Transformers Rescue Bots: Dino Island
Transformers Rescue Bots: Dino Island gallery
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Transformers Rescue Bots is an interactive story based on an episode of the show Transformers Rescue Bots called "Dino Island." The story begins by introducing the villain and the Rescue Bots' mission. Scenes include some intense peril for the Transformers, like getting trapped under rocks and carried away by drones. There is also some cartoon violence where the transformers shoot water and electricity at drones and push the bad guy. The background music intensifies the drama, but it can be turned off in the settings. Parents need to know that the storyline includes a plot to rescue Frankie, the daughter of Doctor Green, and his female colleague, Professor Baranova, that does reinforce stereotypes that girls need rescuing. Even though the female characters ultimately free themselves, the Transformers are credited with their escape.What kids can learn
The story follows the plot of one episode of the show, so fans will be especially engaged. Kids not familiar with the show will still be able to follow along.
Despite some mixed messages related to gender stereotyping, the story plot features conflicts and resolutions that will teach kids good story structure and the listen-along highlighting will encourage kids to follow the words as they're read.
Parents can view a simple report that shows how much of the story kids have read and how many of the vocabulary words they reviewed. The report does not include specific words.
What's it about?
Kids can choose to read TRANSFORMERS RESCUE BOTS: DINO ISLAND themselves, to have it read to them, or to watch it on auto play where the pages advance on their own. Page selections across the top of the page make it easy to jump to certain parts of the story, and kids have a few places to engage with the story -- fighting off drones or helping Rescue Bots change into dinosaurs. All interactivity happens through tapping, and most elements are highlighted when a kid can tap on it to make something happen. With the Dino Cam, kids can take pictures of themselves with a Rescue Bot. Photos can be saved to the camera roll.
Is it any good?
Though there are many appealing elements to Transformers Rescue Bots: Dino Island, it's more of a mixed bag than earlier apps. Fans of the Rescue Bots will appreciate being a part of the mission -- reading and playing along with the interactive parts of the story. The graphics and voices are all excellent quality, and kids have options to read independently or listen along, which allows for young readers to explore in various ways. The Dino Cam is a fun feature, too, though it is tricky to center the images perfectly. While the attempt to honor diversity is evident -- including female characters of color -- it appears at first to fall short, with the two women being in need of rescuing by a male doctor, a boy and the all-male voiced Rescue Bots. The women turn that around, though, and escape on their own while the Rescue Bots are held captive. What could be a great message is canceled out when the credit goes to the Rescue Team after all with the closing line "Thanks to the cooperation of the Rescue Team, Frankie and Professor Barrow are safe, and so are the Dino Bots!" For some kids, the take-away will be that the Transformers saved the day when the female characters actually saved themselves: a point that could be powerful with an altered ending.
Families can talk about...
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Families can talk about the rescues in the story. Why does the Rescue Team get credit for rescuing Frankie and Professor Baranova when they actually got away on their own?
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Check out our list of apps that feature strong girls as lead characters or this list of gender-neutral apps.
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Use the ebook as a reading tool: After listening to the story a few times, see if your emerging reader can decode the words.
App details
| Devices: | iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad |
| Price: | $2.99 |
| Pricing structure: | Paid |
| Release date: | May 7, 2015 |
| Category: | Books |
| Topics: | Dinosaurs, Superheroes, Robots |
| Size: | 95.20 MB |
| Publisher: | PlayDate Digital Inc. |
| Version: | 1.0 |
| Minimum software requirements: | iOS 7.0 or later |
