The Nativity Story - Popup DELUXE Edition (App Review)

Every now and again I am offered an app for review. I have really enjoyed those apps that recreate the feel of vintage story books, with "pop-up" features and push/pull figures, especially as they are much sturdier than when little fingers are exploring them in real paper books.

Puddletap.com has produced a Nativity Story App that includes pop-up style woodcut illustrations, with tap and swipe features on virtually every page. You can get a glimpse by watching the trailer below.

The Nativity Story app allows you to read the story yourself, or have it "read to me." Please note that the story is available in English, French and Spanish. The style of the English narrator reminds me a bit of the narrator for "How the Grinch Stole Christmas..." a classic storytelling voice. Mary and Joseph and the other characters all have their own regular voices. The French and Spanish voices are all different, and I am guessing native speakers, based on my untrained ear. ;)

The story is told with poetic rhyme, which sometimes creates a bit of a "reach" from a story-telling perspective, if one is looking for a telling that follows the original text, however, the basic narrative is unchanged. Some traditional aspects that are changed a little include looking for place to stay at a "tavern," a "Theater," and the inclusion of a female innkeeper (which, while not impossible, was less likely). However, to balance that out, after going through the story book, there is an option to read the scripture from Luke. When using the iPod app, the text is rather small for reading, but on the iPad it is perfectly fine.

Some animals and an angel band add interest, with their noises and the musical instruments, and once again, the artwork is beautiful.

"Buttons" that activate the voices of the different characters make the most sense when pressed in left to right order (Good for helping to reinforce that left ---> right tracking required for reading).

My six year old enjoyed figuring out what each "button" would bring, and I enjoyed the beautiful woodcut artwork.

The retail price for the app is $3.99 for iPad and $1.99 for iPhone

Blessings~

Disclosure~ I received a free download of this app in order to leave a review. A positive review was not required, and the opinions are those of my children and my own.