My daughter and I have been checking out a book and app developed by Planet 316 and WorthyKids/Ideals for the past few weeks.
The Planet 316 Story Bible and the companion Planet 316 Story Bible App work together to bring the pages of the Bible to life.
Planet 316 Story Bible
The Story Bible includes the old and new Testament with over 100 Bible stories. You and your children might already know some of them, but some might be new ones you can learn together.
The stories are written in a manner that is easily understood by kids, with awesome graphics with each story.
The book itself is a nice hardback book with sturdy pages with what I would call a semi-glossy finish.
Now, you can definitely just read the stories in the book like you would do with any other book, but then you would be missing out on the “extras” you would get if you were to use the Planet 316 Story Bible App that accompanies the book.
Interactive Bible App
When you have the app downloaded on your device, you hold it up over your page. When you do this, the pictures on the page come to life. The characters will move and talk. There is also music to go along with it, too. All you have to do is tap the character on the screen to hear what it has to say.
Here is a video of my daughter using the app on the “David and Goliath” story pages:
There were a couple of times where she moved the phone a bit so the picture went off of the app, but other than that, it is pretty seamless and easy to use. She does have to hold the phone a bit far away, so it can be difficult for her to use while sitting, but she still likes it.
My daughter has had a lot of fun with this app. Even the title page has special effects!
And, I didn’t get a picture of it, but there is a page at the beginning titled “Dear Parents and Grandparents”. At the bottom of that page is a boy. When Olivia held the phone over that page to see what it did, God appeared off to the left, off of the page. She thought that was super cool that something that wasn’t on the page showed up on the app.
This happened other times too. I remember a few times where something extra was on the app than what we could see on the page.
The app is available in the Apple App Store or Google Play. For Apple, it does require iOS 7 or later, so if you have an older device like we do you will have to make sure to put it on a newer device. My daughter has an older iPod, so we put the app on my phone. The only downside to that is that we obviously can’t use it at the same time. So, she can’t use the app unless I’m around. It’s not the end of the world. We are kind of used to that kind of thing since she has an older device.
Here’s what my daughter had to say:
“I like that it says things and goes into 3D. I would like it if it could read the story to me, too. It would be nice if it didn’t get messed up if I move a little. I like it. It is fun to use on car rides.”
So, there you go. Out of the mouths of babes… she gives you the good and the bad. :)
Overall, she likes it and has fun with it. She frequently will want to show my husband and me the things on the screen when she is using it, so that is a clear indication she enjoys it!
All you have to buy is the book. The app is free to download. In this age of technology, this is a super fun way to help kids get interested in reading Bible stories!
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