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OOKS app product test: the feedback thread

Hello.

This is the feedback thread for those of you who are testing the OOKS app and OOKS book for us, as part of our latest MadeForMums product test.

You should have received an email with your instructions and app code to claim your free personalised OOKS book by now. Do have fun with your child playing with the app and creating your book, and please do take some pictures of your child, while they do this.

Please give us your feedback on this thread by answering the following 4 questions:

1. What does your child think of the OOKS app?
2. Tell us a bit about the story your child has created with the OOKS app and their OOKS character?
3. How does your child like their personalised OOKS book? Please upload a picture of your child playing with the OOKS app and/or reading their OOKS book. (To upload a pic, click the little camera icon at the top right of the 'Add your reply' box)
4. Would you recommend OOKS to a friend with a child the same age as yours?

Everyone who leaves quality feedback and answers all 4 of our questions and posts pictures (and is part of our product test) will be put into a draw to win a £200 John Lewis voucher and an OOKS book. 

Thank you so much – and good luck!

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OOKS is a digital play experience that lets children become the author of their very own real world book. 

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  • I downloaded the OOKS apps from Google Play on to my Moto G mobile and also our Huawei tablet.  It was easy to install but both times I got warnings about the size of the application!  Choosing the OOK character design was fun, but neither I or my daughter understand the opening video still…..

    Several times the app seemed to crash on both devices, with the screen going black and taking several minutes to either quit out or continue.

    I was excited when she created her first book and I got an email to say it could be previewed and then we could buy the book she had made.  However I was not very excited when I saw that each book was £16.99.  I would not pay that. Especially when it’s not a book she has made herself, but just a choice of pre-empted scenarios.  I can’t even see much in the preview I get so I’m not sure what the finished book will be.     

    1. What does your child think of the OOKS app?
    She loved creating the OOKS profile character (making two) and even created one for her brother.   She loved doing the colouring in and finding the objects in the scenes.  She spent hours on it and I had to tell her when it was time to stop.  However she said ‘all the talking is so boring’.  She got quite annoyed with all the dialogue in the beginning. 

    She got very frustrated with the black outs from the app.  She created 5 books on the first day, but when I explained we can only order one for free and she needed to choose one, she really wasn’t bothered.  She enjoyed making them and going through the process but getting a hard copy of the book was not important to her. At £16.99 per book there is no way I would buy these.  It would be nice if you could save a soft copy on download for a fraction of the price maybe.
    She enjoys playing on it. Her best bit is looking through the telescope.

     2.     Tell us a bit about the story your child has created with the OOKS app and their OOKS character?
    When I asked her which is her favourite book, she looked confused and asked what I meant. I said she has created five books; which one is her favourite, and can she tell me about it?  She said “I’ve got one book. How do you know I have five?” (I get an email each time one is created).  It isn’t clear to her when a book is created or how many she has done. In her words this is one of her stories (aged 7 years):

    “I went to the bakery shop and I sold some food. And I then felt a rumbling noise over OOKS HQ. Then I went to the top of the cliffs to see (what’s his name?) someone. They were on his latest invention which was a telescope. And I had a look through the telescope, there was a red button to touch. I saw an erupting volcano shooting marshmallows. I also then saw a foot cave and I went inside and I had a little chat-chat-chat. I looked for some clothes and then a mole got cured (he had a cold). Then I went to his home and we had a little disco and I dressed up and there was another shiver (earthquake) then this rocket appeared and spoiled the party.  I went back to the cliffs and I saw the dinosaur and other OOKs.  It was a storm at night. Then he dived into the water (or maybe it was outer space actually) and then I went to the marshmallow volcano. And I put a spring inside, a really big spring, and he went on the spring and lifted up to the moon and crashed in to the moon. There were holes with the rocket in the moon. Then done.

    It was interesting to make because you play it but it turns into a story once you have done it. I also like about it, is that it crashed into the moon which is weird!”

    Her OOKS characters are popstar and unicorn. She likes popstar best. She made two characters so she can make 52 books (as she says each character can make 26 books).

     3.     How does your child like their personalised OOKS book? Please upload a picture of your child playing with the OOKS app and/or reading their OOKS book. 
    She likes the OOKS characters but isn’t interested in ordering a hard copy of the book. I have yet to order one, but will update my review once we choose one and get it. I’m still not sure what it will look like as the preview is very limited.

