Zorro is the latest interactive multilingual kids books from French app maker Chocolapps.
According to its spokesperson, Electronic Arts alum Cindy Lum, Zorro is the latest in the Paris-based firm’s set of 24 e-books. All are classic tales — and these interactive books aren’t the kind of media we used to see in the multimedia 1990s heyday. They’re altogether different — multiplatform, multilingual and, someday, multiplatform.
At the SF AppShow, Lum told host Gina Smith it is a perfect companion to a child’s reading and foreign-language education curriculum. It doesn’t hurt if you’re trying to quickly learn some easy words and phrases in Spanish, French, German, Mandarin and other often used languages for business travelers.
But for kids, features like a Karaoke reading mode, pronunciation assistance, syllabic breakdown, explanation and image representation of complex words and, where appropriate in languages, indication of silent letters and vowels help kids truly learn a language — in terms of both speaking and reading it.
Children and their parents can record their own voices for scenes with key story characters including Zorro and four others.
Parents Magazine in France selected as its Parents Choice, the first time it awarded the label to a mobile app.
The app is available on the Apple iTunes Store.
