Recently, there has been a surge of children’s books applications for the iPad, each offering something unique. Bookster (free) offers simple audio, text and illustrations, with the option to record your own voice to narrate the story. It’s a great application for children to have fun with, while, at the same time, teaching them how to read.
Bookster takes a standard book, with illustrations, and adds an audio narration recorded by a child. Each time you flip the page, the audio automatically starts, and each word is highlighted on the screen as it’s said aloud. The voice is very clear, and the highlights match the pace of the child’s speech. With beautiful, color illustrations, the app is fantastic with just these features alone. However, Bookster takes things a step further by allowing the user to record his or her own voice for each page of the story. A simple record button starts the recording and displays a sound-level meter at the bottom of the screen. Once you’ve recorded yourself speaking the page’s text, the app will save it for later playback. However, you always need to manually play your recording, as the app will automatically play the default recording of the child’s voice for each page. It would be nice if there were an option to automatically play your own recordings.
Another great educational feature of Bookster is the ability to touch any word on the screen to receive an audio playback of the child saying that word. This allows a child to use the app on his or her own and listen to any word that might be difficult to pronounce. This is perfect for schools. I can imagine children in the classroom with headsets on, using this app to read books and practice pronouncing difficult words.
The story the app features, “What If …,” is only the first of many books to come. I’m very excited to see what else Bookster will have to offer.
