Free Top That! Apps & E-Books

I'm not being paid to write this or given anything in exchange, I just thought you'd be interested to know that Top That! Publishing (who do send me books to review every so often) are very kindly making all their apps and e-books free to download until midnight tonight to help celebrate World Book Night.

I've downloaded most of the apps as The Boy loves the Mixed-Up Monsters/Animals that we were playing with the other day, and I've downloaded all of the picture books into the iBooks app on my new iPad (did I mention I had one of those?).

There's not just pre-schoolers picture books available, there's a whole load of fiction and non-fiction books for children up to about ten years of age, especially engaging for reluctant boys!

To download the apps click here and the ebooks here.

HURRY!

Top That Apps (Review)

I am a book reviewer for Top That! Publishers and this means that every so often we receive a few paperback storybooks to review. However, a month or two ago we were sent some download codes for a few apps that they had recently launched.

Mixed-Up Animals

This is a lovely little app which is very fun and engaging for pre-schoolers, with the opportunity for a whole load of discussions about animals and their habitats and how they are suited to where they live. The basic concept is that there are three sliders, one each for animal heads, bodies and legs. Children can slide it across to select their own, or shuffle to come up with a random generator. They can then select the backgrounds from a variety, save and share their work if they want to.

Mixed-Up Monsters

Exactly the same format, but with monsters!

We really like these apps and have had a good giggle about the monsters and animals that we've made up. Both are available on iTunes for iPod Touches, iPads and iPhones and require iOS 3.1 or later.

Top That! have a variety of apps and e-books available for download from iTunes and on GooglePlay for Android and to celebrate World Book Night, all Top That! ebooks and Apps (UK, USA, AUS & Canada only) will be free to download on Monday 23rd and Tuesday 24th April 2012.

View the Apps on:
  • iTunes: http://topth.at/iosapps
  • Google Play: http://topth.at/play

I was given free download codes for the purpose of this review. My opinion is honest and unbiased. I am choosing to share the information about the downloads because I think they are quality apps and e-books that children will enjoy.

(Disclaimer: Free eBook and app downloads only available for UK, USA, Aus and Canada. Not all Top That! eBooks and apps are available in all countries listed. Free download offer is for two days only. Normal pricing will resume following the two day period. The Publisher reserves the right to withdraw this offer without prior notice and at its discretion.)

The Froobles

A little while ago I reviewed two new books from a series called 'The Froobles'. The Froobles are fruity people who come to life when the playgroup people go out for playtime, and inhabit the wonderful worlds that the children have made in their pictures. All of the books tell stories which teach children how to behave kindly to others through showing how negative behaviour isn't kind or friendly.

Now The Froobles books are available for your Apple product with downloads available for iPhones, iPod Touches and iPads through the App Store on iTunes. Two of these titles (Apps Apple and the Tooth Fairy, and Ozzy Onion and the Noisy Dinosaurs) can be downloaded for free for a limited time only, while some of the other new enhanced audio ebooks with celebrity narration can be downloaded for a discounted price at £1.49, with the others costing the full price of £2.49.

What's more is that The Froobles are also available through their very own App which is free to download! It comes with the story of Little Jack Potato and his big surprise with additional stories available to purchase and download.

With interactive stories and puzzles, it's a great treat for your Reception aged children addressing issues which they may come across on a daily basis, and can teach them the nice way to behave to gain and keep friends.

I downloaded these Apps of my own volition to test and review.

Two Top Titles (Book Review)

The Boy is developing in his taste for reading material and we're starting to stray away from board books into the realms of paper books. Which is excellent because we've just been sent two new titles from the fabulous Top That! Publishing.

'Time For Dinner' by June Morley

As with all Top That! books that I've come across, the illustrations by Marina Le Ray are as enticing as the spider's web adorning the cover of this book. Time for Dinner is a comical tale of a riot of animals who are a little bit hungry leading up to dinner time, with the pecking order defining who might end up on the menu!

This humorous book tells the tale of a spider who tries to persuade a fly to rest in his web while he trots off for a nap, a bird who tells the spider that it's ok to rest in his nest, and so on. The clever twist at the end of tale makes it a pleasure to read time and time again without being boring for little one. There is plenty to look at in the vibrant illustrations and the pages are thick, quality paper making it ideal for pre-schoolers.

'Time for Dinner' is available for £5.99

'Only Nooglebooglers Glow In The Dark' by James McKnight

'Farmer McDoogle has a very unusual farm. On his farm he doesn't keep chickens, cows or pigs. On his farm he keeps monsters!' And one of these breeds of monsters is called the Noogleboogler. The Nooglebooglers are special because when they eat difflebug leaves, they glow in the dark!

Aimed at slightly older children than The Boy, this clever, fantastical story introduces you to the wonders of life on Farmer McDoogle's farm and the special 'talents' of all the different animals that live there. The scene is set for the annual party in the barn when suddenly there is a powercut and Diggle (the farmhand) has a cunning idea to save the day.

With humour and all the necessary ickiness associated with monsters that pre-schoolers love, along with beautiful illustrations by the award winning Mark Chambers, this is another winning title by Top That! This book is also part of a growing series of titles about life on McDoogle's Monster Farm.

'Only NoogleBooglers Glow In The Dark' is available for £5.99

Both titles are currently available for the reduced price of £5.39!

Review: The Froobles

There are a fabulous new range of books out by the brilliant children's publishers Top That! called The Froobles. We were sent the titles Apps Apple and the Tooth Fairy and Orlando Orange and the Big Scary Bear to review.

