Josh and his wife Donna are a husband-wife team behind The Happy Dandelion. Among other things, they create Interactive Reading Apps. They sent me four apps to try out in our classroom. The apps were; The Boy who liked Pink & The Girl who liked Blue, A to Sea, The UnStealer, and Little Lamb in Amsterdam.
Each of the four apps were interactive storytelling apps. This means the app is a picture book, but the user can interact with it. Each time my students and I opened the apps, we found new ways to interact.
As a teacher, I appreciated that my young students were able to touch the words on the pages to hear the story read aloud. They could read along with the narrator and be exposed to words they might not have in books they are reading at an independent level.
I also appreciated how each of the apps had several learning opportunities to them. There are clear social-emotional messages along with fun facts for the students to learn.
My students were beyond impressed with the illustrations and sounds in the app. They were engaging and brought the readers in. They didn’t even realize all the skills they were working on.
We used the apps in a variety of ways. We read and listened as a class during our read aloud time, students used the apps independently during their reading time, and I looked at the apps with a small group of students.
Another perk? The apps have no in-app purchases, advertising, external links, or access to social media. Perfect for the classroom!
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| The Boy Who Liked Pink and The Girl Who Liked Blue |
A to Sea is an alphabet book with GORGEOUS illustrations that come to life. The animals included for each letter are unique and interesting to both kids and adults. Each page comes with a fun hidden fact that you can choose to reveal or not. My students were mesmerized by this one. It was perfect for our read aloud and led to great discussions.
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| The UnStealer |
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| Little Lamb in Amsterdam |
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