I love when new products allow kids to enter the world of their favorite books. Who doesn’t want to be fully immersed in their favorite literary worlds, and connect with their favorite characters? I am also a fan of integrating some technology into my daughter’s learning, so I am always interested in products that can help me to teach. Today we had the opportunity to check out a new augmented reality app that allows kids to enter a beloved children’s book, while they play along with the characters.

Standard Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a commission from purchases you make through the links in this post. This post is sponsored by Playing Forward. I received a complimentary copy of the app in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

The Adventures of Taxi Dog was written by Debra and Sal Barracca and illustrated by Mark Buehner. Maxi was a homeless dog, roaming the streets of New York City alone, when he meets Jim, a kind taxi driver who takes  him in. Jim lets Maxi join him in his taxi as he picks up all kinds of passengers, and together they enjoy the sights and sounds of the city, and get into all kinds of fun adventures. The rhyming text and the lively illustrations capture the delightful energy of the city, and the unlikely pair of friends driving around it.

Bringing Maxi to Life

The new app Maxi the Taxi Dog from Playing Forward allows users to enter the world of Maxi and Jim through 3D storytelling and augmented reality. The app can be used as an 3D animated storybook that can be read aloud, or as an interactive AR game. As an animated storybook, kids can listen to the story, or read along with the words on the screen. While playing the AR version, kids can interact with Maxi in the real world, exploring the story from different viewpoints. As Maxi and Jim pick up passengers and make friends around the city, kids can help the characters face fears and solve problems. This opportunity for hands-on social-emotional learning is a great addition to the original story!

Our Experience with Maxi the Taxi Dog

The visual effects in this game are incredibly detailed. (Although this isn’t surprising since they were created by an Academy Award winner for special effects). My daughter loved the adorable Maxi character, and making him move around the screen. I appreciated that there were so many ways for her to interact with the story. In addition to the social-emotional learning benefits of the game, the voice over and the words on the screen provided more language learning opportunities while she was playing along. Hearing stories is an important part of reading development for kids, so the addition of the read aloud option is a great bonus.

Related Post: Learn how your dog can help your child learn to read!

I am the type of person who always takes the instructions out of the box before beginning a game, so apps always take me a little longer to jump into. However, my daughter had no problem diving in to this game and figuring out what she was supposed to do. (There is probably an age or generation joke to be made here, but I am going to ignore that). The app was very responsive to her touch, which is important because she didn’t get frustrated with it.

How to Get the App

The app is compatible with these Apple devices running iOS 11.0 or later:
• iPhone 6s and 6s Plus,
• iPhone 7 and 7 Plus,
• iPhone SE,
• iPhone 8 and 8 Plus,
• iPhone X,
• 12.9-inch iPad Pro Wi-Fi + Cellular (1st and 2nd generations),
• 10.5-inch iPad Pro Wi-Fi + Cellular (1st and 2nd generations),
• 9.7-inch iPad Pro Wi-Fi + Cellular (1st and 2nd generations),
• iPad (2017, 5th generation)

This app brings a beloved children’s book to life, while also providing readers with opportunities for social-emotional learning and reading practice. Plus, all of this learning is wrapped up in a fun and immersive game! Learn more about the app over on the App Store today!

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