Mister Mushy Review

Reading to your children is a fantastic way of enjoying time together, as well as improving their comprehension skills and their knowledge of words. Plenty of research can prove that. Sometimes though, for whatever reason, it'd be more useful to have someone else read the story to them. Mister Mushy can cover that base, providing a delightful story about a huge dog called Mister Mushy and how he and his owner deal with an attack by a huge drake.

The story is from Aleksander L. Nordaas, a Norwegian screenwriter and film director who's turned his hand to interactive storytelling for children. While the tale itself is quite short, as such picture books often are, it's fairly interesting. Each 'page' consists of some great, clearly hand-drawn visuals, with you able to manipulate your iOS device to move things around a bit. The drawings are clearly very European in look and are pretty eye catching. Mister Mushy himself is a delight of unadulterated glee while looking fairly unlikely as a hero. A tap on certain areas and characters evokes relevant sounds, which work alongside the narrator telling the story.

The storytelling is conducted in a fairly genteel manner. It's ideal for the intended audience and reminiscent of any good children's audio book or TV based storytelling session. However, there is a flaw in such narration. Mister Mushy doesn't offer any subtitles – meaning if your child has a hearing impairment or would rather read to learn the words, this isn't possible. It's quite the oversight and something to bear in mind.

Still, if that isn't an issue for whatever reason, Mister Mushy is well worth checking out. The story is fairly appealing and has an important message behind it – just because Mister Mushy isn't the most obviously cute dog out there doesn't mean he's not incredibly loving. It's quite heartwarming by the end and is sure to entertain your kids.