Common Sense Media Review
By Mieke VanderBorght
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Kids may need help to take off with fun book-creation tool.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 6+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Little Bird Tales: Storytelling Made Easy
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
Sign in with an email address and password, or tap skip to get started with LITTLE BIRD TALES: STORYTELLING MADE EASY. Once in, kids start creating a book. On each page, kids can use drawing tools, add a photograph, write text, or record their voice. Continue adding more pages until the story is done. Tap play to read the book from start to finish. When linked to web account, users can transfer books or lessons from app to web and vice versa. Lessons give kids a template and guidance for how to create a particular story.
Is It Any Good?
Kids' creativity takes center stage -- that is, if they're able to maneuver through the less-than-intuitive navigation and controls for this open-ended creation tool. Little Bird Tales as a website was clearly made for teachers, but that doesn't mean that families can't use it at home. The book-creation tool itself is just as relevant for home use as it is for classroom use, even if parents will need to help kids learn how to use it. That said, the Little Bird Tales: Storytelling Made Easy app feels like an afterthought addition to the website and as a whole. It's just not user-friendly. For instance, it's really unclear what the difference is between signing in and not signing in, and there doesn't seem to be any home page or much general organization around how the app is structured. Luckily, once in the book creation mode, things do get a bit clearer. As long as kids learn what's available and how to use the different tools, they should be able to create their books without too much trouble. And from there, the sky's the limits as kids can draw, write, take photos, and record their voice to tell a story.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the stories kids create with Little Bird Tales: Storytelling Made Easy. What do kids want to tell? Is it going to be a fantasy or a recounting of something that happened to them? Who will be in the story?
Look over the lesson plans in the web version of Little Bird Tales for suggestions on how to guide storytelling. Help kids learn about basic elements like character, plot and a story arc (beginning, middle, end).
Have a family theater night. Everyone in the family can create one or more stories, then grab some popcorn and settle on the couch to watch everyone's grand premiere!
Help create a love of storytelling and spark kids' imaginations by reading lots of books or attending puppet shows or kids' theater performances.
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad
- Subjects : Language & Reading : presenting to others , spelling , storytelling , writing
- Skills : Creativity : imagination , making new creations , producing new content , Communication : conveying messages effectively , multiple forms of expression , Tech Skills : digital creation
- Pricing structure : Free to try (premium features available for $9.99)
- Release date : April 3, 2017
- Genre : Education
- Publisher : Mike Klem
- Version : 2.0.10
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 8.0 or later
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate