Parents' Guide to Octonauts

Though the graphics are absolutely fabulous, what kids are able to do and learn isn't nearly as impressive. The graphics are deeply rich representations of sea life and a pleasure to explore. It's also really cool that they can rotate the animals to get a "3D" look at them on their Creature Cards. What's heartbreaking for fans of the show is that almost everything else about the Octonauts app is a big disappointment. Instructions for what kids are supposed to do in the "missions" are very subtle and will likely fly right over their heads. Navigation is awkward sometimes, and it can be difficult to drag your "Gup" where you want it to be. Though Creature Cards are neat and have a couple interesting tidbits, there's no audio that reads the information aloud, which seems like a huge oversight for an app deigned for the prereader set. Also, while the TV show makes a point to give the cartoon animals as many realistic characteristics as possible, the app's "games" are too simple and not at all based in scientific fact. For example, one game involves giving dolphins food, but the food looks like fish-shaped crackers (the feeding even comes complete with a crunch sound), and after throwing out two, the game is over and kids get lots of applause from two Octonauts characters. Perhaps with a smaller or less complex environment, more depth, additional variety, and more accessible learning, little kids could learn as much from the app as they do from the show.