iPhone4idiots

My favorite iPhone app storybook makers, Oceanhouse Media, secured the publishing rights to Berenstain Bear catalog. They already had rights to the entire Dr. Seuss catalog and you may have read one my reviews previously. They are sticking to the same format that makes their children’s storybooks outstanding. Professional drawings and audio, touchable screens and three modes of reading. They have released three Berenstain Bear titles this week all priced at $2.99. For my brief review of The Berenstain Bears Say Their Prayers. As with almost every Oceanhouse Media storybook there are three modes of reading: read to me, read it myself or auto play. On auto play you hit start and hand your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch to your one to three year old. Four to six year olds probably prefer the read to me where they swipe to turn the page while five to seven year olds (remember I have boys who are a little slower to take to reading) can handle read it myself. Pages pan and zoom to focus on the art and part of the story being read. Words zoom up and are spoken when taped. They really are a great way to learn to read. This story is quite different for the last ebook I reviewed, Hop on Pop. While that one was silly and for fun, this one teaches moral lesson. The Bears say their prayers every night but aren’t sure why. At a baseball game Cousin Freds prayers are answered while Brothers are not. This leads to the moral that all prayers are answered just “sometimes, we just don’t get the answer we expect.” This storybook really isn’t for the agnostic out there, but definitely will appeal to others. The bottom line – just another beautifully crafted storybook for your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.