- Story
- Illustrations
- Format/Quality
- Originality
- Read-Aloudability
Winter Is
Written by Ann Dixon
Illustrated by Mindy Dwyer
An Auryn App
Synopsis:
Winter Is is a part of the Auracle line from Auryn. The app is based on Ann Dixon’s book by the same name, illustrated by Mindy Dwyer.
Winter is white. Winter is cold. Winter is dark. Winter is bright. Winter is so many things, especially to a little one eagerly awaiting sledding, ice-skating, and other joys of the season. “Winter is” brings a child’s anticipation of winter to life, with simple, evocative verse and delicate watercolor paintings of winter’s wonders. A celebration of the many pleasures of the season, “Winter is” is a classic winter story for bedtime, or anytime a child may be dreaming of snowflakes. Each double-page illustration teams with a short poem highlighting the delights of winter: ice crystals on a window, jumping into a drift, snow angels, northern lights, dogs running, bears sleeping and holiday dreaming under a quilt.
Key features include:
★ Professional narration by a 10 year old boy
★ Image and word association vocabulary builder – when an image is touched the associated word is spoken and the written word displayed.
★ Karaoke effect – when a word is spoken during narration then the word is highlighted.
★ Touch a word to hear it being spoken.
Three ways to read the book.
★ “Read to me” – Listen to the narrated story while the text is displayed Karaoke style. After the narration finishes on a page the child can interact with objects till they are ready to move to the next page.
★ “Read myself” – There is no narration but the child can touch a word to hear it being spoken aloud.
★ “Auto Play” – same as “Read to Me” except the page advances automatically once the narration is finished. Useful for those long car rides when you want the child to have a complete book experience. (Quixey.com)
Purchase this app here: link
This story captured the way I feel about every approaching season. There is excitement over the newness of the weather and the different activities that become available as the weather changes. I specifically liked that when tapping on an image the word pops up. That is a great way for children to learn word association while enjoying a fun story. The story is accompanied by wonderful images that represent the winter season in various shades of blue. If you look closely, hidden on the pages is a little rabbit. Can you find him?
I like how the story starts the season and takes the reader on a journey. As I was reading it I could feel time passing as I participated in the activities in the book. It shows the beginning of the season approaching all the way to the unavoidable thaw of Spring. It was cleverly done and children will become excited thinking about all the fun they will have when Winter finally arrives.
