The Snow Fox: A cool, free ebook app with an extra special feature kids will love

I will always be a fan of real books I can turn the pages to read while my kids are in my lap, but there are plenty of times when a sweet, entertaining ebook on my phone is a total lifesaver, like the The Snow Fox, which we discovered this week. It's a simple, sweet story about a child and a fox that's beautifully illustrated, and completely free on your phone.

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The app starts out by asking your kid's name and gender, which is woven in as the main character in the story. Then, as your child reads it aloud, the app listens to your speech and animates the story in sync with your reading. It's a simple but cool effect that our kids have enjoyed. Plus, the inspirational message about courage is something I appreciate. While there are some strained parts in the rhyme and the story is very basic, for a free app, this is definitely one worth trying. You can find The Snow Fox app at the iTunes store. We'll keep our fingers crossed that it comes to Android soon.