A bit too stripped down for curious pre-readers, this picture book of transportation doesn’t really go anywhere.
It has all the potential of other picture books aimed at toddlers obsessed with all things transportational. But unlike similar apps, this vivid color-block book doesn’t offer much in terms of exploration or discovery. There are 12 different vehicles: a dump truck, a taxi, a tow truck, a fire truck and more. Little ones can tap each for sound effects and minimal action. But that’s it. Toddlers can’t make the cars go with the swipe of a grimy finger, nor are there any interesting characters driving these cars. There are plenty of comical bells and whistles and pop sounds when pages are turned, but the interactivity level here is a flat tire. To make matters worse, reading/listening or playing options are also nonexistent, as is a page index. There are no memory games or puzzles to help pre-readers learn the words that go with the cars. The saxophone/percussion/piano jingle at the beginning will leave parents grateful that it doesn’t play throughout. And why, among all the cars, is the ambulance laughing?
With the plethora of imaginative digital books on cars and other things that go, this app just isn’t there yet. (iPad informational app. 1-3)
