Hat Monkey

Title: Hat Monkey 
Author: Chris Haughton 
Illustrator: Chris Haughton 
Developed By: Fox and Sheep GmbH
Version: 1.5
Updated: November 6th, 2014 

• Size: 89.6 MB
• Price: $2.99
• App Rating: 4+
• Made for ages 5 and under
• Compatibility: Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

Genre/Format: Fiction/Book App
iTunes Description: Hat Monkey is a small monkey with a hat who needs our help around the house. Young children will find the objectives satisfying as they help Monkey do everyday things they cannot yet do themselves, like turning off lights, opening the door for him, turning the pages of his bedtime book or sending text messages. They can also speak with him on the phone, and play music or simple games like hide and seek. The beautiful simplified graphics and interactions allow even the youngest children to identify what Monkey wants, to empathize with him, and learn how they can help him. 

Chris Haughton’s award-winning books ‘A Bit Lost’, ‘Oh No, George!’ and ‘SHH!, We Have a Plan’ have been translated into over 20 languages around the world. Instead of adapting his books, Hat Monkey was conceived and designed from the start as a stand alone app with engaging interaction at its core. 

• Languages: English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish

What I Think: Both of my kids adore Hat Monkey. It's so fun to see a book app that both my 4- and 7-year-old  giggle over together. They go back to it on their own and together and think it’s hysterical. There is something about the sweet little monkey on the screen and how they can interact with him. He never uses real words, he just makes noises and again - it has my kids both erupting in giggles. They love to interact with the app. After reading parts of Chris Haughton’s other books in the app, they begged me to get the books from the library. Their love of the book app led to wanting to read the physical books. In my mind Hat Monkey has huge kid appeal, the artwork is great, and the interactivity is wonderful. 
     In high school, I remember doing an activity where two people had to act out a scene but they could only use the words "Yes" and "No". It was all about intonation and body language. when you take the actual words out, it's amazing how much information can still be conveyed. I wonder if this might be an activity to connect with Hat Monkey. How we can still infer information from him even though he isn't speaking actual words. I also love that there is an element of hide and seek and talking on the phone in this app.
Read Together: Grades Pre-K - 1 
Read Alone: Grades Pre-K - 1 
Read With: Shh! We Have a Plan, Little Owl Lost, and Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton 
Writing Prompts: Write out step by step directions to explain your favorite game to Hat Monkey.

I *heart* It:

Please note that information shared here was current as of time of post. 

Be sure to visit the iTunes store for any updated information!

Let's Celebrate The CYBILS 2014!

It's time to CELEBRATE This Week with Ruth Ayres from Discover. Play. Build.  Every week Ruth invites us to share our celebrations from the week and link up at her blog. What a fun way to reflect on everything there is to be thankful for. 

*                  *                   *

This week I'm celebrating CYBILS 2014!

*throws confetti*

Apparently, I never shared this post about being part of this year's Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards. I'm super excited to be part of Cybils again and have enjoyed reading all of the book apps that were nominated. We're in the heart of discussing book apps that we have read and I'm planning to share some reviews in the next few months. I'd like to share the other judges I'm working with this year. 

Jill Goodman

appoLearning

https://www.appolearning.com/

@queenofappland

Emily Lloyd

Little eLit

http://littleelit.com/

@poesygalore

Cathy Potter

The Nonfiction Detectives

http://www.nonfictiondetectives.com/

@cppotter

Colby Sharp 

Sharp Read

http://mrcolbysharp.com/

@colbysharp

Stacey Shubitz

Two Writing Teachers

http://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/

@raisealithuman

Erin Warzala

Falling Flannelboards

http://fallingflannelboards.wordpress.com/

@fallingflannel

Jen Vincent

Teach Mentor Texts

http://www.teachmentortexts.com/

@mentortexts 

@u46insttech

I'm excited to be working with these dedicated judges and to be part of Cybils again!

What are you celebrating this week?

Cybils Book Apps Short List 2013!

The finalists for the 2013 Cybils Book Apps have been announced! It was a great experience to be part of the first round of judging. We had an amazing list of nominated book apps to look at. If you haven't seen the list of books apps that were nominated, I definitely recommend that you check them out! And especially look at our finalists - here they are in alphabetical order!

Disney Animated

written by Disney

developed by Disney and Touch Press

nominated by Shannon Miller

Endless Alphabet

written and developed by Originator, Inc.

nominated by Pink Me

MirrorWorld

written by Cornelia Funke

developed by Mirada Studios

nominated by Liviana

To This Day

written by Shane Koyczan

developed by Moving Tales inc

nominated by Jill Goodman

Wee You-Things

written and developed by Wee Society LLC

nominated by Barb S.

Do you have a favorite book app from this year or previous years that I should check out? I'm planning to start reviewing book apps here at Teach Mentor Texts and would love to feature some of your favorites! Please share!