Shop Talk

In addition to the beautifully done My Very First App, now there’s another wonderful Eric Carle app to add to your collection. Night & Day Studios just released Counting with the Very Hungry Caterpillar for iPhone and iPad.

What I love about this app is the way it has captured Eric Carle’s aesthetic. Crisp colorful images of all the fruits and junk foods are extremely faithful to Eric Carle’s original cut paper collage in his classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. As you know, Eric Carle’s simple and modern art style allows for a lot of white space on the page and this app echoes this with a simple white background. No flashing lights or obnoxiously bright colors. No annoying sounds or frantic animation.

The game utilizes the underlying concept of counting from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Preschoolers familiar with the book will love the role reversal. Now they, instead of the caterpillar, are empowered to select the foods to eat. In five levels of increasing difficulty, an optional voiceover narrates the game. You must “eat the fruit” by tapping the correct number. For example, the player is instructed to “Please eat three strawberries,” and must tap the strawberriess on the screen. In a nice faithful touch to the book, once the fruit has been tapped, a hole appears as if the caterpillar has munched on through. Later levels challenge players by having more than just strawberries on the screen, so the player must sort through all the familiar foods to find the right one. Numbers displayed above the correctly tapped fruit reinforce counting skills from 1 to 10.

There is no win or lose as this game is on a constant loop and, even if you tap the incorrect food or number, you are given seemingly infinite chances to get it right. Select options and you can choose to turn on or off the soothing background Mozart music, as well as the female voiceover. You can also change the game play from sequential to random order to challenge more advanced players.

Would you like to give it a try? Night& Day Studios has graciously offered to giveaway games to FIVE of our lucky readers! Winners will have the option to choose from iPad or iPhone apps. All you need to do to enter is leave a comment below and tell us your favorite food from Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar. (Mine’s the strawberry). The giveaway will be open until 12:00 pm EST tomorrow, Friday, November 4th and then five winners will be randomly chosen. Good luck!

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED. Congratulations to the five winners: Jeanie Taylor, Bonnie, Leslie, Lynn and Joyce! I’ll be in touch soon about how to claim your prizes.

Did you know that you can buy apps and eBooks and still support The Carle? Visit our App and eBook store and browse through our selection of apps and books based on favorite children’s books. Then click the buttons below the description to purchase the app directly through iTunes. Each purchase donates a small percentage to The Carle that supports our mission of early literacy and education. Choose from Mo Willems’ Don’t Let the Pigeon Run This App, Crockett Johnson’s Harold and the Purple Crayon and a whole lot more!