
The Cat in the Hat Comes Back is a great sequel to the classic Seuss title, "The Cat in the Hat." In this book the children are shoveling snow while their mother is out. Then in strolls the Cat in the Hat. He immediately takes liberties with their home, running an overflowing bath, while eating cake in the tub. Just like in the prequel, the children fret about the mess he has made right until the last scene.
Eventually the cat cavalierly introduces the kids to his cleaning crew: Little Cat A, B, C & so on, right down to Little Cat Z. Each cat is under the 'hat' of the cat before him, like nesting dolls, making Cat Z invisibly small, of course! In the end the cats manage to save the day, leaving everything perfectly shoveled right before mother arrives home.
For young readers, this title is great and filled with sight words. For the read-a-long effect, each word is also highlighted as it is read. 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.
Otherwise, the book has 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 the snow and the word 'snow' appears with audio saying “snow”).
This is a great book for children learning to read, and I was pleased to find my 4.5 year old could spontaneously read some portions of it to me, much to my surprise. How great that another generation can enjoy Seuss and its educational benefits - all with a modern twist!
[The youtube clip below is of The Cat in the Hat, but show the style of this app nicely.]
All reviews are of the app, not the platform/device. Based originally on iPad versions. Minor technical details may vary.
Author/Illustrator:
Dr. Seuss
Developer:
Oceanhouse Media
Length (time):
15 - 25 Minutes
Based on non-digital book: Yes
Allows Own Narration:
No
Uses Motion: No
Age: 3 - 8 +
Languages:
English •
Length (pages):
78 Pages
The whimsical cat in the tall red & white striped hat and red bow-tie, arrives at the doorstep of two children, a boy (who is the narrator of the story) and his sister Sally. This time the kids are shoveling snow when the cat prances into their lives to create mayhem. But this time the cat has brought friends to help with the mess he's made ... 26 little cats - named A-Z. The cats are each revealed one by one under each of the previous cat's hats. There is no goldfish in this book to lecture the cat, but the adventure still ends well, with the cats restoring the house and snow covered scene. They even get all the shoveling done before mother arrives home.
Orientation: Landscape & Portrait
Format: Universal
Options:
Autoplay, Read-it-myself, Read-to-me, News on/off, Sound Effects on/off
App Release Date:
2011-02-28
Size: 18.1 MB
Version: 1.08
Lite Version Available: No