Review: Van Gogh and the Sunflowers (Books / Education / Kids / 5-11 years old)

iPad

$3.99

Scan for Appstore link

★ Webby Awards Nominee! ★ “Spectacular…An exceptionally bright and beautiful masterpiece.” – Kirkus Reviews
★ Babble: “Appeal[s] to bothside[s] of a child’s brain, and delights kids and parents by making art education fun” ★
Learning about art and animation is a pure joy in this magical, fun app!

“Where Camille lived, the sunflowers grew so high they looked like real suns – a whole field of burning yellow suns.” Young Camille befriends a strange visitor to his small town, and one day he brings this man a gift of bright, beautiful sunflowers. The man is the artist Vincent van Gogh, and the sunflowers quickly become the subject of a magnificent painting.

Based on actual events, this simple and evocative story (with text & illustrations by Laurence Anholt) has a powerful message of tolerance and compassion for those who appear odd or unusual, and who march to a different drummer. Anholt’s gentle and empathetic text is complemented by his lovely and expressive watercolor illustrations, and includes reproduction of some of van Gogh’s most famous paintings.

Perfect for youngsters 4-11, “Van Gogh and the Sunflowers” is an inspiring introduction to the artist and his paintings.

▸ KEY EDUCATIONAL THEMES:
-Art history: the ten paintings in the story can be viewed in a virtual museum, with detailed descriptions for each
-Introduction to basic animation: the armature game included in several pages gives kids a “behind the scenes” look at how the animation is being powered.
-Mechanical / spatial reasoning: The armature game also encourages spatial reasoning skills by asking kids to put the gears/pieces back together within a specified time.
-Acceptance of diversity: the mysterious painter is taunted by others in the village. This can be a discussion point with your child about accepting those who may appear to be “different”.

▸ REVIEWS AND ACCOLADES:
★Ahgoo Review: If you have an iPad you need to buy this app ★
★ Apptudes: “5 Star Rating” This is a must-have for any children’s digital library ★
★ SheKnows.com: This magical story implements reproductions of some of Van Gogh’s most famous paintings and includes beautiful watercolor illustrations ★
★ The iPhoneMom: I’m not sure that I can adequately describe the magic of this app. This one is something special ★
★ Kids Apps Mobi: The art of Van Gogh is made accessible to young children through this beautiful story of friendship and devotion ★
★ Digital Storytime: Van Gogh and the Sunflowers is an extraordinary app with unique interactivity ★

▸ KEY FEATURES:
★ Armature Game: Kids can touch an animated character to see the mechanism that makes it move. With another touch, parts of the armature structure collapse. Kids have to put all the pieces back in place in a given time to win. Completing one page would unlock another level and another page, keeping the child engrossed till the end.

★ Kids can also paint the characters on each and every page. The app is built in such a way that the paint will not spread outside the character. Once the characters are painted they become a part of the artwork and animate accordingly. **

★ A tap on Van Gogh’s paintings transports the reader to a Museum where they can experience 10 different paintings of Van Gogh, listen to and read fun facts about each one of them. The 3D experience created here is sure to be a hit with children.

★ The soothing music in the background draws the reader to an era of great art and ensures he stays there till the end of the app.

Please rate and review the app. Your feedback means a lot to us!
Stay in the loop: www.auryn.com
Like us: Facebook.com/appsbyauryn
Follow us: Twitter.com/aurynapps and pinterest.com/appsbyauryn

What’s New in Version 1.0.7
Bug fix and optimizations for iOS 6

Get –Van Gogh and the Sunflowers: encourage creativity and teach your child art history in this interactive book with text and paintings by Laurence Anholt– in App Store (iPad)