Little Critter Collection #1 by Oceanhouse Media – Review & Giveaway

Reviewed by Grace

Little Critter Collection #1 by Oceanhouse Media brings together ten popular Little Critter books (also available as individual book apps) and put them in one app.  For the uninitiated, the Little Critter is a series of endearing stories written by Mercer Mayer about Little Critter’s tales of childhood.  Little Critter is a hamster-like character who is like any typical little boy, full of imagination, mischief and affection.  Related from Little Critter’s perspective, your child will readily identify with Little Critter’s adventures, spontaneity and emotions, making them great stories to use to help your child be aware of their own emotions and how to deal with them.  At the same time, the stories let you catch a precious glimpse of your child’s views of the world.

Just For You
In this first Little Critter story, Little Critter busies himself trying to do something special for his mom like making breakfast and mowing the lawn for her but he is just too little to get them right.  Then he tries something easier like taking a nap and picking an apple for Mom but too many things got in the way, somehow.  But all ends well when he finally finds his perfect gift for Mom.

The New Baby
Little Critter wants to play with his baby sister but she is not interested in his jokes, books and toys.  She also cries a lot and even smells funny sometimes.  It seems that there is nothing he can do with the new baby but Mom shows him what to do and soon he finds that it’s rather fun to hang out with her.  This story is just perfect for young children who are anticipating new siblings at home.

All by Myself
Typical of all toddlers and preschoolers, Little Critter wants to do everything by himself.  Though not always perfect, he tries to do his best nevertheless.  This story is a celebration of a young child’s growing independence and dependence at the same time.  [The stand alone book app is on sale at $0.99]

I Was So Mad
Little Critter was so mad because he was not allowed to do anything that is fun, like keeping frogs in the bathtub or tickling the goldfish.  He wanted to help around the home but his efforts were not appreciated.  The adults just wanted him to be playing outside and be out of their way but there was nothing fun about playing outdoors by himself.  Little Critter was so mad that he wanted to leave home … until he found an activity that is both fun for him and approved by Mom.

Just Grandma and Me
On a trip to the beach with Grandma, Little Critter decided to do something special for her but he ended up in some funny situations instead.  Still, they had a great time at the beach.  This is a charming story that shows how grandparents can enrich a child’s life.

Me Too!
Little Critter’s sister adores him so much that she wants to do everything that he does, follows him wherever he goes and shares whatever he eats.  Just when he finds her ‘Me too!’ unbearable, he realizes that the sibling love is mutual when his sister willingly shares her candy with him.

When I Get Bigger
Every child dreams of growing up fast so that he can do all the exciting things only big kids can do.  Little Critter is no different.  He imagines spending all his allowance on anything he wants at the corner store, crossing the street by himself and staying up late to watch a movie but alas, his time has not come yet, he needs to go to bed first.

I Just Forgot
Little Critter is easily distracted and as a result, he is always forgetting about something.  If he remembers to brush his teeth, he may forget about making his bed.  He remembers to  have his breakfast but forgets to feed the pets, etc.  When that happens, he feels just a little guilty and tries to come up with ‘reasons’ to explain his memory lapses but no matter how forgetful he is, he will never forget his daily bedtime story and goodnight kiss.

Just Me and My Mom
Little Critter had a day out with his mom but he got into trouble wherever he went.  First, he lost the train tickets, then he scared the Museum guard by disturbing the exhibits and was even chased out of a restaurant!  Mom’s idea of fun places to visit were not very enjoyable after all.  Despite all these, they still had fun, just being together.  This story reminds me of my own misadventures with my son as he tried to understand the ways of the world that is so new and exciting but full of adult rules.   [The stand alone book app is on sale at $0.99]

The New Potty
Just barely off diapers himself, Little Critter was eager to help his little sister get started on the potty but he got a wee bit jealous when she got all the attention for finally using the potty by herself.  This story is great if your child is starting to use the potty.  Sharing the funny moments in the story will take away some of the stress and may just inspire your child to potty train himself like Little Sister.

The Collection
The child narration for these stories is superb.  It’s not overdone and often I sense his feelings of frustration which reminds me of my own preschooler.  If my son could articulate his feelings, I’m sure he would have said the same things.  The illustrations for this series are charming and humorous.  I like to draw my son’s attention to the characters’ facial expressions and the funny little details in the illustrations.  We always have fun discovering and rediscovering something interesting to talk about.

The Little Critter series of print books (videos and CD-roms) have been a constant favorite with all my kids over the years.  Now that Oceanhouse Media has transported some of these to the digital world and added some wonderful features like individual words highlighting, pop-up words and find-the-creature mini games, the reading experience is made even more enjoyable.  We can’t wait for the next collection to be released!

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Category: Books
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.Requires iOS 3.1 or later.
Cost: $ 11.99      (92.6MB)  Separately, the book app cost $ 1.99 each unless on sale. Click the individual app icon to go to the app in App Store.
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! Pricing was correct at the time of publishing the review but is subject to change so please confirm before downloading.

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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