A Whale Of A Tale! Review – A Dr.Seuss Learning Adventure For iOS

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A Whale of Tale! (Universal) by Ocean House Media and Dr. Seuss Enterprises, shows us that The Cat in The Hat isn’t just a babysitter. In this kid’s app, he takes Sally, Thing One, and Thing Two on an epic underwater learning adventure. This time he joins Captain McElligot aboard the cetacean station on a journey beneath the surface to discover marine mammal life.

 The latest addition to the The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library, this app focuses on using Dr. Seuss’s story telling techniques and interactive features to teach and promote reading. Throughout the app, users can tap objects to learn words, tap on bold words to find out their simplified definition, and play mini games.

With the turn of a page, users gain new knowledge about different types of cetaceans, including the narwhal, blue whale, orca and more. There are two modes for users to choose from – “Read to Me” which narrates, and “Read it Myself” which does not narrate.

 I loved that the app keeps the Dr. Seuss traditional sing-song style tone with a rhyme in every line, the magic of reading super entertaining. The graphics looked great on my iPad’s retina display and the presentation of the art and visuals brought the familiar world of Dr. Seuss to life. I found the sound effects and background audio to be excellent, especially because the sounds customized to each scene. Most of all, the app teaches really cool facts I myself did not even know – such as the fact that the dolphin moms leave their young behind with a babysitter to hunt for food.

One thing that the app could improve is the placement of a short tutorial to explain what the user can do while reading. I wound up reading the entire book without even knowing I could drag objects across the screen. I only discovered that interactive feature when reading the info section on the home page afterwards. I also would have liked to see the graphics more animated because it would have brought more demonstration to the eye with illustrative movement. 

 A Whale of a Tale! is a fun book app that makes reading and learning memorable and interesting with the lovable characters of Dr. Seuss. Users of any age will enjoy being entertained while becoming educated about cetaceans. So get ready as the Cat in the Hat guides the tour, to discover whales, porpoises, dolphins – and much, much more! 

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