Who? Comics with Kaylee

Thank you to who?Comics for sponsoring this post and encouraging my child to read biographies in comic book form! Please click here to learn more about the app. And follow who? Comics on Twitter for updates

I am such a big believer in the importance of reading. And thankfully, Kaylee is quite the little reader herself, and can often be found reading anything she can find - books, magazines, and comics. Reading opens a whole wide world of reading.

Additionally, she also loves all things technology - playing on the computer, using her ipod touch, and when she's allowed to, taking over the iPad to play games.
And when you can find something that combines these two things - reading and learning, and fun, state of the art technology - well, you've definitely got a winner!

I was recently asked to review an app offered for the iPad. who? Comics is a collection of biographical comics on worldwide figures written for children ages 8 and older. I think that this is still a fairly new app, because the selection of biographies is still pretty small - there were about 30 different comics offered. The cool thing, though, is that there's a nice mixture of historical figures and contemporary figures. Some of the biographies include Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King Jr., and Coco Channel. A great mix of people, known for all different reasons!

The who? Comics download comes with the Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates comic for free, and additionally, Kaylee opted to read the who? Comic for J.K. Rowling and Walt Disney, which I thought was a fun selection. Kaylee and I both liked that the storyline for the biographies started with the person's childhood, and went through their whole life story. Even though they are written in comic form, I still feel the biographies are inclusive and factual. Also, I thought there were some really sweet and encouraging parts in the J.K. Rowling comic, as you can see below.

The comics were fairly well written, although not without the occasional typo or mistake. (I was actually proud of Kaylee's sharp reading skills that she noticed a typo!) I think the comics were drawn well too, and were engaging to kids of all ages. (as you can see, Kaylee didn't expect to have to share with Isabelle!)

This app works really well on the iPad. The screen is large enough that you get a really good sized comic to read, and you simply touch or swipe the edge of the screen to turn to the next page. It's easy to navigate and easy to read.

All in all, we really enjoyed the who? Comics app and its stories. Kaylee spent a solid hour reading her comic, and would occasionally stop her reading to tell me something interesting about the story. (Did you know the name Dumbledore, from Harry Potter, actually means bumblebee? Fun fact for ya!) I think this would be great for all late elementary and middle school students. It's definitely educational and informative, but a fresh change from boring encyclopedia articles and biographical books. Check it out in the itunes app store! 

Thank you again to who? Comics for sponsoring my post. Please click here to learn more about the app. Visit who? Comics for updates.