Stampy The Wizard

Apps in the style of enhanced eBooks do not often generate the level of interest that game-based apps do.  This is a shame as, done well, they can offer everything that a paper-based book can as well as extras while being packaged in a far more convenient form that allows children to carry a small library with them.  Stampy the Wizard is an eBook-style app that is done very well indeed.

What lifts the story of Stampy the Wizard above that of other eBooks is the well-rewarded effort put into the pictures that accompany each page of the book.  The pages themselves turn as they would in a real book - a useful reminder that physical books also contain stories and should not be fully discarded in place of the electronic experience - however good this one is.

What is on each page is truly special.  Each detailed scene is formed from modelling clay giving it a lovely solid and real feel that is quite different from the familiar computer-generated or created scenes of other eBook-style apps.  For adults of a certain age, it will evoke memories of classic television stories.  For children, unused to such a style, it will form a fresh and interesting reading experience.

These pictures are the focus of a little extra interactivity that a book on a device can offer that a traditional book could not.  Each one can be turned into a jigsaw to be solved.  This is quite simple but as an extra addition to the main event, the story, it provides further value and fun.  Children can also choose the order in which the story is told as well as interact with the scenes occasionally too.

The sound complements the story and pictures well.  The narrator has just the right voice for telling this story and is clear and understandable throughout and brings out the personality and meter of the well-crafted words.

Each line, you see, ends with a rhyme

Yes - a rhyme - each and every time!

Sound effects are used less often but enhance the interactive elements.  Rapidly tapping the screen when Stampy is at his most petulant brings him to a simmering rage whereupon magical chaos transforms the items around him.  A steam engine's whistle fulfils its traditional role of evoking a rage of epic proportions.

The sound effects and narration can be toggled on or off independently in the app's options.  This leaves the app experience in the hands of the user.  A young child alone can follow the story as the narrator reads it and each word is highlighted in time.  Alternatively, parents can read the story to their children without competing with the app's voiceover and still have the sound effects at the appropriate moments.

A further bonus to the app is found on the supporting website.  Something that is often an afterthought or a sales pitch, is in this case, a source of supporting resources including dot-to-dot puzzles and pictures to colour taken from the story.  Perhaps the most fun is the guide to creating characters from the tale in modelling clay.

Taken together, the writing style, the narrator's voice, and those gorgeous pictures leave you hoping that, like the story series of our own childhood, Stampy will return for further adventures.  For now, you and your child will love treating this app as an enhanced storybook for learning and fun.

You can download Stampy The Wizard on your iOS or Android devices from the app stores. Download the Stampy The Wizard app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.