It’s A BAD day To Be A FLY!

Appy Chat & Giveaway

Developer: Stories and Children

Appy Chat:

Why did you decide to develop this app?

Have you ever had an uninvited, annoying visitor turn up for a meal? An invader with 6 legs, buzzy wings and a horrifying cargo of germs?

This story was inspired by such a visitor … well, actually, it was inspired more by the reaction of my husband. Any fly who turns up at our house is met with a look that says “your days are numbered!”

Such visits are followed by my husband chasing the fly and my young sons rolling in fits of laughter as they watch the ensuing battle. And so starts our story …

It’s a bad day to be a fly because Mr Sty has a look in his eye that says,

 “I’m going to get that fly. That fly cannot have my pie!”

On a more serious note, I wrote this book app to foster and support a love of reading in children. After all, who can resist reading a captivating story full of humour?

When did you first release this app?

“It’s A Bad Day To Be A Fly!” was released in February, 2013.

The feedback from parents, teachers and children has been fantastic.

I’m still to receive feedback from any flies, however. It seems that they might not be so enthusiastic about the story despite the fact that they were painted as very cute and friendly creatures. In fact, the story depicts a second storyline outlining how flies must achieve different goals in order to graduate from fly school. This is a very serious business!

How long did it take you to develop this app?

It felt like it took eternity to create this app but in reality it was probably more like one year. There’s so much work that goes into creating these apps. Unlike many app-creating companies, Stories And Children is a very small family business in which I get to wear many hats (e.g., author, illustrator, developer, marketer, etc.). If only there were more hours in the day!

However, I have loved watching this story come to life. It is a rewarding challenge and experience!

What is your favourite feature?

Apart from the story itself, I love the activities at the end of the app which include Find the Flies, Number Path, What’s in Fly’s Kit?, Spot the Difference, Hidden Words, and numerous mazes of various difficulty levels.

What is your favourite page in the app?

My all time favourite page occurs after Mr Sty has filled the entire atmosphere with insect spray. Breaking out of the green fog flies a super cool fly wearing a gas mask!

This was so much fun to draw and hopefully a surprise to the readers as they encounter it. Although, for anyone reading this interview, I suppose the surprise factor has now been eliminated! Hmmm … I’ve said too much!

What skills were you hoping to help the end user to develop?

“It’s A Bad Day To Be A Fly!” aims to help children grow in their confidence and ability to read. To do this, we have used:

• Rhyme: helps children to recognise word families and gives them confidence to join in the reading process. This book also focuses on the many different ways the long vowel sound ‘i’ is written (e.g., pie, fly, eye).

• Rhythm: allows children to recognise patterns in words and sentences. Makes words flow and reading a pleasure.

• Repetition: provides children with multiple opportunities to recognise, revisit and master written words. Repetition offers the security of predictability which is important when developing reading confidence.

• Humour: engages children in the text. Actually, humour engages adults as well as children. Maybe that’s why I still love reading stories with my children!

• Vibrant illustrations: helps explain and expand the text through the character’s expressions and actions.

• Sound recordings: including music, sound effects and the option of “Read to Me” or “I’ll Read”.

• Interactive activities: allows the children to revisit language or concepts within the story.

• GUIDE NOTES for parents and educators: provides a wealth of information and suggestions for activities and experiences to extend children’s learning based on concepts introduced in the story. The activities cover a wide range of curriculum: language, art, maths, science, moral/emotional/social development as well as physical development.

What age range would this app most suit?

3 to 8 years of age. These book apps provide excellent support for children who are learning to read independently. They are also great for reading with younger children.

Are any new updates coming soon?

We are working hard to bring out a new update for “It’s A Bad Day To Be A Fly!” which will include word and phrase highlighting, individual word narration and more interactive activities.

The new version will be compatible with iPad as well as android devices, PC and Macs.

We are also about to release another new children’s book app, “Aunt Lou and the Cockatoo” at www.StoriesAndChildren.com. This book focuses on the vowel sound “oo” as in ‘boot’.

“Aunt Lou and the Cockatoo” is a humorous story about a mysterious parcel, a loyal cat, a crazy cockatoo and a whole lot of mess!

We’re doing our best to ensure children have a wide variety of terrific book apps to enjoy reading … all of which are inexpensive!

Description:

It’s a BAD day to be a FLY! is an interactive illustrated children’s audio book by Susan Syddall.

Engaging illustrations and text have been designed to motivate children to read for pleasure and information.

STORY 
Mr Sty is just about to sit down and eat his delicious apple pie when along comes a fly!

This is no ordinary fly. This is a trainee fly who is learning to do what flies do best.

Find out what a trainee fly needs to learn and how Mr Sty plans on keeping the fly away from the apple pie!

WHAT’S UNIQUE ABOUT THIS APP? 
Our stories are designed to help children develop a love of reading. We do this by using:
•Rhyme: This helps children to read word families and develops reading confidence.
•Rhythm: Helps children recognise patterns in words and sentences and makes reading a pleasure.
•Repetition: Allows children multiple opportunities to recognise, revisit and master written words.
•Humour: Engages children in the text.

We aim for our books to: 
•Foster a love of language
•Build and extend vocabulary
•Capture children’s interest
•Inspire creativity
•Kindle imagination.

Each story contains GUIDE NOTES for parents/educators which suggest activities and experiences which will extend children’s learning based on concepts introduced in the books.

FEATURES 
– Original score and fun sound effects.
– Interactive learning activities which encourages comprehension and language development.

MORE ABOUT: It’s a BAD day to be a FLY! 

It’s a BAD day to be a FLY! is part of a literacy series designed to help children learn to read. Fun activities and games based on ITS A BAD DAY TO BE A FLY! are available from our website.

Off iPad Activities:

Free Guide Notes/Printables
Activities 4 Kids
Reading Tips

Specifications:

Category: Book
Released: February 10, 2013
Version: 1.0
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation) and iPad. Requires iOS 4.3 or later. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

Links:

Website: Stories and Children
Facebook Page: Stories and Children
Pinterest: Stories And Children
You Tube: Susan Syddall
App: It’s a BAD day to be a FLY!
Cost: $2.99

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Giveaway until May 29, 2013:

Enter  ‘HERE’