Big Block Party

What it is: an interactive story with Elmo and his friends from Sesame Street.

What you do with it: listen to the story (or read it by yourself, with the narrator turned off). Swipe to turn the page. Touch the text to zoom it. Tap on Elmo to hear what he says on each page (he asks questions related to the story, comments or just laughes/dances). There are 10 recipes related to the story (of course to prepare with parental assistance) at the end of book.

What we liked: the illustrations, high quality narration, nice engaging story and funny likeable characters, smart promotion of healthy eating habits and social skills (e.g. helping each other), extra content (recipes from the story and Elmo's questions), tips for parents (how to enhance the experience with the story). You can easily access any page of the book from the menu. After quitting the app will start from the page which you ended up with. Elmo's laugh! (it's very catching).

What we didn't like: only a few interactive elements (with Elmo), no animations. The text is not highlighted while reading (not very educational as for reading/early literacy skills). The recipes could be also read aloud.

General notes about our book reviews: although when reviewing books, we try not to review the story itself, the general impressions will be reflected in the Overall Score.

The Age Range assigned to books will be usually broader compared to other apps, as they can be useful for both younger (with parent/narrator reading) or older (reading on their own) kids.

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