App Reviews: Nothing Ever Happens at the South Pole - Great Story for Kids of All Ages

Reviewed by Elena – I’m a SAHM who is trying to homeschool my 18 month old. I have a BA in Computer Science and Information Systems. My professional background is in quantitative analytics.

Details

This is a story about a penguin that believes nothing exciting ever happens at the South Pole. It was written by Stan and Jan Berenstain, creators of the Berenstain Bears, but was never published until now.

The story revolves around a penguin that is trying to look for something to happen that is exciting enough to write down for his journal. Everything seems to mundane to write about. For each normal event, the penguin reimagines a more exciting occurrence that he would write about in his journal. He never realizes that everything is happening exactly as he imagines.

This is a great app for children of all ages. Beginning readers can enjoy this story in Read to Me or Auto Play mode which has karaoke highlighting, where words are highlighted as they are read. More advanced readers can use Read It Myself mode. For all modes, individual words are spoken with a tap and to listen or repeat the whole page just press and hold. When tapping on the pictures the associated words will zoom up.

There are some external links to the developer’s website.

What Elena Liked

This book app has great artwork, controls are very easy and navigation hints were given at the beginning. I loved that the story is teaching children that one has to take the time to really see what is happening around you. Don’t just rush around or you will miss many exciting moments. The story with its rhyming text was very enjoyable. The kids thought the penguin was silly in a very cute way.

Suggested Enhancement

It would be nice to have the option to turn off background/animal sounds.

Overall

Nothing Ever Happens at the South Pole is a great story for kids of all ages to enjoy. The story delivers a good message that one needs to slow down and really enjoy what is happening around them.