Lonely Beast ABC
The Lonely Beast ABC is an interactive storybook for iOS devices. The app allows children to go through the alphabet in a unique way that is comparable to a book.
The child can flip through each letter, which shows a demonstration word for that letter. Many parts of the image are interactive, which allow the child to connect with the letter as they learn, promoting the reinforcement of the letter. This is what is called an “emergent literary skill” (Blanchard & Moore, 2010). Emergent skills in relation to the digital world form the foundation for children to learn and transition into adolescent and adult language (Bracken & Fischel, 2008). The alphabet is the cornerstone to reading and language, which in turn encourages the development of cognition.
The app does not offer much in the way of replay ability, but it is a free download and for a young child just learning the alphabet it can be a useful tool to help reinforce letters’ recognition.
Some questions to ask your child:
Can they describe what they see on the screen?
What other words that start with that letter can they think of?
Do they pronounce the letter correctly?
Are they able to say the alphabet in sequential order?
Can they make a story based off the picture?
References
Bracken, S.,S & Fischel, J.E (2008). Family reading and early literacy skills in preschool children from low-income backgrounds. Early Education and Development, 19(1), 45-67
Blanchard, J. & Moore, T. (2010, March 1). The digital world of young children: Impact on emergent literacy. Pearson Foundation, White Paper, 1-35. Retrieved on March 14, 2016 from
http://www.pearsonfoundation.org/downloads/EmergentLiteracy-WhitePaper.pdf