     4.     Would you recommend OOKS to a friend with a child the same age as yours?
    Yes if want them to entertain themselves for a few hours, but perhaps she is a little young to understand it all.  I’m not sure I follow the stories to be honest.

    I wouldn’t recommend it for getting the stories they make.  I still much prefer her sitting at the table with pencils and paper and making her stories from her own imagination and drawing her own pictures. She loves reading and recently made a book about fairies which she made me staple all the pages together to make into a ‘real’ book. This means far more to me than an online book she put together from pre made options.

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  • We chose the book we wanted to order. When you go to checkout it does give you a full view of the book, page by page, with added word searches and games for the child at the end of the book which looks great. It is £2.99 for delivery so it's an eye watering £19.98 for one book. 

    I entered my gift code which reduced the total to zero but I couldn't complete the transaction without entering a valid card number.  OOKS have confirmed even with a gift voucher you must enter payment details, albeit nothing will be charged. I'm not happy with this as I see no reason to demand card details when nothing is due. It also means if you buy a gift voucher for a child they cannot use it unless a grown up gives their card details. 

    Unfortunately this means we cannot review the book. Very disappointing.

  • Hi Vikster2000, we're sorry you feel this way. We obviously don’t want anyone to feel disappointed with this product test.

    We have talked to OOKS and they point out that, even when the book is given out free with a code, the credit card details are needed to check the person ordering is over 18 – that’s just in case an enthusiastic child tried to order a book without their parent knowing about it (a bit like restrictions on in-app purchasing).

    OOKS have also assured us that no credit card details are retained by them once the order is processed. 

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    1. What does your child think of the OOKS app?

    I downloaded the app onto my daughters ipod. She loves the app and had fun making her ook and playing and making stories.  


    2. Tell us a bit about the story your child has created with the OOKS app and their OOKS character?

    She has made a few stories now and is having alot of fun using the app and making them. She has gone through and made ones with a mole party and going to visit the mole hills. You cant catch her attention when shes using it. She was even getting her little baby sister involved in picking the choices.  

    3. How does your child like their personalised OOKS book? Please upload a picture of your child playing with the OOKS app and/or reading their OOKS book.

    We havent received our book yet but i will be uploading pictures when we receive it. I do have pictures of her enjoying the app though. 


    4. Would you recommend OOKS to a friend with a child the same age as yours?

     I would definitely recommend the app to other people and friends with children the same age. She cant wait to take her book and show all her friends when it has arrived. 

  • 1. What does your child think of the OOKS app?

    Initially the reaction was, why? I think Isaac thought I was asking him to do more homework 😂 being a slight technophobe when it comes to hes android tablet we downloaded the app on my iPad, that’s the last time I’ve seen my iPad for a while. Isaac is very animated/dramatic and loves creating things, the original set up of ooks meant he was in his element. He has since made just about every different ook out there. He loves the fact he can read the instructions or they can be read to him.  There is lots of fun to be had and the colouring aspect has also kept him quiet for a long time. He would have liked to choose the other stories that are currently locked.

    2. Tell us a bit about the story your child has created with the OOKS app and their OOKS character?

    We have had several different stories, I’ve sat and read them all! His favourite OOK is the original one made. It contains all his favourite things. A cheeky yellow ook, with panda like features. His cheesy grin holding a story book with ambition to meet a pop star. 

    (Isaacs story, in his words)

    My ook started in the kitchen making my chefs hat, I used my own design. I served purple over cooked chicken.I used snow to put out the fire.Marshmallow volcano was where I discovered the rumblings.I coloured my own mask to blend in.I ate the marshmallows to try and save the mole and tea-Rex.We went to mole town, I changed my outfit and had a boogie.My brave ook travels through a volcano to try and stop a drill from making the earth shake. He then launched the drill to the moon. On a spring I made myself. Everyone was safe!

    3.How does your child like their personalised OOKS book? 

    Isaac loves all his books, and is very excited to receive his very own book in the post. However he wanted to buy them all. At almost £20 with p&p I don’t think I’ll be buying anymore. He also  tried to show his baby brother how it worked...

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    4.Would you recommend OOKS to a friend with a child the same age as yours?

    I would definitely recommend to friends, Isaac has really enjoyed testing and playing the app. However now he’s done it he’s looking for new stories therefore I can imagine him getting bored of more features aren’t added. He is 6 and a great age to test the app. However my 10 year old had no interest. 

