My son is fascinated by reptiles, so the Larry Lizard apps from Wasabi Productions called out to us. The Australian company creates storybook apps that offer charming characters, interactive storytelling and so-called edutainment.
Lazy Larry Lizard is available for free download on the iPad and features the eponymous reptile as he tries to get some rest. Each page has a simple graphic and a short paragraph of text, and the reader is invited to poke Larry, resulting in some adorable movements and sounds that delighted my toddler and even excited my one-year-old.
While older children could read the text themselves, the app also has a read-to-me function and a text highlight function to help young readers. Very small children like mine tend to poke Larry before the text has been completely read out, so parents have the option of using a "delay interactions" setting.
The second app in the series, Look Out Larry!, is a paid download and has a similarly simple storyline with slightly more interactivity than the previous book. While not overly moralistic, the tales hold a message for children.
My son tends to prefer storybooks with crowded pages and plenty of detail, so in this sense the graphics in Larry series, while undeniably appealing, struggled to hold his attention, prompting him to turn the page quickly. Older children, who can engage with the text, may not do this.
The company's other app, Ten Giggly Gorillas, fared better on this count. Each of the apes giggles, says a line or two and moves when touched, until your finger lands on the one destined to fall down as hinted by the text. In addition to a cute story and engaging animation, the app will probably help little ones to grasp the concepts of numbers and counting.