Parents' Guide to

StoryTime: Billy Goats Gruff

By Christy Matte, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 5+

Classic fairy tale with kid-friendly prompts, creepy troll.

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad Paid Books
StoryTime: Billy Goats Gruff Poster Image

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Is It Any Good?

Our review:
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While keeping the basic plot intact, this semi-interactive ebook offers comprehension-building prompts that are too easy to skip. StoryTime: Billy Goats Gruff has some cute illustrations, and it stays true to the story many of us grew up hearing. The voice acting is pleasant and the music is relatively mild. The "Kids Prompts" are the app's most unique feature, and they do add another dimension of learning that lots of ebooks don't. The problem is that they only appear in Read to Me mode and only as a sun icon on the bottom of the screen. Unfortunately, many kids will blow right by them unless they're using the book with an adult. If another character -- acting as narrator -- popped up to pose the questions, kids might be more likely to pay attention to them and interact. As it stands, the story is definitely best read with an adult who will help with the prompts and discuss the biggest goat's head-butting solution.

App Details

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