     

  • Belle was very excited to get the chance to try this app, she loves story writing so the prospect of writing her own story really appealed to her (though it wasn’t quite what we were expecting- initially i thought she would be almost writing the story rather than having a choice of options but especially for younger children the options are great ). It was easy enough to download onto the iPad and following the instructions given, Belle was able to begin the story on her own. She did struggle once with loosing her ook when looking around and we had to go off the app and back on again but it was easy enough 

    1. What does your child think of the OOKS app?

    She really enjoyed choosing her own character and deciding where they went and what happened. she thought she would have more say in the story rather than choosing options but she loves apps and enjoyed following the story around. She got frustrated when she clicked on something when looking around and it chose that as the choice - for example the “stepped on chicken” food choice, she didn’t want that but accidentally clicked on it and she couldn’t find a way to alter her choice without restarting the whole thing. She was also very frustrated when designing the chefs hat and the other colouring elements, they froze a lot and she had to wait a while for the app to play catch up and she could begin colouring again. Overall she really enjoyed playing on this and couldn’t wait to show her sisters 

    2. Tell us a bit about the story your child has created with the OOKS app and their OOKS character?

    she created a hot pink unicorn with chocolate hooves- she absolutely loved this and liked that she could choose elements and colours etc to create her own character 

    The story she created: 

    Belle-Ook met chef ook in the kitchen and created her own chefs hat, where they served stepped on chicken, she used snot to put out a fire, she chose the volcanos where she discovered the rumblings, she then chose to go to mole town where she had the chance to choose different outfits and have a disco.

    3. How does your child like their personalised OOKS book? 

    Belle is really chuffed with the book which arrived yesterday, she was waiting daily for the postman for it to arrive! The quality of the pages is great and she loved seeing her ook and the elements she designed on the page in print, she loved that she was named as the author. I think it’s a great book but I’m not sure they I would pay full price for this, it’s a bit of a novelty and could be a good gift but the time spent per book was short lived and due to the nature of the app, they could keep on creating book after  book. I think I’d use the app but probably not purchase the paper copy regularly 

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    Q4 would you recommend OOKS to a friend

    i would definitely recommend the app as belle had a fab time using it and it is lovely for them to receive a book which they had a hand in creating and with their name on the front 

  • We downloaded the app on Joe's tablet and my phone we have had a few issues with it on the tablet with it not loading and just  black screen but it has worked fine on the phone. As Joe is more tech savvy than me he took over the app and moved through to create his story.

    1. What does your child think of the OOKS app?

    Joe thinks the app is great he like a that you get to create your own characters and  stories.

    2. Tell us a bit about the story your child has created with the OOKS app and their OOKS character?

    This is answered in Joe's words 

    Joe created a deep sea diver ook with a sandcastle in his helmet and a spaghetti tummy he also likes action.  Joe ook went into the kitchen to help out he chose the special of the day which was purple overcooked chicken and made his own chef hat.  Then an earthquake happened.  Joe ook put out a fire with bubbles and went to speak to brainy ook.  He found Toe Nail Cave and Marshmallow Volcano he chose to go to toe nail cave he saw some arcade games and a sneezing mole.  He went to mole town for s party and did the monkey dance.  A drill came through ruining the party.  Joe enjoyed creating his own fireworks and lightning and used a ramp to send the drill into the sea.

    3. How does your child like their personalised OOKS book? Please upload a picture of your child playing with the OOKS app and/or reading their OOKS book.

    Joe was excited to receive his book through the post ( it was delayed by the snow) he thinks that it is really good to see his story in a proper book. As a parent I feel children will like this it' something for them to show and be proud of and i love books however the cost of the book would put me off ordering as they are quite expensive at almost £20 with delivery which is quite disappinting for the child Joe has already asked if we can order more.

    4.Would you recommend OOKS to a friend with a child the same age as yours?

    I would definitely recommend the app to my friends with similar age children i like that there is an end product that you can share with your child and even if you don't order the book you can still see the stories on the app and you can redo them so that they can be different. The colours and graphics are good nice and bright. 

    Overall we were very impressed with the app the only things are the freezing of the app on the tablet and the cost of the books.

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  • My 5 year old daughter created her own ooks book She was excited at the idea of creating her own story. 

