Little Critter, the ambiguously rodent-like character from children’s author Mercer Mayer’s beloved series, has come a long way since his publishing debut in 1975. Stepping into the 21st century, Little Critter is starring in new interactive adventures for young children thanks to kids’ educational/activity books publisher Silver Dolphin Books. The premiere releases are The Trip – Little Critter Reading Adventure and The Trip – Little Critter GamePak; both available now for the iOS, Android, Nook and Kindle platforms. Both are produced by Appy Award winner John R. Sansevere (Little Critter: Where Is My Frog).
The Trip – Little Critter Reading Adventure app ($3.99) is based on the book by Mayer and features his original artwork. The app invites children to travel with Little Critter and his family on a road trip. Kids can help choose the route the family will take to explore the countryside, city, beach and more; surmount obstacles like a horse in the road or fixing the car; and interact with the app environment by feeding seagulls or even grabbing a hot dog. Along the way players will also enjoy games with Little Sister. The app is recommended for kids 3-7 and employs basic preschool and early elementary curriculum through features like inventory collection and selection (problem solving), hidden alphabet flashcards (letter recognition) and puzzles. Other features include text highlighting, visual interactive item clues and audio narration for non-readers. A free lite version is also available for Android, Nook and Kindle with iOS coming soon.
Supporting the storybook app is The Trip – Little Critter GamePak. Divided into two sections, the GamePak includes five game themes including Dot-to-Dot, Mazes, Matching Pictures and Words, and How Many? This app also introduces the company’s new Digistix feature—interactive, animated stickers with sound effects—with over 175 digital stickers available across five game themes. The GamePak will be regularly priced at $3.99 but is available at a first 30 days introductory price of $2.99.
