Fairy tales and fables with days-of-yore sentimentality are getting a modern reboot lately, and I’m so excited to discover the amazing iBook app from Brainy Fables, which is all about it, too.
The Brainy Fables iBook app redux takes on a more timeless content meets critical thinking mash-up for about the 5-6 year old set, with a collection of four stories–Marcelo the Fox, Horacio the Piglet, Uxmal and the Great Pyramid Challenge, Mirta the Super Fly.
Each app showcases gorgeous watercolor illustrations and offers up optional narration in either English or Spanish (the ebook creators are from Spain, in case you’re wondering where the narrator got his fantastic accent). While these really are more like paper books than games, and they’re not all that interactive, there are some hidden sounds here and there for kids to discover.
The point is the lessons, natch; those moments that teach kids why the protagonists did or didn’t make the best choices throughout the story. You know, good ol’ Aesop, moral of the story kind of stuff. And the good part is that with you at your kid’s side, you’ll have the opportunity for a lot of teaching and critical skill-building.
The only bummer is that you can’t buy the fables as a collection. Each story has to be downloaded
separately at a cost of $1.99. On the upside, Mirta the Super Fly is free. -Pilar
Download Brainy Fables ebooks for iPod, iPhone and iPad in iTunes. Download Mirta the Super Fly for Free. Learn more about Brainy Fables at brainyfables.com.
