
"Night is falling in the savanna ..." begins this short digital picture book. It features richly illustrated pages with a 'textured' appearance that softens the safari in a lovely way. Young readers get to help adorable wild animals prepare for the night on each page. Similar in style to Nighty, Night!, this seven page journey has the child tap on each baby animal to help them with a task. Help the giraffe reach leaves to eat, the rhino take a bath and the baby monkey swing into his mother's arms. Only the last page has a slight twist, tapping the sun instead to cause it to set.
The light interactivity and animation is very well done, enhancing the story without overstimulating a child before bed. Crisp sound effects accompany the animations and simple instructions/hints show where to tap to move the story along. After tapping the Zebra, he begins to leap through the grass until he reaches his mother, for instance, at which point the arrow for the next page appears. Most scenes take 2-3 taps to complete.
This is not, however, an app that a child can play with for more than a few minutes by themselves and should not be mistaken for a game. Overlong delays in reaction to tapping and slow page turning could also be improved with an update, which might also address the install size. Users with limited space on their device should note that the app is well over 250K, more than twice the size of many longer and equally complex digital books.
Although children up to age 6 should enjoy this book, it is perhaps most ideal for toddlers through preschool age. Text is in a nice sized font that highlights as narrated. Overall, this is a very sweet title that is satisfying despite its short length. Recommended.
All reviews are of the app, not the platform/device. Based originally on iPad versions. Minor technical details may vary.
Author/Illustrator:
Luciana Navarro Powell (Illustrations)
Developer:
Polk Street Press LLC
Length (time):
3 - 5 Minutes
Based on non-digital book: No
Allows Own Narration:
No
Uses Motion: No
Age: 2 - 6
Languages:
English •
Length (pages):
7 Pages
Help the baby animals finish their night-time tasks so they can get ready for bed. The following animals are shown (and their tasks for each page):
Zebra (finds mother), Giraffe (eats leaves), Rhino (has a bath), Monkey (swings into mother's tree), Elephant (kisses mother goodnight), Lion (pull down sun to make night)
Orientation: Landscape
Format: iPad
Options:
Sound Effects On/Off, Read to Me, Read Myself, Credits, Page Guide, Instructions, Links: NONE
App Release Date:
2012-01-11
Size: 271.09 MB
Version: 1.0
Lite Version Available: No