Here are the most recent entries from the Okenko Books blog.
We got a wonderful review at applicable2u (reviews of educational apps for kids) for our Christmas story - Lizzie and the Christmas Tree - check it out here. We are very pleased that Andrea and her little critic Logan did enjoy our story and appreciated our 'read-only' option we chose for our children books.
Let me give few thoughts here on reviewers and critics then. As everybody seems to take a plunge into apps development, before long there sprang out tons of reviewing websites/blogs too, as we say like mushrooms after the rain:) But not all of them are the same, not all of them express their opinion, not all of them are worth your time. The furthest are game review pages because games are such a huge segment and they been here for a long time so people had time to create their own taste and establish respected review sites.
But let's talk about children apps - educational apps, book apps, games and activities and respective review sites. It is a rapidly growing part of the appstore but still tiny and quite new. So even if people had some criteria in real life, in a business where you struggle every day for 'visits', 'likes' and 'retweets' it is not easy to say what you like and eventually what you don't like. Basically, there are three types of sites - paid ones (which the user=parent will not necessarily notice, he would have to dig a bit on the site) and they say nice things about anything and anyone because they got money to do so. Then there are blogs who don't take money but in pursuit of visit numbers and good relations with their providers, app developers, they like everything (or is it just the American 'everything's great' mask again?). The better part of these talk about and publish only apps they like, kind of recommendations from a trusted source, which is fine.
And then there should be reviewers, critics, who say hey, this is really outstanding, this is fine, this is not that good and don't waste your time and money on this one. Expressing their honest personal feelings and professional opinions, helping the public to accept good industry standards, helping the developers to create better apps for their users. And as you may expect, these are rare and coming later on and in difficult ways. So that's why I value a honest page like applicable2u (and please don't take me wrong, it is not because they talked nicely about our book) where they buy, try, see and say how they liked their app or what they would change about it. Because parents, be aware - there are apps of very diverse and uneven aesthetic, educational, entertaining and literal levels:)
But let's talk about children apps - educational apps, book apps, games and activities and respective review sites. It is a rapidly growing part of the appstore but still tiny and quite new. So even if people had some criteria in real life, in a business where you struggle every day for 'visits', 'likes' and 'retweets' it is not easy to say what you like and eventually what you don't like. Basically, there are three types of sites - paid ones (which the user=parent will not necessarily notice, he would have to dig a bit on the site) and they say nice things about anything and anyone because they got money to do so. Then there are blogs who don't take money but in pursuit of visit numbers and good relations with their providers, app developers, they like everything (or is it just the American 'everything's great' mask again?). The better part of these talk about and publish only apps they like, kind of recommendations from a trusted source, which is fine.
And then there should be reviewers, critics, who say hey, this is really outstanding, this is fine, this is not that good and don't waste your time and money on this one. Expressing their honest personal feelings and professional opinions, helping the public to accept good industry standards, helping the developers to create better apps for their users. And as you may expect, these are rare and coming later on and in difficult ways. So that's why I value a honest page like applicable2u (and please don't take me wrong, it is not because they talked nicely about our book) where they buy, try, see and say how they liked their app or what they would change about it. Because parents, be aware - there are apps of very diverse and uneven aesthetic, educational, entertaining and literal levels:)
Lately, I have a slight issue with the term 'educational' toy or game. Everything seems to have to be educational to address the parents and thus to get better sales numbers. But I say every toy and game is educational to some extent, even if your kid plays with bottle caps, cars or a rug doll, a wooden spoon or a ludo board game set. Some toys have (or are supposed to have) a direct educational impact on you kid - especially when they involve numbers, colors, letters or shapes. That's what people hear and that's what they therefore want for their kids and what' they believe will help their kids in school later on. I am not sure that the kids care and that the educational effect is always achieved.
So being brainwashed by this media propaganda, I was picking toys for my boys at the toy store for this year's Christmas. And I came across this little sweet thing - a sock monkey in the box. You play a funny street organ like tune by turning the handle on the side of the box and in few seconds a monkey pops out at you. Hmm, nice little nonsense, I thought, but then I couldn't resist and I bought the thing. I was wondering if it was not a waste of money, no educational addition for my kids, no real use for this little trinket, no shapes, no first words, no nothing, just a nice melody and then SURPRISE!
So when we found this little box under our Christmas tree I was kind of curious to see how will everybody react. And I was happy to find out that not only the kids but also all the adults wanted to try it, to turn the handle themselves and see what happens. Everybody grabbed the box and went round and round and then HOP! smile on their face, and again and again. So the old little trick of organ grinders with a real monkey on their shoulder still works. Little of magic and some fun. Not everything needs to educate, entertain is good enough.
So being brainwashed by this media propaganda, I was picking toys for my boys at the toy store for this year's Christmas. And I came across this little sweet thing - a sock monkey in the box. You play a funny street organ like tune by turning the handle on the side of the box and in few seconds a monkey pops out at you. Hmm, nice little nonsense, I thought, but then I couldn't resist and I bought the thing. I was wondering if it was not a waste of money, no educational addition for my kids, no real use for this little trinket, no shapes, no first words, no nothing, just a nice melody and then SURPRISE!
So when we found this little box under our Christmas tree I was kind of curious to see how will everybody react. And I was happy to find out that not only the kids but also all the adults wanted to try it, to turn the handle themselves and see what happens. Everybody grabbed the box and went round and round and then HOP! smile on their face, and again and again. So the old little trick of organ grinders with a real monkey on their shoulder still works. Little of magic and some fun. Not everything needs to educate, entertain is good enough.