Me Books – Rachel Bright Week giveaway
This week, we’ve been checking out Me Books. We are very late to this party as we have heard so many good things about Me Books in recent months from other book bloggers and app enthusiasts. So when Me Books approached me about a competition they are running to celebrate Rachel Bright Week it seemed like a good time to take a look. We already love Sneak HD by the same developers, so were keen to see how they have translated picture books to the iPad.
Me Books is a free app offering access to a collection of traditional and modern picture books available as individual in-app purchases. A free copy of the classic Ladybird version of Little Red Riding Hood is included with the app (although see below for extra free books!) I plumped for Primrose by Alex T Smith as our first paid download (£1.99), as I’ve been keen to get my hands on one of his books for ages. It’s a wickedly humorous story about a princess who finds life at the palace boring, boring, boring – but when her parents call in Grandmama to get her to conform to princessly ways, they get much more than they bargained for.
Me Books is perfect for those who like their books on the iPad to resemble real books. They look just like smaller versions of the real thing, with swooshy page turns, end papers and no animation. When you open the app, you see a simple wooden table top with the books you own laid out by cover. Narration and sound effects are easy to use – just tap on the text or picture to activate. The narrators are a varied bunch of celebrities including David Jason, Rik Mayall, Tamsin Greig and Brian Blessed. The comedian Lucy Porter does a great job at bringing Primrose to life. In the absence of any animation, the other main selling point of Me Books is that you can record your own narration and sound effects using the Hot Spot system. Young children might need help with using the Hot Spots, but it is a perfect shared rainy day activity for parent and child.
Primrose layout showing Hot Spots
Now – to the competition! Rachel Bright is a very talented author/illustrator whose books Love Monster and Walter and the No-Need-to-Worry Suit were recently added to the Me Books collection. To celebrate Rachel Bright Week on Me Books, just visit http://bit.ly/10wVNoL and register for the Me Books club, then download the app for free if you don’t already have it. Everyone who enters will receive two free Me Books (I Don’t Want to go to Bed and Rigby). Me Books will then choose three winners to receive Rachel Bright’s Love Monster and Walter and the No-Need-to-Worry Suit next Monday (8th July) and will notify the winners via email. Good luck!
I leave you with an interview with Rachel all about how she started writing, what Me Books brings to her books, and why she isn’t very good at sticking to rules!
Me Books approached me to host this competition; however as per my usual policy, I purchased my own copy of Primrose and all views on Me Books are my own, unbiased opinion. For more information on Me Books, browse the collection at http://www.mebooks.co/collection/