App-Tacular Competition!

WIN WIN WIN!
Hold on to your hats! I've been plotting a fabulous
competition to launch the App Puppy blog

HERE'S THE SCOOP-

To enter simply ...

1- Tell us in 100 words which picture book you would most like to see made into an app and then...

2-  recommend us to a friend on Twitter (@maybeswabey #apppuppycomp)  or on  Facebook

Post your entry on the competition prize photo page on the Facebook page, Tweet OR email your entry with your contact details to emma.booksniffer.odonovan@gmail.com

Here's the swag!
(On a Generation Game style conveyor belt !)

1 extremely limited edition (1 of only 3 in the whole world) App Puppy Canvas Bag designed by the fair hand of penatical genius Steven Lenton

1 Top-o the range iPod nano - which not only can play you all your fave pop toonze but can also be worn as a watch! Smashing!

1 copy of Oliver Jeffers latest picture book treasure
   The Huey's and The New Jumper

1 specially wrapped copy of Operation Alphabet - one of the darnedest bestest picture books AND apps I've seen in a looong time

As well as a selection of books reviewed on the Book Sniffer blog over the last few months

The winner will be picked at random on the 30th June

- UK only

Guest Post - Michelle Robinson tells us about her fave App!

Here's a guest post by bonkers as a bag of chimps author  Michelle Robinson on her favourite  app for kids!

DO NOT LICK SCREEN!
Nighty Night HD (watch the video here..) 

 'Night falls. The moon is high, all the people are ready to sleep as they turn off the lights…'

 

And so begins the Night Garden-esque narration of this enchanting bedtime app. Everything about it is beautiful; sound, vision; and that magical quality you can't quite put your finger on. It oozes naturally from all great ideas - and this is one of them.

It's so simple it's perfect: go around the candy cane cottage-style farm saying goodnight to all the animals and switching off the lights. That's it. Simple, eh? I'll bet putting it together was anything but. Heidi Wittlinger's delightful animals live in a farm painstakingly constructed from wood, cardboard, wool, straw and even bits of old sponge. I love it. My two and a half year old loves it. The stars twinkle, the crickets make that cricketty noise, the cutesy animals drift off to sleep and I have to restrain myself from licking the screen.

As a picture book author I love the purity of this idea and the quality of its execution. This is why picture book apps are such an exciting prospect - we can do things on an interactive screen that we could never truly replicate in print. If you're sucking your teeth, answer me this: how could a child turn off the lights in such a satisfying way on paper? I've seen lights-out spreads (Peggy Rathmann's 'Goodnight Gorilla' has a great one), but it's just not the same as actually finding a switch and clicking it.
 
This is the perfect bedtime app for animal crazy toddlers like mine, who is especially fond of the pony (and by the way, even though their absence isn't noticeable until you've met them, it's absolutely worth buying the optional additional animals because they're adorable). At the end of a hectic day, Nighty Night is a lovely way of putting the iPad to bed and switching into 'Proper Book' mode. After all, as much as Nighty Night claims to be a 'bedtime book', it doesn't have a story. If it did, I'd give it a standing ovation. As it is, it gets a high five and a hearty 'WHOOP.'

BUY this app here..

A big licky THANK YOU to Laap-dog Michelle Robinson - Check out Michelle's author page on Facebook here or visit her website if you are really up for a giggle follow her on Twitter @MicheRobinson.. yarf yarf!

Rumble In The Jungle – An Interactive Book by Giles Andreae and David Wojtowycz

LET'S GET READY TO RUUUMMMBLLLE!!!!

I've long been a fan of the picture book version of Rumble in the Jungle published by Orchard Books and written by charmingly dashing fop Mr Giles Andreae  - The hilarious bite sized poems are beautifully complimented by Davids super-vibrant illustrations. The App version of this picture book is the epitome of "enhancement", the story remains delightfully engaging and the animation is unobtrusive but entertaining.

The  navigation is simple enough for even the smallest readers to operate.
There are options to read by yourself or have the story read to you by deliciously plumby Hugh Laurie, both equally enjoyable.
Each spread reveals a new jungle character with it's own tittersome mini poem accompanied by a bouncy joyful and cleverly composed soundtrack.
There are plenty of opportunities for the reader / listener to join in making various monkey ooks, liony roars or elephanty  trumpet noises.

A favourite page of mine happens to be the zebras having a sneaky snog with hilarious smooch sound effect and quivering eyebrow. Oooh La la!

MWAH!

Each page has tap features to animate various characters including itchy scratchy monkeys and hopping frogs - fun little treasures to discover as you read.

Everyone groans when a game features as part of a picture book app but the Snap card game at the end of Rumble in the Jungle in no way detracts from the story and adds a fun element to enjoy once the story is finished.


STORY SYNOPSIS:

Take a trip through the jungle and meet all your favourite animals in this exciting new app with animations, sound effects and music.
Choose to read the rollicking jungle romp yourself, or hear it read aloud.
Little ones will love joining in with the animal sound effects and finding the touch-activated animations on each screen. This app comes complete with a simple puzzle game that reinforces learning. Guaranteed to provide hours of entertainment!

Perfect for families on the go this interactive eBook version of a classic children’s picture book is packed with animated features inviting children to engage with the story and explore each page for hidden features whilst enjoying the bouncy rhyming text.


BUY THE APP HERE

BUY THE BOOK HERE ...

Alex T Smith on Apps C/O The beauties at Nosy Crow!

Check out this fabulous interview with Alex T Smith on the Nosy Crow website! Three cheers for Alex and a huge kazoo toot for Nosy Crow!

READ MORE HERE

ALSO check out Alex's blog here!  He is awesome with a cherry on top!