Another classic of childhood, Mother Goose, comes alive on the iPad, thanks to developer ustwo in conjunction with Atomic Antelope, who produced the impressive Alice for the iPad.
Readers have to shake awake the sun to begin, and each screen continues the physical fun, mimicking old-time novelty books with plenty of swiping and swinging action. Drag Jack and Jill’s bucket up the well shaft and watch it descend again with a splash; propel the little piggy that goes "Weee Weee Weee” all the way home along a spiral path. The vintage illustrations are by W.W. Denslow (famous for his Wizard of Oz work), and the supersized text is integral to the experience, dominating each page and sometimes even becoming one of the interactive elements. Other rhymes include "Baa Baa Black Sheep," "This Little Piggy," "Three Blind Mice," "Hey Diddle Diddle," "Humpty Dumpty" and "Twinkle Twinkle," with more promised, according to iTunes, along with “narration for all.” There is currently no read-to-me option, though it does include a StoryTime™ connection feature allowing parents on business trips to perform remote bedtime reading via the Apple GameCenter app and a wifi connection; both see the same page (with the parent controlling page-turning) and can hear each other, though any page-swiping action is viewed independently.
This interactive nursery-rhyme app has great appeal, even without long-distance read-alouds. (iPad storybook app. 1-4)
