Parents' Guide to East of the Rockies

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad Paid Education
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Common Sense Media Review

Mieke VanderBorght By Mieke VanderBorght , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 11+

Moving, engaging look at WWII Japanese Canadian internment.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 11+?

Any Positive Content?

  • East of the Rockies App: Screenshot #1
  • East of the Rockies App: Screenshot #2
  • East of the Rockies App: Screenshot #3

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age 10+

Based on 1 parent review

 

 

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What's It About?

A short introduction explaining that Japanese Canadians were sent to internment camps during World War II sets the scene for EAST OF THE ROCKIES. Then, kids are transported to the Slocan internment camp to follow Yuki as she tells her story. Throughout the story, kids can swipe and zoom in and out of each scene to look around. At certain points, kids tap on objects to look in detail or to advance the story. The story is divided into three parts: internment, immediately after the war, and modern day.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 1 ):
Kids say : Not yet rated

Atmospheric music and beautiful graphics accompany a moving story that details an important period of Canadian history. Yuki, a young Japanese Canadian woman, draws in listeners to follow her story of struggle and hardship due to policies of the Canadian government. Yuki's story gently explores a difficult topic and gives kids a first-hand account of what it was like to be forced into internment, robbed of all your belongings and unwanted in your own country. The augmented reality touches help kids feel even more intimately involved in the story, even if they don't always work perfectly. At most, technical hiccups just mean that kids have to tap around a bit until they find the magic mystery spot on the screen that keeps the story going. On another technical note, it would be nice to see navigation tools that allow kids to move forward or backward to different points in the story. Overall, however, East of the Rockies offers wonderfully crafted coverage of the 20th-century Japanese Canadian experience and is an exceptional use of the screen to help kids feel like they're a part of history.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the historical, political, and social context that surrounds the events presented in East of the Rockies. What forces led to the Canadian (and United States) government's decision to intern their citizens of Japanese descent? What effects did that internment have on the population afterward?

  • In what ways did Yuki and others work to normalize life in the internment camps? How did they mix Japanese traditions with Canadian ones?

  • Does the augmented reality enhance your experience of Yuki's story? Why or why not? What differences are there in learning with an AR app versus a book?

App Details

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