The Elephants Child – a classic fairy-tale on tap

When I was a child, I remember to bother my Mom to read a bedtime story every night, though she was even more sleepy after work. Nowadays new mobile devices make the task easier. As you come back home you find your advanced offspring estimating a new app she has just installed on your tablet. If the situation sounds familiar, than interactive kids books is the option.

One of my last findings is The Elephant's Child, a dubbed interpretation of the famous fairy-tales by Rudyard Kipling. The application is actually a 20-page picture book full of different animations. Thus, apart of reading the text at the page bottom, a child may also tap the characters and the background image. 300+ animations promise almost never-ending discoveries and at least a couple of quiet months. Phew!

Joking apart, The Elephant's Child is a well-done entertainment application for kids. Professional voice-over improves spelling skills as the child associates the written text with the sounding. Each picture turns into a jigsaw puzzle when you tap the button in the top left corner. As the characters interact with each other and the environment, a little reader may receive a task as well. For instance, an elephant would have to feed his friends or drive off huge annoying flies (my daughter's favorite mini-game). In a word, reading mixed with playing serves educational purposes perfectly.

However, the book has its drawbacks too. What I didn't like about it, is the scene with cartoon violence. While the elephant was punched in the Kipling story too, I would prefer not to include it in the e-book. Well, practice makes perfect, and The Elephant's Child still seems a good start. With the decent introductory discount, this educational application appears a must-have app for moms. Comparing to other mobile applications of the kind, this interactive book offers much more fun for your children. Considering its high replayable value, the kids will be eager to return to this app every now and then.