AAUGH Blog reader Pat scored his second useful tip of the week by alerting me to something that’s going on at Starbucks outlets… something I never would’ve discovered myself, because coffee ain’t my cuppa tea. Starbucks gives away some piece of culture each week, and this week it’s the new Charlie Brown’s All-Stars! app for Apple devices (iPhone, iPod, iPad, iPoodle, whatever). This is one of those interactive ebooks that Loud Crow Interactive has been putting out, with little animations, interactions, for the young readers it reads the book out loud to you (narrated by Stephen Shea, who in his youth was the voice of Linus) and you can select individual words to reread — lots of nice touches. This one adapts a special that I think gets too overlooked; it was produced early on, when the recognized classics were being produced, but because it isn’t tied to a holiday, it hasn’t aired as often and thus doesn’t have the public recognition. Overall, the app is an amusing thing to go through once, if perhaps not as delightful in impact as the Loud Crow A Charlie Brown Christmas, and it’s certainly something you can hand the kidlets in the house to keep them distracted for a while. If you go into a Starbucks, you don’t need to disturb the barrista for this; they usually have a little stand with the cards you need to get the free app somewhere you’re likely to see them after you’ve placed an order. When I grabbed it, it was in a little display next to the napkins and stirrers. And if you don’t have a Starbucks nearby, the app can be purchased for $3.99.

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