Sunday in Kyoto

PreS-Gr 5—Derived from the lyrics of a folk song, this whimsical app tells the tale of an improbable group of musicians who come together to play their instruments in old Kyoto. The curious cast includes cane-wielding Joe from "Cajun land," his Japanese wife adorned in a floral kimono, their Spanish friends, and a Buddhist monk.The catchy tune is sung by alternating male and female voices. Each character plays a different instrument, including a banjo, koto, guitar, piano, bouzouki, harp, and shamisen, creating a enjoyable learning experience for listeners. The gorgeous, color-washed line drawings, taken directly from the original picture-book-plus-CD combo (The Secret Mountain, 2009), nicely reflect the flavor of ancient Kyoto. There's an old wooden temple gate, a pond teeming with carp, and a low table set for afternoon tea. Humorous touches add to the merriment, as when a bronze Buddhist statue claps along with smiling monks as a mouse inexplicably comes out and takes a bow at the end of a nearly silent concert.This app has three simple modes: "Read," "Watch," "Sing." "Read" has no sound or animation. Children can swipe through pages on their own. In "Watch" and "Sing," the pages turn automatically. Pause/jump icons and a navigation slider allow for quick movement through the pages. In "Watch," the text is sung with accompaniment and sound effects. Pans, close-ups, and subtle animations, such as hands strumming instruments and feet tapping to the music, seem to make the illustrations move to the beat. In "Sing," the text is not sung but highlighted, word-by-word, in sync with the accompaniment, encouraging children to read, or sing, along. A "Shop" icon leads to the publisher's store and iTunes.—Kathleen S. Wilson, New York University, New York, NY (4/4/12)