The Swamp Where Gator Hides is a picture book app executed with lovely depictions of swamp life in the Everglades. The concept is no frills as book apps for young children should be (says the early childhood librarian who lives deep inside me). The lovely paintings of the animals are the focus here. If you touch them they scatter or blink their eyes, but nothing that takes away from artwork and the story.
It is a non-fiction about the animals at the swamp, through the eyes of an alligator hunting for lunch. Kids will see the dabbling ducks, red bellied turtles, cottonmouth snakes, white deer, great egrets, … The rhyming text follows the cumulative pattern of The House That Jack Built. Combined with the colorful illustration, readers feel they are actually hiding somewhere at the swamp, watching all the animals come and go.
At the end of the book, kids will find an encyclopedia with facts about each animal who just made an appearance in the story, one page for each animal. There is a simple game that kids can help the animals escape from the alligator.
My only critique of the work is the age range the story is for. The story is laid out through an alligator who hides in the swamp and is about to pounce on one of these animals for lunch. Maybe they are tougher than I think, but it’s not something I would share with my four year old at the moment. However, gators do eat other animals in the Everglades, so if your child is game to watch the gator hunt for his lunch, then you’ll probably enjoy it.
The Swamp Where Gator Hides is available on iPhone, iPod and iPad. It is also available for Android on Amazon App Store. If you prefer print book, you can find it on Amazon as paperback or hardcover book, or as a Kindle book. Below the first Amazon link is for app, 2nd Amazon app is for book.
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Today’s app is reviewed by Elizabeth Wolf. Elizabeth blogs about parenting, culture and travel at LeMaisonLoup.com. You can also find her on Twitter @WolfBetty