A page-guide would be a nice addition, but isn't vital in a title this short. Words also highlight nicely with the in-app voice-over (from a male or female narrator), although it would be nice to also have 'touch-to-hear', so readers could listen again to each of the the unusual words in this tale. Overall this is an exceptional and essential classic for any digital library for elementary school-aged children. "O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!" The digital generation will chortle with joy for this new interpretation of Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky. Recommended!

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