iPoe - The Interactive and Illustrated Edgar Allen Poe Collection
Eerie, amusing app captures Poe's spirit but lacks depth.
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iPoe - The Interactive and Illustrated Edgar Allen Poe Collection
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this app.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that iPoe, a spooky app showcasing master of macabre Edgar Allan Poe's short stories, does not make good bedtime reading. Although it accurately captures the mystery and horror of Poe's tales, such as "The Tell-Tale Heart," the background music alone could cause nightmares and other unpleasant thoughts in younger kids. During the day, however, it provides the perfect opportunity to help get kids interested in Poe's stories, taking texts that in their traditional format may seem archaic and overwhelming and making them more accessible to kids -- without changing a single word.
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What’s It About?
IPOE - THE INTERACTIVE AND ILLUSTRATED EDGAR ALLEN POE COLLECTION introduces kids to four of Edgar Allen Poe's infamous short stories: "The Oval Portrait," "The Tell-Take Heart," "Annabel Lee," and "The Masque of the Red Death." They also have access to a biography of Edgar Allen Poe and a sketchbook of images from the stories. As kids read the four stories, they see the sketches come to life through interactive animations and illustrations. Typically kids can interact with these elements by tapping on them to reveal new pictures or moving them around the page. Eerie background music (which can be turned off) also plays throughout, helping kids get into the proper mood for truly appreciating Poe's work. Kids who find themselves enjoying Poe's work can access additional volumes of short stories through the app or purchase Poe-related items through the accompanying Poe store. They also have the option to share the app with friends through social media to get them interested in reading Poe.
Is It Any Good?
This collection of Poe's short stories accurately captures the general feel of most of Poe's work. When reading these stories in a more traditional format, kids may miss some of their eeriness and violence. However, they won't miss it when they read the stories within the app. The aged feel of the pages, the eerie background music, the creepy animations, and the warning at the beginning of the book all help kids become thoroughly engrossed in the tales. The animated skeletons, dead bodies, and other shady animations may not appeal to all kids, but those who like a little mystery and horror will appreciate them and hopefully begin to appreciate Poe. However, the lack of narration and other aids to help lower-level readers limits the app's accessibility and may still cause some kids to miss the themes within Poe's work.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how the music, illustrations, and animations add to or take away from the stories. Ask your kids how the stories look in their imaginations.
Read some of Poe's other classic texts, such as "The Black Cat" or "The Raven."
Throw a Poe-themed Halloween party, using the stories as inspiration for costumes, food, and decorations.
App Details
- Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android
- Subjects: Language & Reading: reading, reading comprehension, storytelling, text analysis
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning: prediction, thinking critically, Creativity: imagination, Emotional Development: identifying emotions
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Release date: September 25, 2013
- Category: Books
- Topics: Book Characters, Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
- Publisher: Play Creatividad
- Version: 2.9
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 5.0 or later
- Last updated: August 16, 2016
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