- App Name: The Monster at The End of This Book
- Device: iPad and iPhone
- Author: Sesame Street /
- Developer: Calloway Digital Arts
- Interactive: Yes
- Animated: Sort of
- Cost: $3.99
[jcolumns]
This is an appification of the classic Sesame Street book The Monster at the End of this Book by Jon Stone and illustrated by Michael Smollin. I didn’t get this book when i was a kid, but my sisters did and they loved it. The book is all narration, or monologue, from Grover (lovable, furry, old), so the app is all acted out by the blue muppet.
The Experience
Here’s a video of my 21 month old playing Grover.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kWPdKf5EQM&list=HL1330614359&feature=mh_lolz[/youtube]Page Turning
Page turning is a consideration for little kids just getting the hang of using apps. This app has a little animated page corner that makes a noise. If it takes you too long, Grover will help you out. You can also turn on arrows to go forward and back. But we don’t use those.
It’s not easy to go backwards in the pages without the buttons. At lease my son hasn’t figured it out. Other books let you swipe back and forward. That’s simple and easy, but means that you can accidentally advance or go backward. When you tell your kid he can play one app, and the app has either endless interactivity, or the ability to go back and forth, then they can play forever.
Interactivity
To keep you from getting to the end of the book (and the monster waiting there) Grover tries to tie the pages together, nail them together and build a brick wall to prevent you getting past. In a paper book, you have to pretent that it’s hard to turn the page, which is fun. In the app your kid can touch the knots, nails and bricks to destroy the obstacle and get to the next page. It took a bit to teach my son how to get past them, but he has it down now and loves them.
The interactivity also is controlled so that you can’t interact until Grover is is done with the content on the page. Then if you do not interact for a while, Grover helps you out. This is nice because once my son started to get the hang of it he was keen to do it himself.
For Parents
The app has some extras at the top of each page for parents to engage their kids about fear issues. The tips help parents help their kids understand that Grover is afraid and why and how to deal with their own fear of monsters and what will happen in the story. I asked my son if he was scared of monsters. Since he has monster t-shirts and pajamas, he said no.
Recommendation: Buy
I recommend this app. My son loves it and asks for it by name. He can get through it on his own, and it is also something we can share together. It’s very well executed. For the price, it’s worth it.
You might also like Another Monster At The End Of This Book. If you can tolerate Elmo. I can’t so i won’t be making that purchase.
Add comment