Children’s Book Review: My Friend Isabelle: iTunes Version
July 29, 2009 by Karlynn Johnston
Filed under Book Nook
My Friend Isabelle is a wonderful, simple tale about two friends, Charlie, a typical child and Isabelle, a child with Down syndrome. The story winds through their usual Friday play date together, sliding down slides at the park and having Cheerios for snack time. It also delicately points out their differences in ways that children can relate to; Isabelle’s shoes are small, and Charlie’s are big, Charlie knows lots of words, but sometimes Isabelle’s are hard to understand. This story was written by Isabelle’s mother and is a true story of Isabelle and her friend Charlie.
What makes this story unique for our review is that this version of My Friend Isabelle was viewed on our iPod Touch while we went on a road trip last week, it was amazing on our road trip for my son and daughter to be able to listen to stories. The only problem is that we now need two iPods to prevent fights!
The ITunes version is very well done, the words are highlighted as the story goes along for early readers to follow and the illustrations look bright and cheery. When the illustrations are too large, and span both pages, the screen scrolls across both slowly, so you can see it all. The narrator does an excellent job reading the text with enough inflection in her voice to keep the story entertaining.
If you are interested in this or other books, visit PicPocket books to see their other selections.
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Page Count: 28 pages
Publisher: paper version: Woodbine House, ITunes version: PicPocket Books
What to expect: a charming story of two friends who enjoy the same things, play the same games, but are different from each other in certain ways.
Publisher’s synopsis: A heartwarming story of two friends, Charlie and Isabelle, a typical child and a child with Down syndrome. Charlie tells about the things they both like to do together, and also how he and Isabelle are different. Lively full-color illustrations dovetail beautifully with the text to bring this simple story to life. Encourages readers to think about what makes friendships special and how our differences can make the world more interesting.
About the Author: In 1997 Eliza Woloson established the Global Education Fund, a nonprofit organization that builds libraries in orphanages around the world. She lives in Boulder, Colorado, with her husband, Todd, and two children, Isabelle and her younger sister Audrey.
Our Rating: I give the story a 5 out of 5 for teaching tolerance and being a beautiful story about acceptance that my children love to read. I also give the ITunes platform a 5 out of 5, and would definitely purchase other books that use this platform again!
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