Tristan adores reading, and when we were asked to review a 'Read with Biff, Chip & Kipper' app, it was a loud "yes, please" from both children. I can remember the adventures of Biff, Chip, and Kipper from my childhood, and I was really excited to see the gang still around to help young children read today, both in book form, and now as an app with digital books.
The app is available in several versions, depending on your child's reading level.
Level 1: Getting ready to read. Age 4-5 years
Level 2: Starting to read: Age 4-5 years
Level 3: Becoming a reader: Age 4-5
Level 4: Developing as a reader: Age 5-6
Level 5: Building confidence as a reader: Age 5-6
Level 6: Reading with confidence: Age 5-6
Each level comes with four reading books and four phonics books. We chose level 3 for Tristan, and it included the following digital books:
The app is very simple to use, and the picture above shows the front screen when you open the app. With a quick tap, you open up your selected book, and then "flick" the pages over as you would with a paper book.
What I love about the app, is that when you open one of the books, it asks you if you want your child to read it, or the narrator to read it. This is a great feature as it means we can get the narrator to read the book aloud first, then Tristan can read the book himself afterwards.
Another fantastic feature is if Tristan truly struggles with a word, he can touch the word with his finger, and the narrator will say the word aloud.
There are also puzzles hidden in each book too - Tristan loved looking for the mini ladybird on each page in the "Poor Old Rabbit" book.
At the end of each story is a "Talk about the story" section that gets the children thinking deeper about the story they have just read by asking 'why' and 'what' and 'how' questions.
This is a great app for 4-5 year olds, and a fab way to encourage reading outside of the school environment. Even Scarlett loves listening to the narrator and looking at the colourful pictures.
* I was not paid for this article. I was asked for my genuine personal opinion on their product to be published on my blog*
* If you would like me to review your product or service, please email me on jellyroseyate@gmail.com to discuss*
