Every year, a new crop of children encounter Justin Fletcher for the first time through his shows on CBeebies: Something Special, Gigglebiz and Justin’s House.
He’s probably the most familiar face on children’s TV here in the UK, and now he’s making the leap onto iPhones and iPads with a planned series of ‘Justin’s World’ apps. Starting with Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
Released last week, it sees Justin telling the famous fairytale through a mixture of video and mini-games, including dressing up as Goldilocks AND the three bears.
There are elements of both Something Special and Gigglebiz in the app. The latter comes from the dressing-up skits: Goldilocks could easily be a character in Gigglebiz. And the former in the staging of the videos, with their stark white backdrop and Justin on the left-hand side of the screen.
It certainly stands out from other book-apps we’ve seen: not better (or worse) than something like Nosy Crow’s marvellous Little Red Riding Hood book-app, but different in an interesting way. A reminder that there’s more than one way to tell an interactive story, you could say.
The app starts with Justin telling the story to your children, before moving into an animated scene where they get to sweep away leaves to reveal the bears’ cottage.
This pattern of video then interactivity continues throughout the app, with Justin regularly scooting off-screen to return as Goldilocks. The story has been tweaked a bit: here, she’s not naughty, but IS lazy. In theory she’s tidying up the bears’ house, but in practice, your child is doing it for her.
The mini-games focus on the tidying: dusting away cobwebs, mopping the floor, vacuuming the carpet, sorting out socks, putting toys in a box and so on. There’s education here – counting, matching and so on – but it’s lightly worn, as in Justin’s TV shows.
They’re all simple, and explained by Justin’s voice – ensuring pre-schoolers who can’t read yet know exactly what to do. For slightly older kids who are learning to read, there’s text for the mini-game scenes which is highlighted as it’s read out.
The theory behind this app is that your children sit and watch/listen to Justin’s video bits, then get to do something in the mini-games: rather than making it all action and no story.
We confess to not expecting this to work with our always-impatient four year-old, but the video really held his attention well (pictured). We think he took the story in well as a result. Sadly, the mini-games haven’t yet inspired him to tidy up his real-world mess…
There are risks for someone like Justin Fletcher in making apps: imagine the disappointment of parents and kids alike if he put his name to poorly-designed apps, or worse, apps that used in-app purchases (IAP) in a way that felt inappropriate.
Thankfully, that’s not the case, and not just because there’s no IAP here. Goldilocks and the Three Bears is a fun and finely-crafted app that will delight Justin’s fans, and perhaps find him some new ones around the world.
Download link
iPhone and iPad (£2.99)