Fox In Socks - Dr. Seuss
January 19, 2011
By: Carisa Kluver
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Fox In Socks - Dr. Seuss
January 19, 2011
By: Carisa Kluver
The Digital Media Diet
Fox in Sox is a delightful book in digital form, with bright beautiful pictures of the beloved classic Dr. Seuss. I had forgotten just how much tongue twisting some of these Seuss titles require, so it was refreshing to have a digital version that 'reads by itself' (as my son likes to say). And the professional narrator does a much better job than I could ever do with lines like "muddle puddle tweetle poodle beetle noodle bottle paddle battle".
For the read-a-long effect, each word is highlighted as it is read. Tap on any word to hear it spoken, even in the 'read-it-myself' mode. All of the Dr. Seuss books are an excellent choice for children learning to read because they are filled with simple words (mostly 'sight words' in fact). They are popular with parents and children precisely because they make learning to read fun.
Although each page is essentially a still image, many pages begin by panning over Seuss' classic original artwork, zooming in and out to show off each segment of text, a nice semi-animated style. These ebook versions of Dr. Seuss have no real animation, although most of the items pictured in the story react to a light tap with a visual image of the word with accompanying audio (for example, tap on a box and the word "box" appears with audio saying “box”).
This Seuss classic is very nice on the iPad and I applaud the developer for continuing to update these titles with an eye toward educational improvements. The Seuss books were designed for kids learning to read, after all. And with Seuss on so many digital platforms now (including Android), learning to read is just a click away.
All reviews are of the app, not the platform/device. Based originally on iPad versions. Minor technical details may vary.
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Author/Illustrator:
Dr. Seuss
Developer:
Oceanhouse Media
Length (time):
12 - 20 Minutes
Based on non-digital book: Yes
Allows Own Narration:
No
Uses Motion: No
Age: 3 - 8 +
Languages:
English •
Length (pages):
68 Pages
Story Synopsis - Fox In Socks - Dr. Seuss
Fox in Sox is a 1965 children's book by Dr. Seuss. It features two main characters, Fox and his partner Knox, who converse almost entirely in densely rhyming tongue-twisters. The book in some ways bears a resemblance to Green Eggs and Ham, another book by Dr. Seuss. Both stories contain two main characters: one who is stubborn and wants to be left alone; the other, a persistent and sometimes annoying opposite.
Plot synopis from Wikipedia:
The book begins by introducing the main characters, Fox and Knox (sometimes called "Mr. Fox" and "Mr. Knox") together with some props (a box and a pair of socks). After taking those four rhyming items through several permutations, more items are added (chicks, bricks, blocks, clocks), and so on. As the book progresses the Fox describes each situation with rhymes that progress in complexity, with Knox periodically complaining of the difficulty of the tongue-twisters.
Finally, after the Fox gives an extended dissertation on "Tweetle Beetles" who fight (battle) with paddles while standing in a puddle inside a bottle ("a Tweetle Beetle Bottle Puddle Paddle Battle Muddle"), Knox has had enough and stuffs the Fox into the bottle, reciting a tongue-twister of his own:
- "When a fox is in the bottle where the tweetle beetles battle with their paddles in a puddle on a noodle-eating poodle, THIS is what they call...
- ...a tweetle beetle noodle poodle bottled paddled muddled duddled fuddled wuddled fox in socks, sir!"
Knox then declares that the game is finished, thanking the Fox for the fun, and walks away while the beetles, the poodle, and the stunned Fox look on.
This and several other Seuss titles aimed specifically at children learning to read were developed in an interesting way. Apparently, a list was compiled of 348 words that were important for first-graders to recognize, then cut to 250 words and the task was to write a book using only those words. They wanted Seuss to "bring back a book children can't put down." Nine months later, using 236 of the words given to him, he completed The Cat in the Hat. [Source: Wikipedia]
Orientation: Landscape & Portrait
Format: Universal
Options:
Autoplay, Read-it-myself, Read-to-me, News on/off, Sound Effects on/off
App Release Date:
2011-01-18
Size: 16.8 MB
Version: 1.08.1
Lite Version Available: No
Fox In Socks - Dr. Seuss
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