The Day I Became a Pirate eBook App

This app is designed for both iPhone and iPad 

Cost: $1.99 

Category: Books 

Released: May 10, 2012 

Version: 1.0 

Size: 51.8 MB 

Author: Cary Snowden

Illustrator: Zach Clough

Seller: No Ink, Inc. 

© 2012 TaleSpring, Inc. 

Recommended age: 4-6 years

GlobaleBook Award Winner:  Best illustration in children’s fiction and Best multimedia in an ebook.

The Day I Became a Pirate caught my attention as it is an award-winning eBook.  It was awarded best illustration in children’s fiction (eBook) and best multimedia in an eBook.  It also reminded me of one of my favourite days in September, International Talk Like a Pirate Day where I would always read Pirates Don’t Change Diapers, a favourite among my Kindergartens : )  

The Day I Became a Pirate, written in a simple four line rhyming scheme, tells a story of a young lad who finds himself face to face with a band of pirates needing his help.  Feeling threatened at first, the young boy tries to escape, but to no avail.  Eventually the pirates come to shore and the Captain introduces himself as Captain Black, from somewhere far Down Under”.  He offers the boy, in exchange for the boy’s help with their ailing mate, the treasure that sits on their pirate ship.  The boy quickly ascertains that the pirate is ill due to eating a Swordfish too quickly.  Holding his breath and reaching deep, the boy pulls out the swordfish and saves the pirate.  The men, despite the boy’s protests, leave him with their latest plunder of treasure and set sail.  The boy buries the treasure for safe keeping but alas, has forgotten where.

Despite the glowing reviews on the iTunes site from happy parents, I have to say I wasn’t as impressed with the award-winning eBook.  The illustrations by Zach Clough were colourful with clean lines, aesthetically pleasing, very much like cartoons you see on TV nowadays; however, I was disappointed with the lack of depth and details that can often add to the story.  The story seemed rather text-heavy for the age-range but the narration option took care of that concern; but the fact that the reader has to choose between reading the text or seeing the pictures really bothered me.  I am a reader who likes to see text interacting with the illustrations, cleverly displayed beside, organically blended, or at the very least, interacting in some way with the illustrations.  The amusing rhymes where appropriately displayed on a scroll; but, the scroll was blocking the entire picture.  Readers have to choose to read the text or engage with animated illustrations.  I think far too much attention was given to adding secret clues (for the reader to follow up with on an outside webpage), creating short, amusing animations (like the belly X-Ray) and other details were missed, such as the Pirate Ode being spoken rather than sung (even though it was displayed on a musical score!).

Overall, the price for the eBook was reasonable but I do feel that there other interactive eBook options where all the details have meticulously been planned out and executed.

The Walking Dead Issue # 1

The Walking Dead

Genre: Graphic Novel/Horror

Suggested age: 16+

Author, creator, letterer: Robert Kirkman

Artist:  Tony Moore

ISBN: Unknown

Released: 2004

Publisher:  Jim Valentino

A small town cop, Rick Grimes, led a normal life with his wife and child, that is, until he gets shot and hospitalized.  In and out of consciousness for a few weeks, he wakes to find himself weak and completely alone in the hospital.  Stumbling through the hospital and looking for anyone, Rick finds himself face to face with the walking dead.  Somehow he garners the strength to find his way home which he finds deserted.  His wife and son are nowhere to be found.  After a disorienting and painful encounter with a shovel, Rick meets his new neighbors, Duane and Morgan Jones and learns little about what has happened the past few weeks; however, Rick learns enough to assume that his wife and boy have left their town to travel to Atlanta.  Gearing up at his old detachment, Rick bids farewell to the Jones’ after equipping them with a reliable vehicle and ammunition and begins his journey to find his family.

