I was so delighted to find Paddington as an app.  The joy of this resource is that it hasn’t been tinkered with and is true to the original.  Michael Bond’s beautifully told story and R.W. Alley’s detailed and colourful illustrations are as appealing as they were in the 1970s.

After my first impressions (being delighted to find Paddington) I wondered what this app had to offer which the book didn’t …

This story is truly interactive; little fingers can press different parts of the picture to make things move and music play.  My son was delighted to see and hear pigeons flapping across the scene at Paddington station.  One particular highlight was Paddington skidding across the table on a strawberry tart!

You can choose for the narrator to read to you, read to yourself or listen to your own recording.  I thought this was a particularly good feature for parents who work away from home or to involve relatives you don’t see very often.

Not only can you record audio but video as well, a bit like using Skype to tell a story.

Other features include: an about the author section and a Paddington portrait section, where you can take a photo of yourself with Paddington.

There are also clever links: Buy book – takes you to Amazon; Tell a friend – allows you to email a link to a friend; and Try This – tells you about other HarperCollins titles.  Pretty well thought out marketing.

One downside: be warned as this does take up a large amount of storage space on your device, particularly if you record videos.

Other than that – a classic story told in the traditional way but with a sprinkling of new technology – a winning combination!

Educational value

• Great for early reading skills – enjoying reading books with an adult
• Encourages early reading comprehension: you can ask questions, not only about the text but the moving images also e.g. Why did Paddington fall off the table?
• Opportunity to explore technology through use of the camera, audio and video functionality

Ease of use

• Adult led initially
• Easy to use