    1) Maisie loved using the app. She found it intuitive and it was easy to find on the app store. She liked designing her own pictures and enjoyed seeing her name as part of the story.She enjoyed having choices and being able to make decisions as to how the story would progress. Maisie commented on the bright and colourful characters in the app. 

    2) Maisie's ooks character was called Maisie ooks. Her story involved her character visiting the hospital where there were two dinosaurs present. She enjoyed drawing pictures that then became part of the story. 

    3) Unfortunately we have not received the ooks book yet. We ordered it straight away but with the snow we have not received post this week. Maisie is excited about receiving it and asks daily if it has arrived yet. 

    4)"I have already recommended the book to friends .My daughter is hoping to bring it to school to show her friends when it arrives. 

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    1. What does your child think of the OOKS app?

    Leila loved the app, especially getting to create her own character. She did start to lose interest after it crashed and we had to start again, but over all she really enjoyed playing on the app. 


    2. Tell us a bit about the story your child has created with the OOKS app and their OOKS character?

    Leila wanted her character to look like a pirate so made him a little pirate hat. She used snow to put out a fire (because that’s what Elsa would do apparently 😂). Leila-ook has many adventures in this book, and Leila’s favourite is probably when Tea-rex swallowed a pirate ship and they have to use a vacuum to get it out. 


    3. How does your child like their personalised OOKS book? Please upload a picture of your child playing with the OOKS app and/or reading their OOKS book. (To upload a pic, click the little camera icon at the top right of the 'Add your reply' box)

    Leila was over the moon when her book came. She’s read it over and over again and loves that the drawings she created (with help from Mum) are used in the illustrations. She takes it to bed to read of a night. The book is fantastic and such a lovely keepsake. 


    4. Would you recommend OOKS to a friend with a child the same age as yours?

    I think the concept of the app is fantastic, although it does seem to need a bit of work because it crashed first time of trying. My child was so excited to see her character come to life and be part of her own story. I’d definitely recommend the app to friends with children of a similar age. The book that came in the post was amazing, my daughter couldn’t wait to read it and see what she had created. It is very well made and such a lovely thing to keep and look back on. I think it is reasonably priced for what you get too. So happy we got to try this app, we will treasure the book forever :) 

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    1. What does your child think of the OOKS app?


    My son absolutely loved testing and using this app. 

    His favourite thing was making his own character. He thought it was very interesting and made him think about all the thing that he loves. 

     

    Also when he looked at the preview of the book and saw his name as a author and little introduction about himself made him feel very special and proud of himself. 

    I also thought it was a lovely touch!

     

     2.     Tell us a bit about the story your child has created with the OOKS app and their OOKS character?

     

    My son (age 9) was super exited about writing his own story. Creating his own character was fantastic and really funny. My son chosen half monkey / half superhero with a pizza pattern holding football (how random 😂 and how amazing)

    It wasn't exactly what he expected, as he thought he is going to have write something rather then just choose the options but that actually worked out really well and I can see that with a younger child would work even better. 

     

    The only thing I would point out that could be improved in my opinion is that when child is creating a story and choose an option then he could still go back one step if he doesn't like how the story turned out rather then starting the whole story again. 

     

    I personally loved the beautiful personalised introduction and I think for this reason alone is worth purchasing a book at least once to own such a nice piece of memory! 

    Although it would of be great if there would be an option to purchase more then one book with special discount for multiple purchases. As I parent of more then one child myself I think it could be very pricey to order a book for ever child if you have more then one. 

     

     

     3.     How does your child like their personalised OOKS book? Please upload a picture of your child playing with the OOKS app and/or reading their OOKS book. 

     

    Unfortunately we haven't received our book yet. 

    When we ordered the book it was stated that should be dispatched within 3 days but it took 8 days before we received a confirmation that it is actually dispatched. Delivery was probably delayed even more due to the snow (but I am happy to come back here and edit my feedback once the book arrives) 

    We both can't wait 😊 

    My son was waiting for the postman everyday therefore I've noticed how long it took for the dispatch! He already made plans how he can show off his creation and he arranged a special "show and tell" with his class teacher. (So I am really hoping it will arrive in next few days)

     

    4.     Would you recommend OOKS to a friend with a child the same age as yours?




    I would definitely recommend this app to anyone with a child in my sons age group (9 years old or younger)

    We had a lovely time using the app together and probably will still continue using it 😃

    It's a great innovating app that will encuradge children to read.



