Tuesday, June 02, 2015

Tech Review: Over in the Ocean in a Coral Reef

OVER IN THE OCEAN IN A CORAL REEF by Marianne Berkes and illustrated by Jeanette Canyon is a beautiful sing-along e-book, interactive app.
Based on the 2004 book by the same name, this interactive book encourages children to click and jiggle their mobile device to explore ocean animals. Designed for young children, this informational app focuses on both math and science topics.
The “Sing to Me” option sings the story aloud as readers follow along with the highlighted text. Readers can interact with the screen by clicking or shaking their device. Youth can move forward or backward through the story. The music on each page can also be repeated.
The “Read to Me” option provides the same format as the sing-to-me section, but the words are read aloud with music in the background.
The “Read to Myself” option encourages children to read the story without the music or audio narration.
In addition to the book, users can also explore activities and informational readings experiences. The “Find the Babies” activity asks children to find particular ocean creatures on the screen. The “Fishy Facts & Photos” section provides a series of pages focusing on ocean and sea creature information. Information is also included about the author, illustrator, developer, and publisher.
A menu option is always available providing easy access to narration.
This book would be a great addition to a library display focusing on ocean creatures. Include this book on an iPad, along with paper books.
Create a display of Marianne Berkes’ other books exploring the world including her latest book Over On a Mountain: Somewhere in the World. Also include Over in a River, Over in the Forest, Over in the Jungle, and Over in Australia.
Download free activities to go with these books from the publisher website at http://www.dawnpub.com/.
Published by Dawn Publications.