Elmer the Patchwork Elephant comes to Oceanhouse Media! (review & giveaway)- CLOSED

Are there any children's book characters that you love... and will continue to love no matter how old you are? For me, there are actually quite a few. One of those characters is Elmer the Patchwork Elephant.

I don't remember exactly when I first learned about Elmer. I am quite sure that it happened since I became an adult. However, something about this unique little elephant immediately drew me in, and I fell in love with his patchwork exterior.

Recently, Oceanhouse Media partnered with Anderson Press to bring the tales of Elmer the Patchwork Elephant to digital book format. The first omBook (Oceanhouse Media digital book) to be released in the series is Elmer's Special Day.

Here is a bit more about this title: (as taken from the Oceanhouse Media website):

Elmer's Special Day

By: David McKee

Available for: iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch

It's almost Elmer's Day again for the elephants, and they are getting their colourful parade outfits ready. But in their excitement they are making an awful lot of noise and upsetting the other animals. So Elmer changes the rules and invites every single animal in the jungle to join the parade. And they have a special surprise for Elmer... what will it be?

I realized as soon as I heard about this omBook, that I had not shared any of Elmer's stories with Raileigh before. So, I was more thrilled than ever to see what she thought about this digital book.


There are three ways in which this book can be read:

• "Read to Me" — listen to the narrated story with words highlighted as they are read
• "Read it Myself" — read the book in its traditional form
• "Auto Play" — plays like a movie, automatically reading and turning pages. Great for younger children!

Though I usually don't use "Auto Play" as often, I did with this book. Perhaps it's because I have been really tired lately or perhaps it's because I really wanted to soak up the book as well. The book uses the original artwork and text from David McKee's book. As it is read, the page zooms and pans so that you get the opportunity to enjoy all the details he includes.

Also as the book is read, the individual words are highlighted as the reader says them. This has became a feature that I actually appreciate a lot more than I used to. I want to start working with Raileigh more on beginning reading skills. She is learning a lot recently what sounds different letters make, as well as realizing that a "little" letter and a "big" letter are actually the same letter. So, this feature of the book is really beneficial and can help me to offer real life application of skills we are currently working on.

Now- there is one small thing I don't like about this book- the narrator. Her voice is lovely. It has a beautiful accent and I am sure I could listen to her talk all day long. However, when it comes to children's book narration, it's not a voice I prefer. The accent can make some of the text difficult to understand. For example, it sounds like she calls Elmer "Elma". I still have not convinced Raileigh what the elephant's real name is.

Otherwise, Elmer's Special Day is absolutely wonderful. Raileigh and I have both read this book numerous times since we downloaded it to our iPhone. It's wonderful how Oceanhouse Media continues to bring classic and timeless tales such as this into a digital form that can be enjoyed anywhere!

The lovely folks at Oceanhouse Media want to share this wonderful new release with you. One lucky reader is going to receive a code to download their very own copy of Elmer's Special Day!

Here's how to enter:

Mandatory Entry (Must be done before any extra entries will qualify)

You must follow my blog via Google Friend Connect. Also, head on over to Oceanhouse Media. Let me know the title of another app that catches your attention.

Extra Entries (Please leave a separate comment for each entry)

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Please visit the Extra Giveaway Entries page for even more ways to gain extra entries into this giveaway!

Giveaway is open worldwide. Giveaway will close June 2, 2011 at 11:59 pm EST.

No monetary compensation was received for this post. I received a promo code for the app to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed above are my own.