Silly Elephant

Poduri, N. (2015). Silly Elephant. Gopi Poduri.

Children's Picture Book / Interactive / Teachable Moments

I gave this book 4 of 5 stars

Summary: Ephan is a silly elephant who loves to do silly things. He is forever teasing his friends and playing practical jokes on them. Eventually, his friends fight back, and Ephan learns a valuable lesson.
This book includes audio and other interactive materials. It's 51.1MB, requires iOS 5.0 or higher, and iBooks 3 or higher.

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Silly Elephant is an interactive book is visually appealing with Disney caliber illustrations provided by Venumadhav Kattoju. When the narration feature is activated (available on iPad version through the App store) the story is wonderfully narrated by an expressive young boy. As the child reads, the words are highlighted on the page, so pre-readers can follow along and new readers can keep learning.  This is especially helpful as the lay-out of some pages has the dialogue reading from right to left instead of vice-versa. 

Happily, the book is very-well written and has a great story-line. There are some content concerns, especially in the behavior of the main character, Ephan (rhymes with Ethan) being deemed "silly." I don't think most readers would or should construe Ephan's actions as silly -- they are mean and dangerous and characteristic of a bully; "silly" implies harmlessness.  I think it's a poor word choice, and though Ephan does learn his lesson and is able to empathize with how others might have felt, I am not sure it overcomes that he was a bully.  Also, the illustrations to help with telling time may cause new learners some confusion. Over all, the series has real promise, and in discussing these points with the author, I expect the next book in the series will remedy the ailments. 

I'd recommend this story for children ages four to seven. With the technology, Silly Elephant is designed for even weak readers to be able to read independently; however, as I recommend with ALL children's books, this one is best with adult input and discussion. Thank you to the author for providing me a download of the interactive eBook in exchange for my honest opinion -- the only kind I give.   

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Nadh Poduri grew up in a southern part of India. He is a programmer, loves to develop games for kids. While he was growing up in India, he used to visit elephant national park to study about elephants. His fascination towards elephants drove him to write his first picture book 'Silly Elephant. Nadh lives with his wife and two kids in San Francisco. Connect with the author on: FACEBOOK     AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

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Zwoosh!

Zwoosh! Interactive Book App  

Version 1.6.5, updated 9/11/15, iOS 8.0 or higher required, iPad compatible

Written and narrated by Marie Rose 

Art by Susan Lee

Music & Animation by Chris Chamberlain 

Children's / Interactive / Educational / Fantasy 

I gave this App 5 of 5 Stars

POP-UP GIVEAWAY! Leave a comment on this post, and IndieRoseBooks will choose a random winner to get a free audio book, eBook, or App download! 

App Store Blurb:  

A hand-crafted, fine arts interactive storybook for kids of all ages. 

Fly to the stars in your very own rocket ship. Wave at the mean, green Martians. Picnic with Moon Men. Play tag with the comets. Win a blue ribbon space race.  

Inspired by the palette of Vincent van Gogh, let's go on a colorful space journey as we explore the planets in our solar system through the power and wonder of a child's imagination.

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Zwoosh! is visually SUPER appealing with every inch of the screen/page beautifully covered with rich color and texture. Along with a constant outer-spacey-sounding soundtrack, this interactive book app is fun, but it is soothing and not stimulating for those who are okay with electronics at bedtime.  Author Marie Rose is also the narrator, and her pace and tone are just perfect.  Rose didn't necessarily read the sentences as they were punctuated, but I don't think any kids would care.

Readers will enjoy that there are no advertisements -- this is just a straight interactive storybook. The information presented is a mix of fact and fiction, so it's best that a parent is there to make the distinction.  Some of the interactive portions are more obvious than others, so kids will have to do a little searching to find the action or sound responses. (Some actions are repeatable, while others are one time hits - personally wish all were repeatable without having to back out of the page and reload.)  It's not overly complicated, and though the recommended age range is ages 6-8,  it's possibly too simple for kids much older than kindergarten age.  I haven't seen the book, but based on the App, I think it would make a nice companion and would appeal to the older end of the recommended age range.

Thank you to Words Turn Me On Promotional Services for providing me a download of the App in exchange for my honest review -- the only kind I give.  

WATCH THE APP TRAILER!

CLICK TO BUY THE APP -- JUST $0.99!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Marie Rose holds a Master of Arts degree in Theater from The University of Texas at El Paso. She's an alumna of several super cool entertainment industry programs including The Walt Disney Fellowship in Screenwriting, Producers Guild of America's Diversity Program, and the American Film Institute's Directing Workshop for Women, through which Marie directed Dakota Fanning in her first starring role.

Additionally, she's taught children's theater, is published in children's and women's literature, and is a commercial voice over artist who specializes in audio book narration.

Marie is the owner of Indie Rose Books for Kids, a playground for children's literature of all kinds. When she's not busy daydreaming about the places a child's imagination can go Marie is also an award-winning screenwriter, director, and film producer in Los Angeles, California. Connect with the author:

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