Production credits: Usborne Publishing Ltd
Launch date: 9th September 2011
There are certain people out there who will see this app, breathe a sigh of relief and say ‘bloody genius’. I’ll go one step further. They will have small children (probably girls), an iPad and a long car journey ahead of them.
Now we’ve clearly identified the market, let’s look at the app. Any normal adult who downloads it will think ‘£3.99? For this?!’ But wait. There is sorcery at play. A 4-year-old girl will see the app, open it and vanish. You literally won’t see her…for about an hour. Trust me, this is valuable time in the world of parenting.
Usborne have done extremely well with their sticker book range, and a digital version is a natural and welcome step. Now girls can dress up their dolls – or the ‘ladies’ as I like to call them – again and again. Halter-neck tops, skinny jeans, headbands, ballet pumps, are simply dragged and dropped onto the model. She is then whisked into a scene of your choice such as ‘beach’, ‘disco’ or ‘wedding’, complete with its own backing track. You can give her some friends – after styling them, of course – and add an assortment of objects such as cakes, pets or a sun lounger. Then approve, save and admire, or do what my daughter did and send every picture to Usborne publishing for their gallery (apologies, I wasn’t in the room at that point).
Why will little girls love this so much? Because they love choosing outfits and this app gives them instant gratification. It’s far less fiddly than dressing an actual doll. And if their chosen ensemble looks weird, they change it. With nearly 200 ‘stickers’ this could keep them busy for hours, days, weeks!
Any downside? Well, yes, actually. Can we have a few more hairstyles, some different facial expressions and a wider range of shoe styles? Thank you.
So in short, Sticker Dolly Dressing won’t help with reading skills but is definitely one to download before your next holiday.
For more information visit www.usborne.com or follow on Twitter at: twitter.com/usborne.
Price: £3.99