Hedgehog Book is an original interactive book app for kids featuring 3 stories - Daisy Girl, Volcano Coffee Pot and Banana Flower – Designed to stimulate your kids creativity through reading and listening the stories developed in an interactive way, combining story ideas, illustrations and soundtracks.
Hedgehog Book has been reviewed by several reviewers at Review for Dev. Overall, it is a very cute book app for kids, fun and highly interactive it reinforces the learning directions, helps build imagination, and more. Some of the best comments are: “A teachers dream - three creative stories and catchy visuals-sound effects which embed similes and prose into the context”; “The illustrations in this app are delicious--I love the delicate watercolor of the designs, and the way they are slightly stylized without being overly abstract”; “The inflection of the reader's voice kept my attention and made the story come to life!”; “This is a neat story book that has three stories and a lot of interactivity”; “These interactive stories are quite different than most interactive stories you see.”
On the downside, although the tittle features Hedgehog ... There are no stories about it! Some stories seems to offer more features than others and some features are quite challenging to find. For the full list of suggestions check out all the reviewers comments.
Hedgehog Book is available for download via the iTunes App Store - iPad and iPad mini
From Review for Dev:
Kaylene M.: Experienced professional primary teacher interested in quality apps for students.Will review apps for kinder through to high school, mainly interested in photo/video apps, books, curriculum apps such as maths and English areas and assessment tools. Apps will be tested by my current students to give authentic feedback when possible.
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| What I liked |
App is very creative using everyday objects to create illustrations. I could see this type of app useful teaching creative arts. Voice over was clear and expressive which I liked. Repeating first object to last object each time read reinforced item. Being built.Help button was used quite a lot to find out where to place objects. |
| Suggestions |
At times I was confused as to what action I was required to do for example the flying almonds with the coffee pot! I could not get past this point and logged out from coffee pot here. I would like to see more creative interaction on behalf of the user,rather than just placing objects into the correct place. |
| General opinion |
I found this app to be confusing and an introductory section would help solve this if placed on the menu page before app is played. Illustrations although well drawn, were dull and seemed to lack appeal with myself and my children. I like the concept of creativity with the app but more interaction is required to make it an app I would purchase. |
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Holly P.: I am the Technology Professional Development Facilitator for Cedar Rapids Community School District in Cedar Rapids Iowa. Before that I taught high school math and I am the mother of a four year old. I spend a lot of my free time looking for apps that are useful in the classroom and in adult productivity.
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| What I liked |
This app is beautifully illustrated with cute stories to accompany. I really like that their are three stories included in the app. I like that you have the option to turn the read aloud feature on and off and that there is a second language available. The help feature is nice to aide navigation. |
| Suggestions |
The daisy girl story seemed like it had a lot of thought put into the story and was well developed. It seemed like the teapot and the bananna didn't have as much of a story line and were quickly over. I had to hit the ? on just about every single page. I really had no idea where I was supposed to be dragging things, until I hit the help, and then everything functioned as it was supposed to. The price of $1.99 seems high for this app, and I wouldn't normally pay that much for an interactive story. I was really bugged by the pronunciation of almond. |
| General opinion |
Overall, this was a cute app and my 4 year old enjoyed the simplicity of the storylines and ability to interact with the app. I really like the ability to turn on and off the read along function and play it in another language. I think that is a great way to expose little ones to other languages in a fun way. The daisy story is more developed than the teapot and bananna stories. |
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Emily B.: I'm a self-employed, full-time mom who really digs technology, but not half as much as my kids do. We all covet private time with the various devices populating our household. I'm very particular about the apps my children use, and carefully review every single one before I let them play, read or experience it.
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| What I liked |
The illustrations in this app are delicious--I love the delicate watercolor of the designs, and the way they are slightly stylized without being overly abstract. The coloration is superb. I am thrilled to be able to present something this lovely to my four year-old. The narrator did an outstanding job with vocal inflection -- quite a bit above average in terms of being vocally interesting; the fact that his English is accented in no way detracted from the listening experience, or my daughter's ability to follow along. In fact, after we were done listening in English, we listened in Portuguese. |
| Suggestions |
In the story "Daisy Girl," on the page beginning with the words "When the girl combs her hair . . ." the narrator's words get cut off before he finishes the sentence (in English, at least). This happened twice.
I would translate the sentence " . . . it is as if the volcano began to work" as " . . . it is as if the volcano BEGINS to work."