The Froobles are characters based on fruit and vegetables that come to life through the power of children's imaginations. When the children in a playgroup create a scene for them, the characters enter into this magical and ever-changing world to explore it, having new adventures that only they know about.

There are twelve characters and books in the series:

  • Apps Apple and the Tooth Fairy
  • Billy Banana and the Magic Mystery
  • Bobby Blackberry and the Treasure Island
  • Charlie Chilli and the Safari Song
  • Chloe Carrot and the Greedy Witch
  • Cory Cucumber and the Farmyard Muddle
  • Little Jack Potato and the Big Surprise
  • Ozzy Onion and the Noisy Dinosaurs
  • Penny Pineapple and the Chocolate Forest
  • Sienna Strawberry and the Ice Palace Ballet
  • Tessa Tomato and the Rainforest Rainbow

The books are small and fit perfectly into change-bags for instant distraction and story-telling. There is also a sheet of stickers at the back of each book with the main characters and locations from that story, so that little ones can recreate the story. The illustrations are really funky and modern, using hand-drawn pictures alongside photographs and computer imagery.

The text is simple enough for a Foundation Phase child to attempt reading it themselves, and alongside this the font is perfect: is uses the correct type of 'a' and 'g' that are encouraged for use with early readers.

Normally retailing at £2.99, The Froobles books are available at a special reduced price of £2.69 through the publishers Top That!

The Froobles world is wide-reaching and encompasses traditional and modern media. Not only are there the twelve books, but there is also a fabulous website (www.Froobles.com) with games for each character, from dressing Little Jack Potato, skateboarding with Cory Cucumber, to playing nought and crosses with Apps Apple.

In addition to the books and website, in November, there will be a range of interactive Froobles Apps (available from iTunes App Store) featuring the voices of Johnny Vaughan, Denise Van Outen, Edith Bowman and Reggie Yates. I will definitely be downloading these as The Boy is very competent with a touch-screen but not so much on the computer; he'll be able to enjoy these on the iPod Touch.

Review: Hiku the Penguin

Hiku is the tale of a penguin who wakes up feeling grumpy one morning. Everything about the day was wrong (I know how he feels today) made worse by the news of an impending visit from his extended family (yep, I can sympathise with that one too!).

Taking himself off to be a grumpy-guts on his own, he soon realises that he's lonely and bored. Hiku's mind wanders off to memories of past visits from his family and he soon realises that actually, they always have fun together! Rushing back to his family, he hopes he gets there in time to enjoy some more fun and make more memories… whether he does or not, well you'll have to read the book!

I liked the clever illustrations with every double-page featuring dozens of penguins. This isn't just because I like penguins, but because Hiku is distinct with his heart-shaped tummy, so every new picture was like a 'Where's Wally' fest which The Boy adored pouring over.

This is a lovely story focusing on the fun that can be had with family, beautiful illustrations, and a great spring-board for a variety of other activities and discussion points with your little one.

Hiku is availabale as a paper back (£5.39), as an app on the AppStore (£1.99) or as a PDF electronic book (£1.79) which would be perfect for little ones to interact with, or in the classroom as a big book.

We were sent this book for review purposes by TopThat Publishing. MY opinions are, as always, honest & without bias.

A Sticky Situation

We were recently sent the 'First Words' Sticker Activity Book by Top That! to review. I'll admit to opening it and thinking "Really? He's two!" However that opinion quickly changed when I opened it, examined the pages and showed it to The Boy; he was captivated!

My reservations centred around the fact that sticker books often have flimsy pages with a matt finish that mean once the sticker is put down (often in the wrong place the first time), that's it it's stuck there. You can't peel it back off to move it, and if you try the stickers are so thin, they rip and you have a distressed child.

That is not the case with this gorgeous activity book. The pages are thick and glossy which means that stickers can be peeled back off and realigned. The stickers are also a really good quality and easy to hold. The Boy has gone back a few times since he first did one of the pages and rearranged the stickers, well over a week later, with no problem.

'First Words' tells the story of David and Lizzie who live in a house with their mum and dad. The book introduces different aspects of David and Lizzie's homelife from the rooms in their house to their routines. You can dress them, give them their breakfast in the kitchen, follow them on a walk to the park or when they go shopping, when they play with their toys,go to the countryside, and then go to bed. The pages that illustrate each of these everyday occurences are beautifully drawn with bright colours and attractive designs. The additional bit that I like, and I think the first time that I've seen it, is that the colours around each of the stickers matches the section of the page where they are meant to go perfectly. Too often the stickers are surrounded by white which makes them stick out like a sore thumb.

This is part of a series of books from Top That! which is aimed at children three years old and over, other titles included are 'Colours', 'Counting' and 'Shapes', and all four support the Foundation Phase and National Curriculum learning objectives (as a primary school teacher I can see how these would support his learning). One of the features of the book is that the words being introduced are also printed in the book allowing the reader to over-write and practise his/her writing skills. Obviously this is the area where The Boy has not been able to fully enjoy the book, but it's not a problem because in the future he will be able to and it hasn't hampered his enjoyment of the book. There are other lovely activities like dot-dot, tick-lists, drawing areas and colourings.

The Sticker Activity Books normally retails for £4.99 but at the moment they are on offer for £4.49. I shall definitely be popping over and buying the other titles in the series (is it too early to think of Christmas presents?)

Another top-tip (stolen borrowed from Damian Johnson) is to remove the surrounding and unnecessary sticky; it makes it so much easier for their little fingers to get the stickers off.

We were provided with this book free of charge for the purpose of this review. My opinion is, as always, honest.

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