The Witch and the Christmas Spirit (iOs) Review

Slim Cricket brings an adorable Halloween/Christmas mash-up in the form of their latest interactive storybook, The Witch and the Christmas Spirit.

In The Witch and the Christmas Spirit, readers once again return to the house of the witch with no name. She’s a jolly, happy looking witch (not scary at all), and she is happily going about the business of decorating her house for Halloween. Her happy decorating is soon interrupted by a call for help from her drippy-nosed friend. He is at the North Pole, trying his hand at elf duties, when a crisis occurs. All of the elves – and even Santa – have fallen asleep, and he can’t wake them up. Though Christmas may be a few months off, he fears that if they aren’t awakened soon, there won’t be enough time to get all of the toys made in time for the holidays. And so, though she longs to finish up her decorating, the witch with no name sets off on her broom to tackle the problem at the North Pole. Along the way, she’ll face a lot of obstacles – and learn a lot about Christmas.

Can the witch save Christmas in time? It’s up to the readers to help her out. As an interactive storybook, The Witch and the Christmas Spirit is a blend of storybook and game. First, players must decide if they want the story read to them, or if they want to read it themselves. Then, the adventure begins. The story flows nicely, and the kids are able to click on random objects on the pages to interact with them. For instance, clicking on a candle will light it, the television turns on, etc. Every few pages, there is a game to play that relates to the story. These vary in type, but all have some sort of educational value to them. Sorting the mail for Santa involves identifying names that start with certain letters, helping the reindeer exercise involves figuring out proper timing, and so forth. The games are all skippable, so there isn’t any frustration for younger readers (but mastering them all helps unlock a bonus secret later).

The Witch and the Christmas Spirit is a fun little app that helps kids get in the holiday spirit. The storyline is well suited to young readers, and it’s educational too. It gets kids excited about reading in a fun and interactive way.