Franklin Frog is a stunning first app in a new Rounds series, developed by Nosy Crow. As a non-fiction app, it represents a new departure for the Nosy Crow team, but as with all of their other apps, it offers the very best experience in interactive and immersive learning through play. Biology lessons will never be the same again.

Franklin Frog and his complete environment are designed using only circles and divisions of circles. The circular theme of the graphics is mirrored in the structure of the story which rotates cyclically through the life story of Franklin and his descendants before eventually coming full circle.

The narrative is simple but highly effective with Read and Play (using child voice narration) or Read by Myself options. There are dozens of facts to discover through the interactivity – a great deal of thought has been given to the design of this to ensure that facts are carefully placed and never intrude into the flow of the story. Play your way through each stage of Franklin’s life from frogspawn to frog via tadpole, making him hop, swim, eat, hibernate in winter and find a mate. Navigation hints are clear and easy to use. A double tap to initiate each page turn prevents accidental turns whilst exploring.

The great strength of all Nosy Crow apps is the balance and use of each element of the technology to its best effect. The original music is always fun and this app does not disappoint. The musical highlight of the app is the opportunity to compose your own frog chorus using cute little frogs perched on lily leaves.

Rounds: Penguins is the next app in this series – I, for one, can’t wait to enjoy yet another outstanding Nosy Crow learning experience when it arrives.

Age range: 2 – 7

Educational value: science – life cycles, habitat, feeding habits; maths – circles and divisions of circles

Fun rating: 5/5

Educational rating: 5/5

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