Why You Can Trust CNET Storybook app first to include sign language mode
An iStoryTime iPad app for the children's book "Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy" is the first to include a sign language mode for deaf children, and costs $2.99.
The trajectory of the "Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy" story was fairly standard, as far as modern stories go. First, it was an illustrated book. Then a DVD. Then iStoryTime developed it as an iPhone app.
But it went a step further. As of last week, the award-winning children's book by Tina Turbin and illustrated by Aija Jasuna is the first to be available as an iPad app with a sign language mode.
"We are extremely proud to release the first-ever children's book app for the deaf community," says iStoryTime co-founder Woody Sears. "Our goal is to use technology to make children's books accessible and entertaining, and we are delighted to be involved in the production of a book that will provide deaf children with the opportunity to read the popular 'Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy' story."
In the story, the main character (Jimmy) discovers that a dragon (Danny) and his navigator (Skipper) reside in a simple seashell Jimmy finds on the beach. Lessons about getting along in spite of differences abound.
iStoryTime, the iPhone App Developer for DreamWorks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon," sells its apps in 80 countries at $0.99 for iPhones and $2.99 for iPads. The latest sign language app is for the iPad only, for $2.99, but Sears tells me the reception has already been so strong they may develop it for the iPhone as well.