Goldilocks & the Three Bears Book. A story book app that can read to kids, filled with interactive games
by Paul Wilks
Oct 29, 2012 8:23 AM –
Install
Goldilocks & the Three Bears is an interactive story book on Android for kids. It tells the familiar children’s story of Goldilocks in a sing-song poetic re-telling that is easy for little ones to follow. The best feature, however, and something that really sets the book apart from other audio narratives, is the fact that it additionally provides a number of activities which are accessible throughout the story. It becomes not just about reading and listening, but also about playing, thinking and creating.
Price: Free plus in-app purchase of $1.99 which unlocks all the content
Tested on: HTC One X
Content Rating: Everyone
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Nicely animated!
- Lots of activities for children to do!
- Choice of reading along or being read to!
Cons
- Narrative places a great deal of emphasis on rhyming, where use of normal-sounding English would have made the story better.
Features:
Goldilocks & the Three Bears Book is a fun audio book with a twist. While we’ve reviewed plenty of interactive story books in the past, including Puss in Boots : 3D Pop-up Book, none have provided the wide range of activities offered here. Goldilocks & the Three Bears Book, in addition to the reading element provides memory games, jigsaws, painting, puzzles and counting games.
Initially children have the choice of having the whole story read to them in ‘Auto Play’ mode or they can read it themselves in ‘Read it Myself’ mode. Additionally, the story can progress one page at a time with ‘Read to me’ mode. Once the story gets going, a tab becomes available in the top right hand corner. This produces a curved menu which lets your child access the additional games and activities.
The activities are very much aimed at kids under 5. I gave the book to my 7 year old and she became bored with it very quickly and suggested that the activities were ‘too easy’. That said, the reading skills available to successfully read the story are much higher. The original narrative has been painstakingly re-written so that it rhymes in a sing-song way that makes it enjoyable for children to listen to. The problem with that is that it seems the language and words used are perhaps a little too advanced for its young audience to try themselves.
The sound and graphics are beautifully produced and although the narration is perhaps a little sickly-sweet to listen to for adults, it suits young children well. There are further animations which kids can enable themselves by pressing a green play button which makes some of the visuals come to life. All-in-all, it’s fun, well-produced and engaging for little ones.
You essentially get a wide variety of puzzles and other activities, but these are capped unless you buy the full version via an in-app purchase of $1.99. What is good about this though is that your child can get plenty of play out of it and there’s lots to do, even with the free version.
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Goldilocks and the Three Bears Book – Puzzles
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Goldilocks and the Three Bears Book – Drop down narrative for reading
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Goldilocks and the Three Bears Book – Matching games
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Goldilocks and the Three Bears Book – Colouring activity
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Goldilocks and the Three Bears Book – Counting games
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Goldilocks and the Three Bears Book – Scores
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Goldilocks and the Three Bears Book – Activities sub menu
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Goldilocks and the Three Bears Book – Buy full version
Usefulness:
For keeping little ones amused, Goldilocks & the Three Bears Book is a great idea, at the very least to try out. I think there is perhaps a discrepancy between the reading age required for the text and the age the puzzles are aimed at, but the book will at least keep younger ones engaged for a while.
Ease of Use:
As the app is meant to be used by children, the user interface is very simple to navigate and overall it’s very easy to use.
Frequently Used:
This probably depends on the age of your child. If they are 3-5 probably more use that 5-7 who might find the activities a little easy and less engaging.
Interface:
The UI is extremely colourful and has clear arrows and tabs for children to engage with. It’s responsive, well sign-posted and fun to use.