Kiwi and Pear’s World Adventure

It’s summer time and for many, it is a time for traveling.  Adorable monkey friends, Kiwi and Pear will take children ages four and up on a world adventure that will explore “no place too far and no adventure too great.”  An educational app designed to teach youngsters of some of the wonders of the world with an added bonus of three interactive games. Initially Kiwi and Pear’s adventures were told via hardcover by author, Joyce Wan, but have been transitioned into the mobile app world for further enjoyment.  Easily accessible for the littlest of fingers, nicely narrated and artistically different from other preschool apps, Kiwi and Pear’s World Adventure has a great deal of potential.

Upon entering, users will have a choice to listen to the story book or to play some games.  For our review, we began with the story book option, visually and auditorily pleasing, the story begins with Kiwi and Pear flying through the air on an airplane.   Knowing the audience that this application is designed for, we were surprised to find that this story book had no written words that supported what the narrator was saying.  As an educator and also a parent, we would love to see the narrator’s words at the bottom of each page.  By adding this feature, users could have the option to turn highlighting on or off within an information window. For youngsters just learning to read, this would certainly be beneficial from an educational aspect.  Although it was not stated, we instinctually began tapping each page of the book for signs of animation.  We were pleasantly surprised to find many components would move such as Kiwi and Pear, the clouds, sun and many others.  Within the continent of North America, users will hear about such places as California, the White House, Statue of Liberty and even Fenway Park.  Then it’s time to travel a bit farther to such places as the Amazon River, Big Ben in London and sun bathing on the Mediterranean Sea.  No matter how far or where their world adventure should take them, Kiwi and Pear are the happiest when they are together.

An added feature that Zephyr Games has added is the ability to interactively play before, during or after the story has been told. Most interactive books do not extend past the story, Kiwi and Pear’s World Adventure however sets themselves apart by adding in the development of ones memory by playing a card game, going on a geography adventure and collecting fruit in the rain forest. Each activity is timed, offers both positive and negative reinforcement and stores a players score.  In speaking with the developers, we did mention that we would love to see a connection between the story book and the interactive games.

Overall, Applicable2U was pleased with the download and plans to share this early elementary application with other parents and educators.  If you would like to learn more about Zephyr Games, please visit their website here.  To learn more about the wonderful adventure and friendship that Kiwi and Pear have, please click here to begin downloading to your iTunes library.