Every day my inbox is full of press releases about this app and that app, and unless they’re about something that will *really* change my life, most of them end up in the ‘trash’ folder, I’m afraid. But the idea of an interactive app based on classic fairy tales… well, that was something definitely worth checking out.
Based on the much-loved tales by the Brothers Grimm, i-fairytales are narrated audio-visual i-books aimed at kids aged six to 10. The first tale to be released is a real classic, The Princess and the Frog (we had the Ladybird book when I was a kid, and my sister and I read it until the pages fell out); and coming soon are Hansel and Gretel, and Rapunzel.
What’s brilliant about the app, made by Blue Ocean Studios, is that it encourages kids to think about story structure, and characters, even dialogue: the basic skills kids needed to understand English Literature, language and comprehension, in fact, and help them with their own compositions. And because they can look at the app on the iPad, which gives it the ‘cool’ factor, it will appeal to even the most reluctant reader. Fairy tales for the 21st century.
Anyway, here’s a trailer so you can get a better idea of how it works. I love the frog. So cute!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9G3j2R5KoU