Step by Story – Happy Family in the Kitchen
Written by Heather Leister
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Screenshots
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Step by Story – Happy Family in the Kitchen was designed for pre-readers and early readers and focuses on helping them build their own simple story. The app has three modes: Play, Make and Silly. In the Play mode children can watch stories that have already been created. In Make children will create their own story. They are given a set of pictures and asked to choose the different elements for their story. When children tap on the picture Step by Story creates their story for them, one bit at a time. At the end they can watch their finished story as a simple animated movie. Silly mode mixes up the different elements and creates a random version of a story. There is also an option called Share that allows children to share their stories. Parents must authorize and set up this feature.
Step by Story has a cute look to it. I like the simple concept and graphics. There are a couple of things I want to point out about this app. The first is that I use the term story but in reality children are creating a sentence like this: It was morning and mom went to the refrigerator to get the ice cream and put it in the bowl. It’s a perfect length for younger children but older children who can already read might find it too short. The second thing to note is that the buttons in the app are activated by tapping and holding for a second. I didn’t realize this at first and thought there was a problem with the app’s response because I was tapping on the screen and nothing was happening. In the App Store it says that the buttons have been designed large and require “press-and-hold” and once I realized this everything worked perfectly.
I think the concept of Step by Story is ideal for toddlers and young preschoolers who are beginning to understand the concept of sequencing. I have four promo codes to give away for Step by Story. If you’d like to win please leave a comment below. JoDee will be awarding codes on January 26th.
Playful Owl also has a Veggie Tales Step by Story that was released in December, The Goofy Gift.
*Update 5/2/12 – You can watch the Step by Story apps for updated features in the next little bit. After the update every 2.0 title will have a narrated, animated “long story” that sets the stage for the story. The apps will also support the new iPad’s retina display and Airplay.
Price when Reviewed: $2.99
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.Requires iOS 4.3 or later. This app is designed for both iPhone and iPad.
Seller: Playful Owl, LLC
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review purposes.
By Nicole on Jan 23, 2012
This looks really cute.
By Angela on Jan 23, 2012
Looks great. Thank you!
By Jellybean Mama on Jan 23, 2012
I like the concept behind this; Jenny LOVES games like Play Home and Dollhouse To Go. This would require a little more thinking
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Thanks!
By Milcah on Jan 23, 2012
I like the graphics on this one. Thanks
By Jenni on Jan 23, 2012
This would be great for my almost 3-year-old!
By Playful Owl on Jan 24, 2012
Thanks for the review of Happy Family. We really appreciate you taking the time to dig in to the product and your comments about the target age range are exactly right.
Our goal is to deliver meaningful play, not meaningless distraction. We believe very strongly that play leads to thinking and that’s a good thing!
One last thing: we have a free update coming in the next week that will make the “press and hold” much clearer for adults, and more new titles are on the way…
By Anne on Jan 24, 2012
This would be great for my daughter!
By Ava on Jan 24, 2012
I think my daughter would love this!
By Luz on Jan 25, 2012
This looks so cute!i am in need Of New apps with a newborn Baby in The house!
My 2 year old and I officially share my iPhone.
He comes to me and asks me: mama pone?especially when I am
Feeding miss 10 days old.
By JoDee on Jan 26, 2012
Congratulations to our winners: #3 Jellybean Mama, #7 Anne, #5 Jenni &
#1 Nicole.