Similarly, I would translate the "amêndoa-me-quer" page simply as "he loves me, he loves me not" because "almond me, almond me not" makes little sense, idiomatically, in English. Neither does "holed plum" -- use "pitted plum," instead. |
| General opinion |
This app is eye candy, and my daughter visited all three stories twice each, with great interest. My personal favorite was Daisy Girl, and my least favorite was Banana Flower, but all three stories are BEAUTIFUL, visually. The old coffee pot is particularly charming. I think the weakness lies in the translation from Portuguese into English, particularly with the third story, which is also quite short, and not particularly clever, as translated. |
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Kathryn C.: I am a Kindergarten teacher in the Rochester City School District. I help our Tech Department vet apps for district purchase. I also support teachers in the district by providing ipad support in the classrooms. I love finding new apps that really support out young learners!
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| What I liked |
I especially liked the Coffee Pot story. The vocabulary used, like simmers and swells, was wonderful to see. The inflection of the reader's voice kept my attention and made the story come to life! There were nice interactions on this story as well. My students loved lighting the candles and seeing the jam boil! This story was by far everyone's favorite! |
| Suggestions |
I did not care for the Banana story. It did not hold the children's attention. The word almond, pronounced with the l sound, was confusing for my American kids. I realize this is a dialect issue, but when an app is for children, this needs to be taken into account. The Daisy story started out well with the repetition, but I think it went too far. It lost my students attention after the fourth or fifth time repeating. |
| General opinion |
In general, I liked this app. The Coffee Pot story makes it all worth while! I would like to see a little more direction given at the beginning of the app as to how to get help. If this were spoken and shown, it would help young players who don't have an adult to guide them. |
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Ricki B.: Ricki Block has been a Speech Pathologist since 1976. She also owned a School Supply/Toy Store for 22 years. Currently she is the administrator for 10 Speech Therapists in a preschool. She created a website, The Preschool Speech Source - loaded with helpful resources, the BEST APPS & REVIEWS, FREE handouts and speech materials.
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| What I liked |
1. A teachers dream - three creative stories and catchy visuals-sound effects which embed similes and prose into the context. This app is best used with direction from an adult in order to utilize the potential of the content, although a young reader can handle this app independently. Really like perks of creating a lesson for sentence recall, open-ended questions &following directions
2. Storyline has an unexpected beginning - very cool-it requires thinking right away - the question button is a life saver, as first round with the stories elicits doubt as to what is expected of the reader |
| Suggestions |
1. Would like video with English subtitles.
2. Why is story called Hedgehog Book? - no hedgehogs hidden - maybe you need to add some
3. Hedgehog button too small - and need forward backward arrow button
4. Interactives didn't always work first time - roots, mop,peel banana, shake
5. Almond rhyme didn't make sense to me- sugg - create backward sequence - e.g. WHOLE PLUM , then UNALMONDED flower & then GREEN BANANA - create additional buttons to take off almonds, plum and close banana |
| General opinion |
Teachers - Hedgehog Book (3 stories) is a MUST HAVE app for the elementary classroom engaged in creative literacy activities. Pictures & sd effects are delightful. All interactions are manual, which provide time for asking open-ended questions to elicit creative thinking. Children can delve into the whimsical similes and prose, while at the same time develop skills in following directions and sentence recall. Question (hint) button is helpful. |
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Kerry E.: I am a Spanish translator with a background in editing/proofreading, graphic design and typesetting. My family is very much into Macs, iPhones and iPads. My interests include fitness, cooking and music. I love watching my three kids learn about new subjects thanks to the wonderful educational apps that can be found in the App Store.
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| What I liked |
I really like how this encourages children to both learn their colors and follow directions. The illustrations are very cute and whimsical. I can see how children would really enjoy the interactivity along with reading the book. Having the next step not be immediately evident can be a good thing for children, as they can learn to puzzle it out for themselves. |
| Suggestions |
The app wouldn't let me hold the iPad in the direction I wanted to. I had to turn it upside down. I think the user should be able to view it the way they want. Also, it's not immediately evident in the Daisy book that you have to touch the daisy to get started. I can see younger children becoming confused at what they have to do in order to keep the story moving. We got stuck when it says to "blow mic" to comb her hair, although it finally worked. We also got stuck when it says to shake the iPad, although it does eventually work as well. |
| General opinion |
This is a neat story book that has three stories and a lot of interactivity. Children will enjoy getting involved and learning how to make the story progress. If you get stuck or are not sure what to do, there is a helpful question mark at the bottom of the screen. It's very good for both learning colors and learning how to follow directions. The daisy story is the best one; the other two are rather short, but are also cute. |
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Mandy N.: I have three special needs children that I love dearly. They have learned soo much from apps and love to share about apps that they use as well as apps I use. Children can learn soo much with the iPad when used as a teaching item as well as a fun gaming device :)
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| What I liked |
I really like how this app has your child following directions all throughout the app. It helps build on your childs imagination with the stories and teaches them things along the way as well. I love that it is interactive and that your child needs to do each of the things to move on with the story. |
| Suggestions |
I would love to see where the app didn't stop reading just because your child moves the correct item to the right spot. I would like to see where it will finish the sentence first before moving onto the next page. My children get a little anxious and start moving things before it finishes. |
| General opinion |
I really like this app. It is fully interactive and fun. The three stories are wonderful and your child can learn a lot from each of them. This app helps with learning directions, helps build imagination, and more. All my children loved this app right from the start :) |
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Charly J.: I help out doing Social Media for "Ellie's Games" along with contributing to both "Dandelion Moms" and "Free Apps". I am a divorced mother of two young children (6 and 5) that have varying special needs. I'm also a tech-junkie and just love apps in general.
