eBook Review: Tacky Goes to Camp by Oceanhouse Media

Oceanhouse Media has come out with another nice ebook app, Tacky Goes to Camp. I looked at the Apple version for the iPad and iPhone.

An adaptation of the book from author Helen Lester’s popular Tacky series, with illustrations by Lynn Munsinger, Tacky Goes to Camp features more adventures of the lovable penguin who always marches to the beat of his own drum.

Tacky and his best buddies Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly, and Perfect live in Nice Icy Land. This summer they are all attending Camp Whoopihaha, where they can rock hop, line dance, and play “Capture the Ice Cube.” But camp is also the perfect place to eat s’mores and tell scary stories around the campfire at night, and each penguin takes a turn, with Tacky’s story making the greatest impression of all.

Tacky Goes to Camp’s interface is easy to grasp — both little and adult hands can swipe the screen to turn the page, as well as tap the screen to highlight words associated with each picture. Young readers can tap a paragraph to have the narrator read it out loud again, a very useful feature. There are also fun graphics and sound effects to accompany each page.

Tacky Goes to Camp features three ways to read and enjoy the story:

“Read to Me” — A narrator reads the story, each word highlighted. A tap of the finger makes the words associated with illustrations pop up, such as “Tacky” and “S’mores.”

“Read it Myself” — Children can choose to read the story on their own, at their own pace. They can still turn the pages and activate the highlighted words by tapping on pictures.

“Auto Play” — The narrator will read the story, with the pages flipping automatically. Kids can still tap the pictures to see corresponding highlighted words.

Parents and their children will both enjoy this story, which is one of many ebook offerings featuring Tacky by Oceanhouse Media. Other titles include Tacky the Penguin, Tacky and the Emperor, Tacky and the Winter Games, and Tacky’s Christmas. Tacky was already a favorite of my daughter’s. She likes his novel approach to the world around him, and she (and I) enjoyed the ebook version of this favorite book, too.