Trip, The � Little Critter Reading Adventure

$3.99, iPad, Nook, Kindle, Android

Teaches: reading, letter recognition

CTR Rating: 80%

CTR Review

A good Mercer Meyer story with excellent narration is combined with a complicated collection play pattern and some uninterruptible stretches of dialog, in this ten screen/page ebook. The design issues are annoying but tolerable. So don't count this app out completely.You start with a choice of the classic "just read" and "reading adventure" modes. The story is a good one ... a family of four decides to take a summer car trip to Lake Wakatookee. Along the way, they meet a horse in the road, get stuck in a traffic jam, stop at the beach, get the car fixed at a garage, get some ice cream and so on. The reading adventure mode presents hunt and find challenges in order to get to the next page. You can't fix the car without a flashlight, for example, which might require going back to a previous page, in case you didn't pick one up. During a stop at the beach, a seagull steals the car keys. The only way to get them back is to visit a roadside food stand and get some free popcorn. Hidden on each page are some rather rudimentary alphabet flashcards. When found, you are told you've found a flashcard (each time). At several points in the adventure, you must wait for dialog in order to progress. Also, you are supposed to be able to find and unlock six collectible gems in order to play a hidden arcade game. I could only find four, despite going back to each page for a more thorough search. This could frustrate some children. We also didn't like the ads for the sister app to this one, called Little Critter GamePak, found on the last page. Other features include text highlighting, visual interactive item clues and excellent audio narration. It is worth noting that this story contains stereotypes: Dad is always fixing the car; mom rides along and provides the entertainment. This family also doesn't believe in healthy eating, stopping for hot dogs and ice cream. The flashcard for F is "fast food". Some of the gags are outstanding, and are repeated from page to page. There are two apps in the series. See also The Trip � Little Critter GamePak. Both run on iOS, Android, Nook and Kindle. There is a free lite version with prompts to the shopping cart. The app was produced by John R. Sansevere.