Popular Trains Book Turned Interactive App

Popular Trains Book Turned Interactive App

Trains by Byron Barton has been a popular board book for kids since it was first released in 1998. Now the simplicity of the board book is available in the form of an interactive app. The Trains app from Oceanhouse Media helps children experience the popular book in a new way.

Popular Trains Book Turned Interactive App

Trains by Byron Barton has been a popular board book for kids since it was first released in 1998. Now the simplicity of the board book is available in the form of an interactive app. The Trains app from Oceanhouse Media helps children experience the popular book in a new way.

Playing with Trains

For children who are not quite ready to learn to read or who just want to have a little fun, the app features a few other interactive elements. As the trains run across the tracks on the page, children can tap them with their fingers. Double tapping a train causes it stop and it can then be moved back and forth on the track by hand.  Workers and other random objects throughout the app can also be moved along the tracks.

While children will enjoy moving objects back and forth on the tracks, this is one area where the app disappoints. The app promises movable elements on every page and it delivers, but objects can only be moved back and forth on the tracks. Trains cannot switch tracks or run off the track and many other objects on the individuals pages, such as trees, houses and passengers cannot be moved at all.

Despite the restrictions on what objects can be moved and how those objects can be moved, the app still offers plenty of interactive and engaging elements for children. While they may be momentarily disappointed by not being able to move a tree, their attention will be redirected when they click on a train and hear a satisfying “choo-choo” or listen to various words read aloud as they click around the page.

All images from Trains – Byron Barton

By Stacy Zeiger
Stacy Zeiger is an 8th grade English teacher, writer and mother of two who holds a B.A. in English and M.Ed. in Secondary Education from Ohio State University.