PicPocket Books: Reading for a New Generation

In this modern age of instant gratification and ever changing technology trying to find something that is educational AND can hold my children's attention seems to be an ongoing search. I will admit that I have been that parent that is willing to do almost anything to have a nice quiet shopping experience. There have been times where I have just thrown toys in the cart or given my daughter my phone to play angry birds for the one millionth time (she has gotten pretty good at it by the way) and let's be honest, who hasn't? But somewhere between my mother's scrutiny and my fear that my child's brain will turn to mush - we are calling out for something more. That's why I was so thrilled when I came across PicPocket Books. We have downloaded some of the competitor's (if you can really even call them that) applications and have continually been disappointed. Their books are written for the handheld app world and pale in comparison the the quality of my children's hard copy favorites. But the genius of PicPocket is that they take those same books that your children already know and love and simply adapt them all into one mobile form.  They currently have over 50 titles available for download. We were lucky enough to try out three:

Summer’s here and these two sunny bunnies can’t wait to dig their toes into the sandiest spot in Carrot Cake Park. There, with big sister leading the way, they’ll build a castle, fly a kite, and – of course – jump in the waves! This endearing rhyming tale with its cheerful illustrations captures a perfect summer day.

 Inside the snuggly cave at the very top of Snuggle Mountain is a two-headed giant who’s fast asleep, caught in the Sleeping Spell that has made it forget all about breakfast. But Emma wants pancakes, and to get them she’ll have to climb the shaking quaking mountain all the way to the top – and wake the sleeping giant herself!
This imaginative, interactive, animated picture book pays loving tribute to a morning ritual shared by parents and children everywhere.

 Join the adventures of Tractor Mac and his friends as they work and play at Farmer Bill’s Stony Meadow Farm. Tractor Mac has many friends, including Sibley the workhorse, Margot the cow, Fetch the dog and Sam the ram who all help Tractor Mac learn about friendship, teamwork, the joy of winning, and how to lose gracefully. In this story, Tractor Mac is taken off his fieldwork duties and parked to run a sawmill. This is hard for a tractor used to rolling across the fields. What good are wheels if you can’t use them? Through his friends and a lot of sawdust, Mac learns valuable lessons in cooperation and trust.



 Aside from the vivid illustration quality of these stories, I was pleased to see the additional features these books offer. I loved the fact that you can turn on and off the option to have the books read aloud and the words highlighted as they are spoken. This is great for my 4 year old who is just learning how to read. Erin also enjoyed the "surprise sounds" feature which allows her to navigate the page by touch to find sounds hidden in the pictures of the page.  She especially enjoyed the Sunny Bunnies story and I was afraid for a moment we would never make it to another book!

These stories are fabulous in themselves and the fact that you can now have multiple children's books as applications on one handy mobile device is an educational, clutter free, sanity saving blessing for sure!

Would you like the opportunity to try 3 free children's books for your IPad, IPhone, or ITouch from PicPocket Books? Enter below for your chance to win!!