Miniwalla the forest story

Children love stories, catchy tunes, and characters that they can relate to. This app, a cross between a book and an animation, contains all of these. It is split into different chapters that each tell a story centred around Miniwalla - an animal sanctuary on the island of Java.

 

The stories each teach a lesson. Children following the vibrantly  illustrated chapters learn about the environment and animals as well as being prompted to think about their own behaviour and how they relate to other people. It is by no means a resource to teach science but it mentions various facts and issues relevant to the subject and is educational as well as entertaining.

 

Once a story is begun it plays automatically. Narrators read out the story and perform the characters' voices as the text appears across the bottom of the screen. Neither the narration nor the text can be turned off so both must be used together.

 

The songs and music really stand out both for the excellence of their production and their catchiness. Instruments and singers are clear and combine to create an aural spirit that matches the events in the app's stories perfectly. They will keep children coming back to the app again and again to enjoy them.

 

Each part of the story is visually brought to life in a colourful handpainted style. The camera pans across these scenes. Characters and story elements slide across the screen highlighting key players in the tale. It creates a lovely feeling of a storybook page coming to life.

 

There are many ways that the app could be put to use in the classroom. For example, a story could introduce a topic in science or it could be set to play on a class display at the end of the day as a reward for good work. It is easy to navigate to different parts of the app and the pictorial representation of each section helps the user to find the exact page that they want. A bookmark system makes finding favourite scenes even easier.

 

Of course, being so full of artwork and music, the app unavoidably takes up a large chunk of storage space. On more modern devices, which tend to have a larger storage capacity, this will not be too much of a problem but if you are using an older device you might find yourself having to make space.

 

There is the occasional typo in the text that accompanies the story. These aren't major and range from a non-capitalised name to an incorrectly pluralized word. Children probably won't notice them but hopefully, a future update will catch and correct them.

 

There is a lot to like about Miniwalla. The wholesome stories, catchy music and characterfully rendered scenes and participants make up a substantial app. And it is free! Aside from informing you about other music and apps in the series, (also 5-star reviews on The Educational App Store) it contains no advertising. You may well find that your child loves this app and wants to dive into the others but it is difficult to imagine a fairer way of letting you appraise them.

 

You should go right ahead and check out Miniwalla for yourself and your children. It is a great app that can be downloaded with no risk.