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The big adventure of a little line (Le petit trait)

Le Petit Trait
Reviewed on 12/10/19

A book app about a boy who finds "a little piece of line" and picks it up.  The story follows the adventures of the boy and the line throughout his life and offers the readers opportunities to draw pictures with the line (or erase lines) at points in the story that move the story along.  The tale includes imaginary fire fighting and bullies that can be erased as well as lighter things like drawing wings on the boy when he falls so he can fly up.  Each time there is an opportunity to draw, the app provides a dotted line that kids can follow (tracing lines is a great pre-writing skill!) or they can turn off the dotted line and draw whatever they'd like to draw.  They can also doodle away from the provided lines if they'd like to, even if the lines are still on the screen.  Some of the drawings are quite complex (especially a "city" scene the includes both the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty!), so be sure to reassure your child that they can draw whatever they like if they are feeling daunted by the task.  When the drawings are complete, they will often animate, but will always move the story forward.  I listened to the story being narrated in English and a few of the words were mispronounced, so you may need to read it together the first time through.  You can choose from seven languages (French, English, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese) and both the written text, the narration and the narrator's voice will change.  The app is based on a print book available in French.