My preschooler is just starting to get into the idea of Halloween. He hates wearing costumes and doesn’t enjoy eating candy so the holiday has always been something of a hard sell to him. I wanted to share a few stories about Halloween with him so I asked to take a look at the latest Little Critter interactive ebook – Trick or Treat.
This was the first time I had ever heard of Little Critter. The character is an unknown in the UK; so despite the story being 20 years old, I approached it with as little knowledge as my son. We read the book through together at first with my son holding the iPad and turning the pages. The story is as gentle as a Halloween story can get; absolutely nothing scary to be found.
The plot follows the Critter family’s preparations for Halloween. They go to the store to pick out costumes, decorations, and candy then they and a farm to pick out a pumpkin. Later they decorate their pumpkin, Little Critter attends a party at school, and finally the whole family goes out trick-or-treating. Each page allows you to tap on words to hear them again and several objects in the pictures can also be tapped such as a skeleton decoration allowing your child can learn the names of these items. There is also a mini game included: Can you find all the mice hiding within the pages of the book?
I saw my son choose the listen to the story several times over the next few days. He had initially been unsure about going out trick-or-treating, partly due to being uncomfortable in the dark. The story allowed me to discuss the idea with him and reassure him that anything scary he saw outside would just be another child in a costume. He quickly came around to the idea and although still not sold on wearing a full costume (this year he’s going as Elliott from E.T.), is now happy to be joining the rest of our family.
If your child isn’t sure about Halloween or is finding any aspect of the holiday scary, this is the perfect story for them. Everything is covered in a friendly way and it makes a great bedtime story on the night itself.
This app was provided free for review purposes. Trick or Treat Little Critter is available for both iOS and Android.
