FarFaria
© 2012 Intuary
Gorgeous graphics are combined with hastily displayed blocks of un-narrated text, in this subscription based "endless digital library" for children who have iPads. Here's how it works. After you download the app (free), you purchase a one month ($3.99) subscription as an in-app sale. You can cancel at any time, however, you must pay the remainder of your term (at least $3.99) and the app auto-renews. So be careful -- this is like an automatic book of the week. We liked the overall ease of use and variety in the stories that we tried, but the standard eBook features are limited. Moving around in a book is not easy and the horizontal and vertical screen views don't always transition well. In addition, you can't resize the images or text. In terms of reading support, we didn't spot any scaffolding features, and the ability to touch and hear words is not used, which lowers the educational value. But that may not be the point of FarFaria. Many of the stories are pleasant surprises, with beautiful illustrations which makes it easier to overlook the chopped up and over-abridged text. Because the stories are theme-based rather than leveled, children are more likely find something they are interested in, and that interest will keep them engaged.
$4, iPad
Teaches: reading. language
CTR Rating: 74%