The Mud Monster

Developed by: Tizio BV

Overview

Ages 3-6

A storybook app about friendship and adventure, we love this app for its circular nature that allows it to start all over again, and its exploration of illustration in storytelling.

Get Ready

Prepare to use the app by introducing this activity.

Surprises.

After their playful bath time, Edie Pip and Kay go on an adventure and find a surprise. Ask your child what they think the surprise is. What kind of adventure or surprise would they like to have after a bath?

Dive In

Help your child get the most out of an app experience by trying the following activities.

Illustration power. Read the two versions of the app. Ask your child about the differences in illustrations, which at times are subtle. How do the changes in color make them feel? What does Pip do while waiting in version 1? What about version 2? Does your child like one version better than the other?
Map it out. When the three friends roam across the map, look at all the places they might go. Can your child imagine what one or two of these places might be like? What kinds of animals live in the big forest? What types of sweets do they make at the sweet factory? When you finish the story, encourage your child to tell their own story about these three friends in one of the other spots on the map. What adventures do they have in the city?!
The Mud Monster’s Story. Where does the Mud Monster go once he is back in his shell? What does he do after the three animal friends return home? Does he have a family? Are they also mud monsters? Urge your child to extend the story of the Mud Monster!

Branch out

Extend the app experience with these real life activities.

Illustration power. As your child has begun to see in The Mud Monster, illustration can change the story even if the words remain the same. Another place we see this is in fables and fairytales, which are told and retold, often with similar text but new illustrations. Go to the library and take out a few versions of a story such as The Three Pigs or Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Talk about the illustrations in each. When the text is different, compare that, too!
Visual storytelling. Have your child pick one of their favorite stories to “re-illustrate.” Encourage them to draw or paint their own illustrations to accompany the story. Can they draw a picture that would change the story a little bit, the way the illustrations of the animals waiting do in the two versions of The Mud Monster?