Comments
This beautifully designed app takes children on a quirky visual journey through the alphabet. Each letter comes up as a block filling most of the screen. The child then taps on the letter and an animation changes the letter to represent a word beginning with that letter. The words appear on the screen, are spoken out loud and can be repeated when tapped. Tapping and dragging on the letters transforms them into one thing and then another, each providing a fresh surprise for the child. For example, "rain" starts to fall as the R is tapped. Another tap metamorphoses the letter into a "robot", which, with an extra tap, starts to "run". The child's swiping and tapping moves and animates the letter, providing children with some control over the elements shown on the screen but they cannot interact beyond this. The transformations, however, promote a new way of understanding the definitions of the words that involves the child's interactive experience with the pictures. A limitation is that although the app supports children in beginning to recognise the sounds that go with the letters, some of the words that the letters morph into can be too advanced for a beginning reader. Overall, however, this is a fun, imaginative app that brings a new take to alphabet books and a refreshing departure from the predictability of much of the media content produced for children.
Other notable themes and features of the app include Art and Design, Letters, No narrative, UK dialect, Words.
Learning Area Milestones
- Understands action words i.e. jumping
- Understands use of objects i.e. ‘what do we drink with?’
- Understands more complex humour, such as jokes
- Has interest in illustrations
- Recognises familiar words and signs i.e. own name
- Hears and says the initial sounds in words
- Links sounds to letters
- Can segment the sounds in simple words & blend them. Can recognise some of the letters within this
- Uses some clearly identifiable letters to communicate meaning, representing some sounds clearly and in sequence null
Best Features
Loads of fun
Play together
Lots to do
Creative
Make it your own
Interactive
