Gator8

Experience life in the bayou in this hilarious iPad book, Gator8 contains numerous features and a great price that even a gator can’t snap at.

Overview

Jud Cooney has lost his one and only pair of boots to a hungry alligator. After trying many things to get his boots back he finds that all he needed to do was say one very important word. Readers will enjoy this very funny story told in dialect of the Louisiana bayous.

Features include:

• Interactivity on every page
• Page index
• Narration in regional dialect

Quality

The delightful illustrations and regional dialect were some of my favorite features of Gator8. High quality illustrations and story related interactive objects will make the readers feel as though they are right there with poor ol’ Jud Cooney.

A page index, or some method that allows the reader to move around the book easily, is a must have in digital books. Gator8 contains an easy to use page index and page arrows at the bottom of each page.

Two additional buttons located at the bottom of each page are for the help screen and the touch center.

Education

Gator8 doesn’t just tell a story; rather it gives the reader a peek into what it would look and sound like if they were to visit the bayou. The book has a humorous storyline, but yet teaches the importance of manners, even if dealing with an alligator.

Narration of the story can be heard by simply touching the text on the page and can be repeated as often as the reader likes. Because we do not live in Louisiana it was fun for us to listen to the narrator.

Text does not highlight during narration; even with a book such as this, highlighting would be beneficial.

Entertainment

The humor throughout the story and interactive objects really give this book a boost in entertaining the reader. Some younger readers may find the story a bit scary at first, but the interactivity will likely change their minds.

The touch center indicator is located on the bottom of the page. It displays the number of interactive objects to be found on the page. The addition of a hint feature would eliminate frustration for those readers who may have a difficult time finding the interactive objects.

Value

The current price of $2.99 is a reasonable price for this app when you consider the navigation features, interactivity, illustrations and more. This a story that kids will return to more than once.

Child Friendliness

The button for rating the app, located on the last page, should be moved to the help screen making it less accessible to children. Moving the button to the help screen would increase the Child Friendly rating for the app. At this time, the app does not contain in-app purchases, ads or additional external links.