The Trees Grin Beside Me
Written by Heather Leister
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The Trees Grin Beside Me is one of the newest titles in the Auracle line from Auryn. The app originates from a book by Michelle Macdonald that was illustrated by Leah Davis. It tells of a young girl who compares herself to the trees around her. She asks questions like how strong can I be? As strong as a tree? How peaceful? How tall? As she does this she learns about the trees, nature and herself. The book’s illustrations show different types of trees and depicts them throughout the changing seasons. My favorite pictures were of the fall trees. I love the colorful leaves.
Auryn has given readers three ways to experience the story. They can choose between Read Myself, Read to Me and Auto Play modes. A custom personalization feature is also included. This allows parents (or children) to record themselves narrating the story. This new narration can then be used with the reading modes. As they are reading or listening to the story children can tap images on the screen. When they do this the name of the image appears on screen and it is spoken out loud. This is a nice way to reinforce vocabulary.
The Trees Grin Beside Me struck me as a thoughtful, peaceful story. It’s not the type of story my toddler would sit through but I believe it would appeal to older preschoolers through elementary school aged children. It has a lovely message about nature and would be a good book for Earth Day.
*This is an iPad only app.
Price when Reviewed: $.99
Requirements: Compatible with iPad. Requires iOS 4.3 or later.
Seller: Auryn, Inc
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review purposes.