     

    I hope that would help and best of luck with your amazing app 😘




  • 1. What does your child think of the OOKS app?

    When I first told Sophie about it she was unimpressed with the idea. As soon as she started to play it though she enjoyed it and I had to limit her playing time! 

    We downloaded it on my phone as the tablets we have aren't compatible. This meant she occasionally got frustrated with trying to do things on the small screen.

    Sophie said all the talking is a bit boring but she liked choosing what her OOK should do.

    After a couple of plays the app stopped loading on my phone. She was really disappointed about this and kept asking if it was working yet, which I took as a good sign that she enjoyed it!


    2. Tell us a bit about the story your child has created with the OOKS app and their OOKS character?

    Sophie enjoyed creating her Sophie-OOK and really took her time over the personalization options. 

    As she created the story she managed to put her personality into it, even within the (in my opinion) limited choices given. For example, when she needed something to bounce, she made a bouncy flower. I felt like the story lines available were all aimed at the idea that children like "gross" stuff. I'm hoping that when more stories become available they will take a different theme as most children I know are more dimensional than that!


    3. How does your child like their personalised OOKS book? Please upload a picture of your child playing with the OOKS app and/or reading their OOKS book. (To upload a pic, click the little camera icon at the top right of the 'Add your reply' box)

    Sophie was over the moon when her book finally arrived. I was slightly disappointed that it wasn't dispatched until 11 days after I'd ordered it, much longer than the timescale it states.

    She loved seeing her name on the front of the book and the introduction based on her choices when creating her OOK was a fun touch. We sat down together with her big brother to read the book and Sophie was excited to see her drawings. Both children really liked the extra activities at the end of the book and as a parent I thought they were a great way to get them to engage with the OOKiverse.

    Sophie has tucked her book away in her room with her special things so she was definitely pleased with it.

    The book itself is good quality but I'm not sure I'd want to pay the rrp for it. I will probably have to though as my son now wants to create one 😂

    4. Would you recommend OOKS to a friend with a child the same age as yours?

    I think for a 5 year old there's still a fair bit of parental assistance needed with the app. My daughter did really enjoy it however so I would probably recommend it to a friend with a child the same age. Although only if they have an android tablet / iPad as I don't think playing it on the phone is ideal.

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  • Hi everyone, thank you all so much for your feedback so far. 

    Thanks to the snow, we know a few of you are still waiting for your books to arrive, so we're going to leave this thread open until the end of the week; should your book arrive soon, please do come back and answer this question: 

    How does your child like their personalised OOKS book? 

    This will then complete your feedback. Thank you again 🙂

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    Isaacs book came today and he loves it! He is so excited to take it into school and show his teacher and friends.

    I was really surprised at the quality and size of the book, it's really well made and great colours and pictures.

    I'd imagine if these books were cheaper before long we would have a big collection!

  • Hi everyone, just a reminder, if your OOKS book has arrived this week (please do let us know if it hasn't!) please answer the following question: 

    How does your child like their personalised OOKS book? 

  • imageimageimageimageMy daughter loves her ooks book. Will definitely be recommending it to friends. She couldnt wait for it to arrive and hasnt put it down since it has arrived. Even been ringing family to tell them about her book

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    Forgot to add a photo of the book with my original feedback 

    she has also since taken it into school to show her teacher and classmates 

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    My daughter Maisie has loved reading her OOKs book. She was very proud of herself when she saw her name as the author. She has taken her book into school to show her friends and teacher and many of  her friends commented that they would like one too. 

  • Hi everyone, thank you for posting about your OOKS books - the children look delighted! 

    We're just waiting for one more feedback to be posted, and anyone else who has just received their book, and then we will close this thread and pick a random winner for the voucher. 

  • 3.     How does your child like their personalised OOKS book? Please upload a picture of your child playing with the OOKS app and/or reading their OOKS book. 

    My son was extremely exited when he received his parcel. It would be great if you could choose to put your child's name as a addressee, which would make it that little bit more special. 

    The book looks great and a high quality. I was actually really surprised with that.

    Going to a bookshop you would easily spend £15-£18 for a average looking book, so spending few extra pounds for something that special make it for sure worthwhile! 

    My son loved his book so much that I was forced to make him a special costume for a schools book day event. He also received a special award for his creativity, so now the whole school knows about this amazing OOKS app and their books (and none of the children will stop talking about it 😄 sorry mums and dads 😘)

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