Laura’s Star and the Dream-Monsters – A Magical Story Wrapped in an App

This app brings the story to life!

If you are looking for a neat and interactive way to bring a story to life and engage kids in tales that stay with them forever, look no further. Brought to you by Bastei and the creator of the Laura’s Star book series, with illustrations from Klaus Baumgart, comes an app that captures the imagination of a young girl and her little brother and makes magic come to life at night.

Laura’s Star and the Dream-Monsters features Laura and her brother, who seeks the help of her star to locate her brother’s missing dog, Tommy. Laura’s star comes to the aid of Laura and her brother, turning his bed into a flying ship, taking them to the City of Dreams to find the lost toy dog. The app brings the story to life with over 60 animated scenes that tell the tale of search to find lost Tommy. Every page jumps from the screen, stimulating imaginations with illustrations that are serene and enhanced, with clever sound effects.

Turn pages by tapping on the arrows that sit at the bottom right and left corners, while particular pages can be selected by tapping on the central icon at the bottom of the screen. The controls throughout the app are extremely intuitive, leaving the child to just sit and listen. As children tap around each page, simple fun animations increase interest. The narration is clear and can be customized to three different languages: German, English, and Mandarin Chinese.

From the app’s main page, you can get access to the controls by tapping on the teddy bear. From here you can do a variety of things to make the app more enjoyable. Volume for both the music and the narrator can be adjusted. You can change the language setting here, as well. You can share the story and your experience through social media. Finally, you can browse the virtual library and select from an assortment of other story books to read, all from the collection of books on the main character, Laura.

The real beauty of this app is that there are no in-app purchases available to tempt kids into taunting parents to buy something. Once you purchase the app, you get everything you need for a full experience. It would be extremely beneficial if the app were a bit more interactive, allowing “readers” to actually read the story, rather than just listen to it. There are no words shown, nor is there the option to turn off narration, so that kids themselves can read the story. The app could potentially turn itself into a “learn to read” app if it offered an option to display words and highlight each as the narrator speaks.

Yet, without this feature, Laura’s Star and the Dream-Monsters was still a sheer joy to download and listen to. It definitely serves its target audience well, with colors that soothe and make for an engaging experience. Add to this the small movements and animation that come to life when kids touch items that are artfully arranged on each page, evoking chuckles, delight, and wonderment. A true gift for kids. This app is also available for Android.