Auracle – Miko Series by Auryn Inc. – Review and Giveaway of Auryn Goodie Bag

Reviewed by Grace

The Auracle – Miko series from Auryn Inc. consists of 8 charming stories about the life of an inquisitive mouse called Miko who lives with his mother and a mouse stuffed toy, Mimiki.  Written by Brigitte Weninger and beautifully illustrated by Stephanie Roehe, these stories give parents a peek into the minds of their young children that is full of wonder and excitement while young readers can easily identify with Miko’s emotions, fear, mischief, dilemmas and loving relationship with his mother.  In these stories, it is interesting to see how Miko tests his mom’s patience all the time while his mom shows us the ways to be a perfect mother, ever so patient and understanding (not me!).

I like that these stories subtly teach my son positive life lessons without him realizing.  These timeless stories (written between 2004 and 2006) are great resources to turn to when you have some sticky situations to deal with at home.

Miko “Mom, Wake up and Play!”  (iPad, iPhone, HD Lite)

Miko is awake and ready to play but his most favorite person is asleep.  While he waits patiently for the alarm clock to ring to wake his mom, he remembers all her favorite things and then decides to make a surprise gift just for her.  Such a simple act of thoughtfulness and love.

Miko “It was me, Mom!”  (iPad, iPhone, HD Lite)

What do you do when you accidentally break your mom’s favorite vase?  Miko thinks up different ways to get out of trouble but in the end, he finds it easiest to just tell his mom the truth, albeit through Mimiki.  What a great story to teach young children about taking responsibility for their actions pitched at their level of understanding.

Miko “No Bath! No Way!”  (iPad, iPhone, HD Lite)

Like any other young child, having a bath is nowhere as fun as being covered with all the things that remind Miko of his day of fun outside.  But when his ever understanding mum allows him to go to sleep without bathing for the day, Miko realizes that this isn’t the best way to keep his perfect day after all.  Find out what great idea Miko comes out with to continue the fun he had.

Miko “Double Birthday!”  (iPad, iPhone, HD Lite)

Miko finds out that he shares the same birthday as his friend, Mimiki and he wants to give one of his presents to Mimiki.  As he opens his presents one by one, he realizes that none of them is suitable for Mimiki.  Finally, he finds the perfect gift and that is to share all the toys with Mimiki and to play with them together.  It is definitely much more fun that way than playing alone.

Miko “Wants a Dog”   (iPad, iPhone, HD Lite)

Miko wants a dog very badly but his mom is not agreeable.  Then he gets the opportunity to care for his neighbor’s dog and proves that he is capable of caring for one.  Children who ask for a pet dog should realize that the responsibilities of owning a dog are more than just walking it and playing with it.

Miko “Goes on Vacation”   (iPad, iPhone, HD Lite)

Away on vacation at the beach, Miko is unwilling to leave Mimiki alone while he goes off to swim.  He worries that someone may take Mimiki away.  ‘We can get more money, but there’s only one Mimiki’.  Then he finds a new friend to watch over Mimiki and to play with.  The best thing about going on vacation is making new friends.

Miko “Where is Mimiki”   (iPad, iPhone, HD Lite)

Mimiki is nowhere to be found and Miko searches for him everywhere.  Miko gets worried and sad when he still can’t find Mimiki at bedtime.  It feels strange as they are always together.  Then Mimiki shows up at the least expected place.  I suppose anyone who is anxious can never find a lost item quickly and from my experience with my own children, it is also useless to try to calm them down in such a panic situation.

Miko “Moves Out”   (iPad, iPhone, HD Lite)

Miko decides to move out of home when he has had enough of doing chores for his mom.  He is going to a place where he doesn’t ‘have to work all the time!’  After a day of ‘freedom’ and adventures, he realizes that the home is still the best place to be and that doing chores is really an act of love for his mom.  Not surprisingly, he doesn’t even remember why he moved out in the first place!

There are 3 ways to read these books: –

• ‘Read myself’ with no narration but you can hear the word being read when touched.
• ‘Read to me’ with narration and the accompanying word highlighting.  You need to swipe the screen to move to the next page.
• ‘Auto play’ where the story is automatically played until the end.

In all the three reading modes, you can tap on an object and see the associated word and hear it spoken (great for building vocabulary).  There is also a page menu at the bottom of the screen if you need to get to a certain page directly.

The Miko book apps are unique in that you can personalize the book by typing your own text and recording over the book’s narration for each page.  Hearing your voice even if you’re not there physically can be very reassuring for young children getting ready for bed.  And if you are not happy with your creation, you can always reset them to the original.  Do note however, that with your own recorded narration, the individual word highlighting feature will not work.

Now, you can download the newly launched lite version of the Miko book apps to try.  The lite version contains the first six pages of the original app with all the features.  You also get an overview of rest of the pages in thumbnail format.

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Category: Books
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Requires iOS 4.3 or later.
Cost: $ 2.99  each (27.6 – 41.3 MB), lite version is free.  Please click the individual links above to go directly to the apps in the App Store.

Already use this app? Rate it here!

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Giveaway

How would you like to win a Mimiki Toy for your child to hug while reading a Miko story?   At the same time, win for yourself a book about a beloved golden retriever named Trixie, A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog autographed by the author, bestselling novelist Dean Koontz?   Trixie is the inspiration behind Koontz’ children’s books – “I, Trixie who is dog” and “Trixie and Jinx” which are also available as iPad apps from Auryn Inc.   Add to that, win any 5 apps by Auryn of your choice?!   If you would like to win this superb Auryn Goodie Bag, please enter the Rafflecopter Widget below and make sure you complete all the tasks to increase your chance of winning.  Good luck!

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Grace

Grace is a mother of 4 children aged from 6 to 18 years. She checks the daily free apps listing and is most excited to share good app finds. Living in fast-paced education-obsessed Singapore, Grace recharges her energy by watching K drama on the iPad (there are apps for that too!)

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You can email me direct at grace(at)theimums.com