Here’s a hashtag we didn’t expect to be writing in 2014: #Gruffaloselfie. But that’s exactly what a new, official Gruffalo app is encouraging children to create.
Released for iPhone and iPad last week, Gruffalo: Photo is the new app from Magic Light Pictures, the company which not only made the two Gruffalo animated films, but also the recent Gruffalo: Games app.
While that was a collection of mini-games, this is a creative app that aims to get kids out and about in the real world: “A safe activity app designed to get children having fun outdoors, inspiring them to explore the forests and green spaces around them,” as the App Store listing puts it.
It starts as a camera app, which children use to point and shoot whatever pictures they like – obviously, it’s up to you as a parent to supply the transport to a forest or green space! The app can, of course, be used anywhere.
Once they’ve taken a shot, they move to the Sticker Book section of the app, to add a range of Gruffalo-related digital stickers. They include characters (the mouse, the fox, the snake, the owl, the Gruffalo and the Gruffalo’s Child) and various woodland items from apples and nuts to flowers.
There are also phrases (“Aha! Oho!” etc) and a choice of four frames to superimpose on the photos. Then, they’re saved to a photo-book within the app, for looking at later.
What children can’t do, on their own, is share or print their customised photos from within the app. The App Store listing says that downloading photos to the device’s gallery is a lockable feature under the control of parents, although you may struggle to find it, since it’s not in the in-app parents’ menu.
Instead, you’ll need to go to your iOS device’s Settings menu and scroll down to Gruffalo: Photo in the list of apps at the bottom. Tapping on its name there brings up an option to show Export and Delete buttons within the app – the former is what you’ll need to get pics from the app into your camera roll.
Another feature of Gruffalo: Photo is a Things To Do button, which suggests different tasks for children to get the most out of the app: for example, challenging them to see how many different types of tree they can photograph, take a picture of someone jumping, and finding an object that an animal might use to build a home.
Finally, the parents’ section of the app – accessed by solving a sum to prove your venerability – includes a map of the UK showing the various Gruffalo’s Child Activity Trails, with links out to the Maps app to help you get to them.
Gruffalo: Photo costs £1.49 for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store.