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Kids can tag along as Jubitron the Girl Robot goes on a picnic with her friends in this cute interactive storybook.

Available on the App Store

[appimg 601534162]

Available on the App Store


Jubitron the Girl Robot: The Lovely Little Picnic is the first story in the Jubitron series and is likely to be the first of many Jubitron storybooks children enjoy. While the story has a classic feel, a few friends going on a picnic, this storybook is anything but classic. From the peppy electronic rock theme playing in the background to the modern style of graphics, The Lovely Little Picnic is a hip electronic storybook.

Kids can choose to have the storybook automatically read to them or choose to read it themselves, clicking on the words they do not understand. Whichever way they choose to enjoy the storybook, they also get to experience the interactive graphics. They can watch Jubitron and her friends walk to the picnic, fill the screen will olives from the can Little Birdie brings or even create their own music by helping Alligator play the drums or dancing along as they strum Little Birdie’s guitar.

      Features include:

      • Hip background music
      • Interactive graphics
      • Read-aloud text
      • Modern graphics and story

From its clear background music to its interactive graphics, every aspect of Jubitron the Girl Robot: The Lovely Little Picnic oozes quality. In the “read to me” mode, all lines are read clearly and at a good pace so children can follow along, but do not get bored waiting for the text to finish. If children choose to read the story themselves, individual words are read-aloud clearly when clicked on.

The highlight of the app is the graphics. They are cool, crisp and modern. The colors used give the story a mellow feel, but still allow the characters and their actions to pop on each page. Graphics respond quickly when tapped and a little bird in the left-hand corner tells kids what to do if they cannot figure out how to interact with the scenes.

 

Because The Lovely Little Picnic is a storybook, its focus is on teaching and encouraging kids to read. Like most interactive storybook apps, it comes with two options, either having it read aloud or allowing kids to read it on their own. Neither option stands out as being particularly innovative when it comes to helping kids learn to read, but the read-aloud option is done well.

Even though the way the app works is not different from most interactive storybooks, it may motivate children to read because of the story, music and graphics. The story of Jubitron the Girl Robot: The Lovely Little Picnic is something different, which gives it educational value. Children who do not like more traditional stories may appreciate the story’s upbeat background music and the fact that it incorporates music and other cool elements into a fairly simple story. The story itself also is educational and includes simple words, rhymes and unexpected scenarios.

 

Kids will find this interactive storybook highly entertaining. Just listening to the opening music of the app, it is hard to not want to jump right in to the story. As kids read they will be entertained by the cute, modern graphics and how they can interact with the main characters: Jubitron, Mr. Alligator and Little Birdie. While reading through the story there are also plenty of opportunities for kids to make noise, including playing drums with Mr. Alligator’s cake, strumming Little Birdie’s guitar, revving a chainsaw to slice the cheese and clicking on raindrops to listen to them tinkle.

 

At its regular price, Jubitron the Girl Robot may seem expensive for a simple storybook. However, when you consider the high quality of the app’s music, graphics and story, it is worth the price. This is not a storybook kids will read once and forget about. This is a storybook that will become a favorite and kids will return to the app to read it over and over again.

The app itself is fairly simple. Children choose one of the two options for reading the story and are then taken through the story page by page. On most screens, it is easy for children to tap around and figure out how to interact. When they cannot figure out what to do, Little Birdie appears in the left-hand corner to give them a hint, such as “slice the cheese” or “Mr. Alligator’s tongue is very stretchy.”

Available on the App Store