App Recommendation

I am regularly asked for app recommendations for the iPad. The picture above is a group of first graders at center during balance literacy time. The students are using an app called Don't Let the Pigeon Run This App! by Mo Willems. Mo Willems is one on my favorite children's authors. Willems' books Knuffle Bunny, Knuffle Bunny Too, and Knuffle Bunny Free are some of my daughters all time favorite read-a-loud books at bedtime. I find Willems to have an uncanny sense of humor.

I have seen and talked to an ever increasing amount of children's authors who have told me they will likely be releasing their books in the near future in an app format. The authors have told me the reasoning behind this is that not only will students have access to the book on the app but also engaging, higher order thinking comprehension activities. One author told me she is excited to put video in her app showing how she got her ideas and the process steps she followed to publish. In some ways this reminds me of when we saw movies switch from a tape on a VCR to a BluRay Disc or digital download on a variety of playable devices. Don't Let the Pigeon Run This App! is one of may favorite apps and is a preview into the future of children's literature.