Unique, quirky style to inspire 4-8 year olds to see the world!

Lily Paris for a Day! is an iPad only app and the first app from Southern California-based developer Lately Lily LLC. Although this is Lily’s first app, she is also the star of a line of children’s clothes, you can read more about her at LatelyLily.com. Lily is a globe trotter – she loves to travel the world with her faithful companion a stuffed toy zebra named Zeborah. The app is a combination of a story and a game – children can complete a series of interactive activities, as the story of Lily’s visit to Paris unfolds. Lately Lily has charming hand- drawn illustrations –  they look cut-outs of pen and ink illustrations on different colored  papers. The app is child-friendly – it contains no adverts, in-app purchases or external links. The child can leap directly to their favorite chapter from the home page, but there is no way to navigate within a chapter.

The story opens as Lily receives a letter from her good friend Audrey, who lives in Paris, inviting her to a concert, which prompts Lily to decide to visit Audrey. The reader can help Lily pack her bright yellow suitcase, choosing which outfits and accessories to bring along, Zeb cheers them along and makes sure they remember  to pack him too!

In Chapter Two Zeb and Lily are at the airport, Zeb goes for a ride on the yellow suitcase as it heads off on the baggage carousel. However, this is no ordinary carousel – it is more like a fairground ride with gaps to leap, slopes to go up and down as well as lots of other luggage to avoid, it has multiple levels and if the yellow suitcase falls to the bottom level it starts moving back towards the baggage hall and away from the plane! The child helps Zeb to catch his flight by tapping on the suitcase making it fly up in the air to avoid the gaps and obstacles, until the suitcase safely reaches the plane.

The third chapter is on the plane, Zeb and Lily are looking out of the window as they fly over France and the child must help them find 5 objects as they fly overhead. Objects out of the window appear out of focus until camera is over it, so the child needs to move the camera over the scene until they discover the correct image and then take a picture with it in the view finder.

In chapter four Lily and Zeb have arrived in Paris. As they visit a typical Parisian courtyard the child can learn a little French. Tapping on an object will  make it’s name in French (and in smaller letters in English) appear on the screen, and then the word is spoken in both languages. The audio in this part of the app was quieter than in the rest of the app, so we had to turn up the volume to hear it properly. As the story ends Lily and Audrey are sitting together listening to the band play.

This is a very cute book/ game app and my six-year-old daughter enjoyed it. As well as being fun, this app works on hand-eye co-ordination, matching, visual discrimination and teaches a little French. There are a few enhancements I would like to see in a future update : I’d like to see the volume consistent throughout the app, I’d also like to see the chapter headings narrated if you touch them (most of the app is narrated but these are not, and many of the target audience may not yet be proficient readers). The app also feels a little short – I’d love to have a fifth chapter where Lily and Audrey together visit some of their favorite Paris landmarks, so the child can learn a little about Paris too.

Overall, a cute story and interactive game app, we love it’s unique, quirky style. This app will appeal most to 4-8 year- olds, who we hope will be inspired by Lily to want to see the world.

Recommended!

This app has been thoroughly evaluated by our staff. Please click on the 'star ratings' tab above, to see how it fared in all nine of our rating categories. See synopsis tab for more details about the storyline.

This review was originally published by TheiMums.com on August 6, 2013. The iMums – Amanda, Alison, Mary and Grace – are four mothers from different parts of the world dedicated to educating parents about the best digital stories, educational apps, fun games and technology products available for their children.  Founded in August 2011, the four iMums have 11 kids among them ranging in age from 1 to 17 and bring a global perspective to their app reviews. The original iMum Amanda being from Australia, Alison is in America, Grace is from Singapore and Mary is from the UK but is currently living in America.

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