Jeff Barger's goal at NC Teacher Stuff is to help other educators like himself find the most helpful resources for their classrooms. He's joined us this year as a judge in book apps, and his reviews help readers assess how friendly the app would be for the littlest user.
In reviewing an app by the "king of science books" Seymour Simon, Barger has fun pointing out the details of what makes the app different from a regular book. But he also judges the quality of the text, since it's a book as well as an app.
An excerpt:
Accessing this on an iPad would be very easy for a preschooler to accomplish. Paw prints serve as the page turns and there is a menu at the bottom so you can go to any page. The photographs will engage beginning readers and prompt them to continue turning the pages. Why Do Puppies Do That? would be a good primer for a child that is about to receive a puppy. After reading this, you could ask children to list the positive and challenging parts of owning a puppy or talk about the character traits of a good dog owner.
Read the rest here.