Adapting any children’s classic to a new format is tricky. Purists will scream it’s not the original, others will be delighted to discover a new way to enjoy an old favorite. The good news is, we aren’t being asked to choose between formats.
Touch and Go | Animal Fact and Fiction
By on November 15, 2012 Leave a Comment
It’s no secret children love learning about animals, and picture books about them are some of the most popular titles in libraries. Three apps combining story and facts about animal life have recently been made available. “Touch and Go’s” reviewers took at look at them.
Best of Apps & Enhanced Books: November 1, 2012
By on November 1, 2012 Leave a Comment
Reviews in this column first appeared in SLJ’s column Touch and Go. After each review, you’ll find the date it appeared online. Online, there are links to related resources, a trailer (if one exists), and a link to purchase information.
Ghouls, Ghosts, and ‘Frankenweenie:’ A Collection of Holiday Apps
By on October 25, 2012 Leave a Comment
From witches and monsters to haunted houses and headless horsemen, there’s something for everyone this Halloween season.
Fiske Interactive College Guide 2012: A Review
By on October 23, 2012 Leave a Comment
Students hitting the college-tour circuit may want to take along “The Fiske Interactive College Guide 2012.” Features allow students to browse college websites, to email admissions offices directly, to create and save lists of schools, to add notes, and more.
Shakespeare on the iPad
By on October 11, 2012 1 Comment
It’s a boon year for students of Shakespeare and thespians: from Sourcebooks, Inc. and Touch Press come interactive resources that will change the way readers experience the Bard’s works. Sourcebooks has just released three titles in its “Shakesperience” series that promise to “transport readers from the page to the stage”: “Othello,” “‘Romeo and Juliet,” and “Hamlet.” Each iBook provides the text of the play along with insight from actors on their roles, audio and visuals of celebrated performances, and much more. Extensive commentary and notes, and video recordings of famed actors performing each of Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets, are among the highlights of the stunning “Sonnets by William Shakespeare” from Touch Press.
Best of Apps & Enhanced Books: October 2012
By on October 1, 2012 Leave a Comment
Ryan Woodward/©2012 Ryan Woodward Art and Amimation.
Reviews in this column first appeared in SLJ’s column Touch and Go. After each review, you’ll find the date it appeared online. Online, there are links to related resources, a trailer (if one exists), and a link to purchase information. Please note that later versions of some of these titles may now be available. Visit Touch and Go for additional reviews, commentary, and interviews with people in the field.
Bottom of the [...]
Touch and Go: Countdown to an Election
By on September 27, 2012 Leave a Comment
Given that this is the first U.S. presidential election since apps have made their way onto most electronic devices, you might think there would be dozens of worthwhile products available on the topic designed for students. Think again.
Sure, there are plenty of apps devoted to November’s election, there just aren’t that many that explain the process to those too young to cast a ballot. Those listed here should get the conversation rolling about how we elect a President and the men who have held that the office.
Touch and Go: Play Ball!
By on September 13, 2012
Baseball season may be coming to an end, but a true fan’s enthusiasm for the sport never wanes. Reason enough to consider two new digital products for your iPad: Ryan Woodward’s Bottom of the Ninth and The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. The first is an animated graphic novel, the second, a reference guide. Here’s what our reviewers had to say about these releases.
Touch and Go Lives!
By on September 13, 2012
After a brief hiatus during the transition to our new website, our app reviews are back—with a few changes. First, you’ll notice they have moved from School Library Journal’s blog roll into a column, pushing out in our Extra Helping enewsletter. Archived reviews can be found on the SLJ website under “Blogs and Columns.” However, to ensure you receive all of our postings, be sure to add “Touch and Go” to your RSS feed.
SLJ’s Best of Apps & Enhanced Books August 2012
By on August 31, 2012
Apps involving monsters, both real and imagined, are among the digital publications examined in School Library Journal’s app review column Touch and Go.
Bill Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg Bend Reality
By on August 13, 2012
Author William Joyce and his creative partner, Brandon Oldenburg, aren’t exactly the kind of guys who play it by the book. Their wildly successful, Oscar-winning The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore was first a film (“We wanted a calling card to prove we could animate at Moonbot Studios”), then an app, next a [...]
Lunching on Sea Urchin, Abalone, and Clams
By on August 1, 2012
‘Where Do Balloons Go?’ Ask Jamie Lee Curtis.
By on July 26, 2012
Review: ‘Hush, Little Beachcomber’
By on July 23, 2012
Review: ‘A Garden for Pig.’ Kane Miller Enters the Digital Storytelling World
By on July 18, 2012
Kane Miller Makes Some Noise with ‘Boom Bah!’
By on July 13, 2012
Kane Miller publishers have been bringing outstanding international children’s titles to the attention of American readers for more than thirty years. Their list includes such favorites as Mem Fox’s Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge, Taro Gomi’s Everyone Poops, Jae Soo Liu’s Yellow Umbrella, and more recently, Atinuke’s “Anna Hibiscus” series.
Boom Bah!, first published in Australia, represents [...]
Review: Tove Jansson’s ‘Moomin, Mymble and Little My’
By on July 10, 2012
This app takes advantage of the iPad’s capabilities, incorporating sound, motion, and interactivity, while letting the story remain the focus. As our reviewer Cathy Potter points out, Jansson’s die-cut illustrations translate well to the digital format, and add to the story’s appeal.
Title: The Book About Moomin, Mymble and Little My
Author: Tove Jansson
Illustrator: Tove Jansson
English Translation [...]
Review: ‘Hello to the Moon’ Matchbook Digital Releases a Storybook App
By on July 6, 2012
Matchbook Digital, known for it’s stunning photographic presentations of animal life, has released its first storybook app. Audrey Sumser reviews it below.
Title: Hello to the Moon!
Narrated by: Steve Goulding
Developed by: Matchbook Digital LLC
Platform: iOS, requires 4.0 or later
Version: 1.0
Price: $1.99
PreS-Lush artwork in a variety of media provides the background for this gentle bedtime story. Employing [...]
Review: ‘American Presidents and First Ladies’
By on July 2, 2012
While embedded videos and plentiful images offer a look at presidents in action, factual errors and typos mar this app.
Title: American Presidents and First Ladies
Author: Marc Schulman
Developed by: Multieducator, Inc.
Platform: iOS, requires 5.0 or later
Version: 1.0
Price: $.99
Gr 5 Up-Every [...]
