Chuggy and The Blue Caboose by Auryn Apps- Review and Giveaway

June 27, 2012 By 2 Comments

Reviewed by Mary
Auracle HD - Chuggy and the Blue Caboose

Chuggy and The Blue Caboose  is based on the print book of the same name by Lydia and Don Freeman, author of the Corduroy books, and it is brought to the app store by Auryn apps. It is available in both HD (iPad only) and universal versions. This charming story can be enjoyed in read to me, read myself or autoplay modes, and the words are highlighted as it is read. As well as enjoying it in its original form you can personalize it – this option allows you not only to record your own narration but also to change the text too. When an image is touched it is labelled and the word spoken, you can also touch a word to hear it spoken.

 This story was originally published in 1951 and is currently out of print, the original illustrations give it an  old-fashioned feel, but that just adds to it’s charm. Lucy is a blue caboose, she was once part of a circus train, but years before she had come loose and was left standing alone on a siding near a busy rail yard. All the other cabooses made fun of her for being different – for who has ever heard of a blue caboose ? She has just one friend – Chuggy, an old-fashioned little engine who works in the train yard switching, hitching, pushing and pulling the freight cars. Chuggy is lonely too- the other engines laugh at him and call him old-fashioned ,even though he once was a snow plough train in the Rocky Mountains. One harsh winter Chuggy is very pleased for his friend when Lucy gets turned into a club car for the switchmen, and she is lit up and in use again. When a heavy snowfall, comes the railway grinds to a halt until Chuggy saves the day, the other trains now see him as a hero instead of a has-been. When the winter is over, their friend Mitch the Switchman finds Chuggy and Lucy a new home as part of a circus train and they chugg on happily ever after.

I really enjoyed this story, it has a lovely feel to it, I originally chose it for my train crazy son, but  it has a much wider appeal than that – it is a great story for any kid. As well as being a story about trains it is a story about friendships, accepting differences and realizing that everyone has their own role to play. The word highlighting as it is read, word association and personalization options are all great features to encourage children to read and get involved in the story. I would highly recommend this book.

Category: Books
Requirements: Chuggy and The Blue Caboose HD: Compatible with iPad. Requires iOS 4.3 or later.
Cost: $3.99 (78.7MB)Auracle HD - Chuggy and the Blue Caboose - Auryn Inc.
Requirements: Chuggy and The Blue Caboose: Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Requires iOS 4.3 or later.
Cost: $3.99 (78.5MB)Auracle - Chuggy and the Blue Caboose - Auryn Inc.
Please use our App Store button above if you decide to buy this app. It doesn’t cost any extra and a small portion of the cost goes to support the work we do here at The iMums!

Already use this app? Rate it here!
[ratings]


———————-
Giveaway
If you would like to win a promo code for this app, please enter via the PunchTab Widget. Winners must contact The iMums within 48hrs of the winners being announced to claim their prize. This giveaway is open to everyone, worldwide, and an iTunes account is required to claim the prize. Good luck!

Mary

Mary

Mary is originally from England but now lives in California with her husband and three children, an 8 year old boy and 5 year old boy/girl twins. Mary and her family love soccer, camping, hiking and playing with their iPad which is also used for therapy for their daughters Apraxia (speech disorder).
Mary
You can email me direct at mary(at)theimums.com
Filed Under: App Reviews, Books, Early Grade School, Elementary School, Giveaways, Preschool, Reviews, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Comments

  1. Becky B says:
    July 1, 2012 at 4:20 pm

    My daughter loves trains!

    Does anyone else have trouble with punchtab? For the Q&A part, I wrote a reply to the question and it went to a “giveaway not found” page. I reloaded and it was there. Then the twitter follow part never works for me either. Not sure if it’s me/my pc, or what? Thanks!

    Reply
  2. OMum22 says:
    July 2, 2012 at 12:30 am

    I left a blog comment yesterday but I don’t see it today? I said both my boys love trains and I also love Don Freeman’s artwork. Also, I was having trouble with twitter also. I signed out of twitter each time and then tried again and it seemed to work.

    Reply