Kirkman’s dialogue is intense and to the point while Moore’s illustrations lead the reader to learn that Grimes, although weakened in body and spirit, still has the stomach, the bravery and the ambition to survive.  It’s evident that Grimes, although a proud member of the force, is able to adapt his thinking to the rules of the new world and what people must do to survive.  Grimes even tells Jones, “I can’t think of a better way to ‘Protect and Serve” under the circumstances” when he gives him a police cruiser, guns, and ammunition from the police station.  The final scene of this issue reminds the reader of Grimes’ depth of character when he performs a final act of mercy on a zombie he had encountered earlier.  Moore’s black and white illustrations are graphic and detailed down to the flies wings that hover over the torn rotting flesh of the zombies in the hospital (ew!) and I feel that the choice to go with grayscale images allows Moore to go into depth with details without becoming unflatteringly grotesque.

Apart from my brief infatuation with Archie comics in my tweens, I have had very little experience with comic books, let alone novels; however, after a mild addiction to the American Movie Channel’s The Walking Dead series, I knew that I needed to explore the genre that sparked this insurgence of zombie-obsessed friends on my Facebook newsfeed!

Now finding myself ensconced in a rural town in Northern BC, I do not have a glut of bookstores at my disposal so I find myself searching for easily accessible formats that do not require me to drive two hours to buy or pick up a book.  Although my current favourites are my local library, and the BC public library Overdrive eBook system, I was excited to find The Walking Dead featured in the App store as well as a free copy of the first issue of this zombie apocalypse graphic novel series.  However, as a regular library junkie, I have to gasp at the $1.99 price tag per issue that took me 10 minutes to read, especially since there are over 100 issues and this is a very addictive series!  For those fans who are "dying" for more, above and beyond the AMC series and the comics, try out the AMC Walking Dead Webisodes!  That's where I am headed next ; )

Atlas by Collins App

Atlas by Collins

Date published: October 2012

Created by HarperCollins Publishers, Ltd.

Size:  620 MB (base download)

Requires iOS 5.0 or later.

Launched in October 2012, Atlas by Collins is a name that many of us will recognize from our elementary and secondary schooling and now I most often notice this title gathering dust on my local library shelf.  I’m not discouraged by the dust-gathering though because I know better options are available such as the Atlas by Collins app.

Atlas by Collins is an app that is purchased online but has many features, once downloaded, that can be used offline.  This app includes seven globes that allow you to zoom in, rotate and apply different overlays to access detailed information about topography, politics, communications, and energy reserves.  Much like the 3d globe in my library, users can rotate the earth with a flick of the finger; but, unlike my aging globe, users can tap on a region for more information.

One downside to this app is the amount of storage space it needs to install the entire collection of seven globes; however, if you are a classroom teacher or librarian, storing continuing updating atlases virtually is priceless when you think of the valuable real estate it frees up in your library!  One particular feature of this app that I was tickled by (yes, I’m a geek!) was through the communications feature to see where my cell phone would get reception.  I could easily see many inquiry projects coming from this app such as, “what route should my family take to Nova Scotia to ensure that I can continue to text with my friends on the road?”

Living Lung ™ Lung Viewer App

Created by iSO FORM Medical

Recommended age: 6 + (but fits in with the Gr. 4 BC Science Curriculum)

Remember the days of the boring two- dimensional worksheets where you have to label all the parts of the body, nerve, muscular system?  I always struggled with transferring this exercise to a real, working knowledge of my own 3 dimensional body.  What attracted me to this app was that it provided a simple three dimensional diagram of the human lung that can be deconstructed and manipulated to explore all of the working components.

Although this app is useful for illustrating the workings of the human lung, I would continue my search for an app that has more functions that would allow for inquiry to take place.  For example, what would a lung look like in a patient with emphysema, lung cancer, pneumonia, or cystic fibrosis?  This could be a potentially powerful tool to show the effects on pollution, drugs, and smoking on a normally healthy lung.

Although I’ve done some further searching and have found more comprehensive 3D lung model applications such as, 3D Medical Human Lungs HD, and the 3D Respiratory System, I have yet to find an app that extends the user’s knowledge about environment and disease effects on the human lung.