App Review: Baby Sign ASL

Baby Sign ASL, Version 1.05

By iDev2.com

$4.99 on iTunes

Baby sign language is very popular right now, and I want to jump on that bandwagon.  My daughter Jordan is five months old, so I plan to start teaching her some basic sign language.  I have a book and a DVD, but do I have time to deal with that?  No.  This Baby Sign ASL app is perfect.  There are more than enough words here (don’t cheap out and get a free version- it is a waste of time).  Each word is demonstrated through a clear video.  You can add your favorites to a list and quiz yourself.  You can search alphabetically or by categories.  I spent about five minutes with the app today, and I have a few signs in mind (mommy, daddy, milk, and bath) that I plan to show Jordan tonight.  While I was watching the videos, I couldn’t help thinking of Robert DeNiro’s character teaching his grandson signs in “Meet the Fockers”.

Review by Leslie McNabb

eArticle: Chris Stevens on Alice for the iPad

Check out Chris Stevens on Alice for the iPad, Book Apps, and Toronto: a Q & A to hear the story of the phenomenon that knocked publishers on their patoots in 2010.  Stevens shares how a fortuitous combination of unemployment, hard work and technical skills resulted in the development of a new, interactive format that sparked a mad rush to get on the interactive eBook bandwagon.  He gives a scathing overview of the eBook industry:

What’s happening at the moment is that most publishers are handing their major titles over to app developers who are ruining these titles with rushed, unprofessional layout and design. There is this weird situation where programmers are suddenly being given free rein to design books. We watch as publishers like Random House outsource the design of cherished titles to programmers who—despite their excellence at programming—are not designers. The complete lack of care and attention paid to the production of digital books is genuinely mystifying.

He does, however, give props to Nursery Rhymes with StoryTime (which we will review shortly), and tells about some new projects he has been working on.  I can't wait to read Alice in New York!

eArticle Review: For Reading and Learning, Kids Prefer E-Books to Print Books

In a study of 24 families with children ranging from three to six years old, researchers from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center found that children prefer reading an e-book to a print book. Comprehension was the same with both, with the exception of enhanced e-books. Enhanced e-books with games and other interactive elements hindered comprehension of the story. The Joan Ganz Cooney Center plans larger studies on the issue. The article continues with a discussion of the children’s e-book and app market. Concerns are raised about a possible digital divide with disadvantaged children not having access to e-books. In conclusion, experts and publishers agree that getting a child interested in reading is the important thing, not the format of the book.

Posted by Leslie McNabb

eBook Review: Dog Story: Learning Opposites

Dog Story: Learning Opposites is no great work of literature.

HOWEVER:

The interactivity of this eBook kept my 2 year old and me occupied for a very, very long time. You can choose Auto Play or Read to Me.  On each page you are presented with simple text like "This dog is big and this dog is small," with the respective canines pleasingly rendered with manipulatable doggy apparatuses such as bones, food bowls, trees (on which to pee, one would assume), newspapers, doghouses and balls.

Each page has a different schtick: a fence becomes a xylophone, flowers fall from the tree, the bones spin around.  You can tap on the dogs to see and hear the opposite words. You turn pages by tapping the purple arrows in the bottom corners, and there are buttons at the top left for repeating the narration and removing the text. The narrator has a calming voice and the music isn't annoying.  A great free app.  Available through iTunes too.

Welcome Leslie!

We have yet another contributor to LittleeLit! Welcome Leslie!

Leslie McNabb has been a Branch Manager for two years. Previously she was a Youth Services Librarian for three years, and prior to that a high school teacher. Her job entails everything from reference, collection development and maintenance, programming, serving on committees, publicity and promotion, outreach, circulation, book club facilitation, and maintaining the branch. She is also a member of the International Relations Committee for the American Library Association. She is a 2010 Eureka Institute Fellow. Her undergraduate and MLIS degrees are from the University of Washington, and her Masters in Teaching is from Western Washington University. Leslie is a new mother with a five month old daughter, Jordan Magnolia. She owns a Nook, an iPhone, and covets the iPad.

App Review: Drawing Pad

We first encountered Drawing Pad (Amazon) at the Apple store.  We then went home and installed it on both the Kindle Fire and Galaxy Tab because it was such a hit with the little dude.

You can use digital crayons, pencil crayons, markers, stamps, coloured paper and stickers. The sticker function is by FAR the most awesome. There are stickers of fish, vehicles, insects, faces, flowers, birds and animals, all of which can be shrunk or enlarged and moved around until you "stamp" it to make it stick permanently. The drawer that holds all the tools opens and closes, and Little J can now navigate his way through the drawer to change colours or tools, as well as scrap his piece of artwork and start over again.

Drawing Pad (iTunes) is an awesome app for learning fine motor movement, playing with paint without making a mess, and making the train go choo choo down the track.  Totally worth the $1.99 and good for kids from 2 up.

eBooks are NOT bad for your kids!

Digital Book World has some great articles about electronic publishing for children. Check out this one entitled: Are Children’s E-Books Really Terrible For Your Children?

My favourite part:

If you pay attention to the media covering book publishing, you have probably noticed a recent uptick in stories about of children’s e-books and apps. Much of this coverage is borderline-hysterical scare-mongering over zombified children’s faces lit by the flickering glow of the blue iPad screen.

Shouldn’t they, instead, be curled up in front of a warm fire with an oversized edition of Berenstain Bears, cuddling with both parents under an old quilt sewn by wise grandmothers at a time when peace filled the earth?