Go, Clifford, Go!
© 2011 Scholastic Media
Based on the series by Norman Bridwell, this $5 app features Clifford the Big Red Dog with two topics many children find of interest: vehicles and motion. As children swipe through the story, they can tilt from side to side to make the trees sway, waves roll and cars move. It's like the child can cause an earthquake on each page. The narration is repetitive and the story is similar in ways to "Go Dogs Go" and there are no specific hot spots. Text is presented in paragraphs with text highlighting, but surprisingly you can't touch individual words. At any time, a child can touch a bone on the bottom of the screen to start a rather unrelated driving game, where you drive the vehicles in the story and try to collect bones for Clifford by turning the screen left or right (like a steering wheel). It is possible to toggle on/off the music and narration. This is a nice app, although the iPad gets clumsy and heavy because you have to lean it side to side in order to make the action happen on the page. Like the printed book this app was based on, the narration, illustrations and subject are well matched for a young child. Learn more at http://www.scholastic.com/apps. See also I Love You Through and Through.
$5, iPad
Teaches: language, reading
CTR Rating: 88%