January 24, 2012

Before last week’s Apple event introducing iBooks 2, there were interactive books for children that were apps. We have reviewed several here on Justanothergeeksite. Today we are looking at Porkchop and Mouse by Fiona Roberton.

Porkchop and Mouse is a delightful story with beautiful pictures. You (or your child) can turn the pages forwards or backwards to move through the story just like a paper bound book.

The story moves you through Porchop’s hunt for the poor mouse who took up residency in his house. They go through a range of beautifully illustrated landscapes before landing back at home. Each page not only gives you a visual treat, but often gives you a surprise or two on the page. For example, on the first page is a picture of a piano in the living room. Tapping on the piano brings up a keyboard that you can actually play.

The downside is that the interactive extras are inconsistent. You never know what to click on, and it can get frustrating for small children to keep touching things until something happens…or they run out of things to tap.

Porkchop and Mouse has three reading options. Sit back and let the narrator read to you, read it yourself, or record yourself and then listen to your voice read through the story. I love this flexibility and it reminds me of my own childhood when my mother would read a book so often that I could recite it back with all her inflection.

I actually learned to read this way. Porkchop and Mouse can help here too, because another outstanding feature is the ability to click on any word, highlight it, and have the one word read for recognition. This is whole language learning at its finest, and guaranteed to entertain your children.

My big complaint with Porkchop and Mouse is that the pages turn by themselves if you don’t hurry and do it yourself. This takes away the one constant a child has for reading – turning the pages.

Overall, this is a wonderful children’s book that you can share with your child, or let him read on his own. You can find it in iTunes for $.99 – a real bargain for a book!

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