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| What I liked |
We loved the sounds that were used along with the interactiveness of this storybook app. The "Daisy Girl" was by far the favorite and having to really listen (on all three) created a different experience for my kids (whether narrated or myself reading). Quite clever and refreshing and although not vibrant in color it was by far vibrant in other areas. I felt this storybook app was good with listening skills for my two kids who are 5 and just turned 7 year old. My daughter absolutely loves it! She has returned to this on several occasions and has asked if we could get more stories. |
| Suggestions |
We had no issues with crashes etc. I do wish that the "Volcano coffee pot" and "Banana Flower" had the same length and interactiveness to it as "Daisy Girl". I would love to see either another mini story added or even a game play that involved either "Daisy Girl" or "Volcano coffee pot" which were the faves by far (#1 and #2). The "?" helped us in a few scenarios as we just "did not get it" listening ears and all - with that being said the "Daisy Girl" where you had to "comb" her hair (mop) by shaking it did not work for us-we had to actually tilt/rotate the iPad that was the only difficulty |
| General opinion |
This is a charming storybook app that my kids really enjoyed. Would love to see them all utilize the same interactiveness as "Daisy Girl" along with the length. Otherwise, perhaps an added mini-story or game play perhaps? Overall, it was great for both of my kids who are 5 and just turned 7. They had their favorites each and the subtle noises were enjoyed along with the narrator (dubbed elf). I'd like an opportunity for more stories even IAP 3 or |
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Erin B.: I am a stay-at-home mom to 3 boys (ages 5, 3, and 1). I enjoy anything crafty - knitting, crocheting, sewing, scrapbooking, etc. I love blogging and sharing ideas and resources with other parents on my blog.
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| What I liked |
I love how creative and interactive this app is. My kids love going through and making the pictures over and over - especially the banana flower. I love that they are learning to follow directions by listening and thy get immediate feed back. I also like thwt this is a creative use for these items which may prompt them to use items in the real world more creatively. |
| Suggestions |
Some of the actions were difficult to figure out without the help button (such as the second eye of th disy flower). A light colored outline for the actions would be nice. On the last scene for the daisy girl the moon changes quickly to a full moon and then back to a half moon - I'd like to be able to see that part a bit longer. And lastly, I'd love to see more interactive stories like these! |
| General opinion |
These interactive stories are quite different than most interactive stories you see. They take ordinary items and put them together to tell a story and make a picture. The entire story is interactive with the user moving pieces around and coloring parts in. My kids (3 and 6) truly enjoy this app! |
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Michelle W.: I am a mother of two children ages 5 and 7. I like to see what educational and fun apps that are out for them to play. Puzzle apps are a big hit with our 5 year old right now, while my 7 year old likes educational or art type apps.
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| What I liked |
My 7 year old and I played the app together she liked following the clues on the daisy and that it got dressed up and ate. My daughter liked the interactive graphics in the Volcano coffee pot story, especially the jam and popcorn part. The banana story was cute, I thought the banana looked like a lion at the end with the almonds all around the plum. |
| Suggestions |
Better hints need to be given for the daisy at the beginning of the story second daisy and the moon placement, i kept trying to use the three moons instead of the single one in the story. My 7 year old didnt like that you can't brush the daisy's hair. In the banana story some of the pronunciation is off for the word almond it is pronounced "al" mond and it should be "all" mond. |
| General opinion |
My 7 year old daughter and I played the app and really enjoyed the interactive graphics in the stories. I think the Volcano coffee pot had the most detailed graphics and story. Sometimes it took my daughter a few tries to get the clues in the stories, but the hitting the question mark gave visual hints that a child understood. |
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Disclaimer: Guest review from our partner Reviewfordev.com and Fun Educational Apps was paid an admin fee for its publication.
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