The influence of Dr. Seusss lives on in the digital world. An interactive ebook version of Dr. Seuss’s “Is a Camel a Mammal?” starring The Cat in the Hat is now available on the iPad courtesy of Oceanhouse Media. We were given a download code to review the app.
How’s the Story?
Fun and educational. Chock full of Dr. Seuss’s classic animation style, the Cat in the Hat takes Sally and Dick on a whimsical journey as they help the big feline write a book about mammals. The kids see creatures of all shapes and sizes while discovering new facts about each of them along the way.
How’s the interactivity?
The good folks at Oceanhouse Media have produced a title that focuses more on the story rather than bells and whistles. That being said, a reader has the choice of the tale being read to him/her or reading the title by themselves. Also, there are parental controls which allow parents to record the story in their own voice or any voice one would like to use. (Editor’s note: We recorded a version using our best Arnold Schwarzenegger imitation) the time of this writing, the voice recording functionality worked for the most part but caused the app to crash a few times. No doubt a future update will fix this bug. A reader can also touch any highlighted word in the story and get the meaning. Kids can also touch or drag objects which will be identified via word and by sound.
Overall Grade: B
Recommended for kids ages 3 and up.
