As we busy ourselves with daily activities, sometimes we forget to appreciate the little things in life. I also notice this behavior in my two juniors. Instead of embracing the beautiful morning, they often start the day by watching cartoon shows on TV or playing with their toys. Hence, I am grateful to find Good Morning Toucan, Goodnight Owl, a 2-in-1 storybook app that encourages juniors to appreciate their days and nights.
Good Morning Toucan, Goodnight Owl is a 2-in-1 storybook app that introduces kids to rainforest and woodland animals.
From One Morning to the Next
As you start the app, you will see two big icons: the Toucan and the Owl. These two icons represent two stories that are independent from one another, yet correlated in theme. Even though you can start with either one of the stories, I suggest you to read the Toucan's story first.
Good Morning Toucan starts with a toucan, who flies around the rainforest to check on the animals that wake up early in the morning. Throughout the pages, you help her find various animals that live on the trees and in the river, by tapping on the screen. After sending her morning greetings to the sloth, chameleon, tree frogs, monkeys, and turtles, the toucan returns to feed her babies their breakfast.
Goodnight Owl features an owl who wanders around the forest at night to check which animals are ready to go to sleep. She searches behind the tree and by the pond, and says goodnight to the moose, frogs, ducks, geese, bear, and deer. She finally takes her own rest at dawn.
For each story, the app includes an original music video, in which the entire story is retold in a song. There is also an activity page where you can play mini games contextual to the story. For example, the toucan mini game allows you to play hide-and-seek with the animals in the rainforest, whereas the owl mini game asks you to match animal illustrations with real photographs.
Good Morning Toucan follows a toucan as she flies around the rainforest to greet various animals.
Parents Need to Know
Good Morning Toucan, Goodnight Owl is aimed at juniors ages two to four. The app introduces a few animals that you may not see often in other apps, such as sloth, tree frogs, moose, and toucans. With more than 1.8 million animal species out there, I appreciate it when developers try to include unique animals for my juniors to learn.
Initially published as physical board books, you can find Good Morning Toucan and Goodnight Owl as two separate books on Amazon. However, the fact that they are released as a single iPad app really help us to compare and contrast both stories.
Goodnight Owl follows an owl as she says goodnight to woodland animals.
Things I Like
As a parent, I really appreciate how Good Morning Toucan, Goodnight Owl introduces different animals that live in the rainforest and the woodlands. It also shows them that not all animals function during the day; some wake up and start their activities at night. This topic triggered some interesting discussions in my household.
I also think the app has successfully shown to my juniors the beautiful things that can happen in the morning. Even though they don't live in the rainforest, they can mimic how the animals in the book seem to welcome the day and greet everyone around them.
In the Goodnight Owl mini game, you try to match animal illustrations with real life photographs.
Conclusion
Good Morning Toucan, Goodnight Owl is a solid 2-in-1 storybook app that provides juniors with a great example to start their day by appreciating the good things in their lives. The app also lets them compare animals and their different habitats as shown in the two stories. A recommended read both in the morning as your juniors start their day and at night as they go to bed.
Other apps you might like:
Mini U: Zoo Alphabet. The best alphabet-animal iPad app for one-year-olds.
Pepi Tree. Playful educational game lets you explore tree-dwelling animals and their habitat.
ABC Wildlife. Interactive iPad app has photos, games, and videos for 80 different animals.