The Three Little Pigs is a classic fairy tale which should have an outstanding version for the iphone. Hold the iphone... Not so easy to find. I did find one version that is very good. Let's look at the ones that missed the mark first. Some of these are rated with 4 stars at the Applestore. Must be all their friends and families. Classic Three Little Pigs is reviewed in the Preschool column and is a Buyer Beware.

Three Little Pigs by Storyboy. Only an autoread. No read by myself section. The illustrations are very cartoon like. The pigs barely look like pigs although the wolf is very good. The pigs are friends not brothers. The text is large enough to be readable, but is not highlighted as read. The wolf is blowing the house but no huffing and puffing. How can there be a 3 pigs story without huffing and puffing? The wolf falls into the soup. The pigs pulls out the wolf, fix his sore bottom, and he promises not to eat meat. Yikes! The story is an abomination. No animation, no music and not worth the $0.99. (BB)

Three Little Pigs: Level F leveled Reader by Language Technology Inc. Level F is supposedly 1st grade. There is only a read to myself level. No auto read. No music. No animation. Very simplified version. At the end has questions about the main idea, compare and contrast, and analyze, etc. Have to go page by page to get back to the story, no back to home. Illustrations are ordinary. The only good thing is the cost. $free... Maybe a home school family might use it. No real literary value. (BB)

The Three Little Pigs by iReading2. Evidently the parent company is Appletree Books. Has an auto read, a read to myself, and a bookshelf for other books by the same company. If by chance you would want to waste your money on more of these. In English and Chinese. The text is very small and difficult for a child to see. This is a politically correct 3 pigs. There is little black pig, little white pig, and I would guess a gay pig named Little Flower who is the eldest brother, shades of Andrew Lang's version. The illustrations do not match the story. There is no black pig or white pig. The illustrations show a brown pig and two pink pigs. There is a forest of candy trees instead of apple trees. Joseph Jacobs must be turning over in his grave. There is huffing and puffing in the animation, but the words huff and puff do not appear in the text. The text says "evil" wolf too many times. Actually the word is not necessary. The pigs crying is obnoxious. The wolf sounds like a dog. $0.99. (BB)

The Winner

The Three Little Pigs by Kidztory. If it had the part about the apples and the fair, it would be perfect, but it's almost awesome. Music on intro only. Auto read and read by myself. Charming read aloud by a child. Text is large enough for kids to read, but not highlighted as read. Plays with the theme a little by saying mom told them to do their best when she actually sent them out to seek their fortune. Pigs not too cartoon like. Has the huff and puff in the text and even the "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin" which is in none of the above versions. The teeth chattering of the scared pigs adds to the story. Animation and sound effects are good as the wolf huffs and puffs and blows the houses down, licks his lips in anticipation of a pig dinner, and runs out of the house with his tail on fire. Just misses overkill on pig grunting. $0.99. (aa)

The criteria for iPhone books is the same as print books in some ways. A good story is a good story. If the story is a classic, is it dumbed down? Has conversation been added to the story that doesn't fit? It can have a modern twist, but it should enhance the story, either with humor or interesting illustrations, hopefully both. The illustrations should always match the writing on each page.

Audio books, CD's, iPhone, and internet stories have additional criteria. If the story has some sound or music it should not distract from the story. If the story is animated the animation should not be overwhelming. The stories should always have a read to me and a read to myself section that can be turned off and on. In the read to me section it's a plus if words are highlighted as they are read. The story should have carefully crafted illustrations. If it's a classic with a classic illustrations by the author, those illustrations need to be there. The example used here of The Little Red Hen uses beautifully constructed illustrations with a folk art theme. The narration, read by a child, has given the Little Red Hen a clear sparkling voice. In this book the narrator misreads one word on the first page and the words are not highlighted as they are read. However, it does not affect the charm of the narration. The reader can choose narration in either English, Spanish, and Chinese (Cantonese). When looking for the app on your iphone search by Kidzstory although Stepworks is listed as the publisher. Kidzstory also has The Tortoise and the Hare and The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Kidzstory is probably an imprint of the parent company.