
The story of Billy the Space Cat is a fun read for kids with a message about not giving up on your dreams. It is a sweet story about a cat that wants to fly and after many failed attempts, gets to go up in an airplane, instead. This story has crisp graphics with a charming & easy to follow story. It is narrated and has some sound effects (not interactive) that start on each page (i.e. a meow, sound of a rocket, spashing, etc.).
The narrator of this book seems to have taken tranquilizers before reading, though, since the narration is so slow that it almost has a bedroom-voice quality to it. Oddly, the narrator speeds up as she gets into her stride later in the book, which makes for a very odd listening experience. Perhaps someone brought her coffee at the end of the recording session? It's a great little story otherwise and re-doing the narration shouldn't be too difficult for a future update. The narrator is great by the end, so it's just a matter of polishing this digital book to make it more enjoyable.
The narration is optional on this title, but it is easier to enjoy the book (even with the super-slow narration) on Autoplay because it is very hard to get pages to turn. The book is stable and solidly made otherwise, but the pages are so touchy that it can take an adult mutiple swipes to get the page to turn. With this fixed and better narration this story would be a great download. And while it's promoted as free, it is definitely worth checking out.
All reviews are of the app, not the platform/device. Based originally on iPad versions. Minor technical details may vary.
Author/Illustrator:
Ardit Bajraktari/Mustag Firing
Developer:
Ardit Bajraktari
Length (time):
8 - 10 Minutes
Based on non-digital book: No
Allows Own Narration:
No
Uses Motion: No
Age: 3 - 8 +
Languages:
English •
Length (pages):
17 Pages
Billy the Space Cat is a kind and wonderful cat who befriends a mouse named Teeny by saving him from a trap. Billy's big dream is to fly. He sees the birds fly and thinks he can try wings. This doesn't work out so well. So he tries a big bunch of balloons. Then he finds some fireworks and attaches himself to a homemade rocket. After another spectacular failure, Billy the Cat gives up, but Kevin (the little boy from the family he lives with) tells him not to give up on his dream. Then he takes the cat up in an airplane with his grandfather to 'fertilize' the fields.
Orientation: Portrait
Format: Universal
Options:
Narration & Music (Volume Control), Sound Effects On/Off, Page Flipping Auto/Manual
App Release Date:
2010-07-29
Size: 11.53 MB
Version: 1.0
Lite Version Available: No