Storied MYTH: Adventure and Wisdom Await… {Product Review}

Cynthia received an Adventure Kit ($9.99 value) to try out with her family in exchange for this review.  All opinions expressed here are honest and her own.

 It’s a new technology that provides an unprecedented connection between digital and physical storytelling for children. Physical and virtual worlds combine in a unique way with the launch of Storied Myth, an intriguing and entertaining subscription combining a reading app for 6-10 year olds with physical mailings subscribers receive in the mail. With the millions of apps available to kids and families these days more and more parents are searching for “active” apps that are both enriching and entertaining for their children. Storied Myth believes active screen time is not enough. To truly spark a child’s imagination, great storytelling and play needs to be combined with tangible, tactile activities.

Using augmented reality technology, Storied Myth allows children to become a part of the story as they solve the puzzles and bring additional elements of the story to life by revealing clues in the ongoing adventure story set in the fantasy world of Pangea. Storied Myth has added important layers of technology and puzzles while focusing on stories that build universal values like humility, honesty and empathy. The characters come from diverse backgrounds where they make mistakes and learn lessons. As children read the story they learn those same values.

Once the reader registers online, he/she will get the first piece of the “adventure kit” in the mail to help solve the first puzzle. As a paid subscriber, readers will receive a new part of the adventure kit each month to be used with the ongoing adventure story as well as monthly “surprise and delight” mailings. Every time a reader solves a puzzle, they will unlock additional content that moves the story forward.

“We believe that this is the first time a company has combined a digital story with tangible products in this way,” said Storied Myth co-founder Kabir Seth. “We are focused on creating a truly immersive world by using technology as a bridge between the story and the puzzles.”

Storied Myth co-founder Rubina Singh agrees. “Storied Myth’s vision is to take the reader on a journey, the same way the great stories we read growing up transported us. Technology now allows today’s child to experience the same timeless journey but in much more powerful and immersive way.”

Storied Myth will also offer cultural folktales, character-building stories and non-fiction narratives every month.

Product Review

Upon receiving my first “adventure kit” thru the mail to get this adventure started, my kiddos (ages 5 and 14) were totally geeked to get going.  There were a lot of cool adventure items like puzzles and arrows (to name a few) in baggies and clues for Chapters 1-3.

We first started downloading the app which took some time, so maybe with hindsight, I should have had the kids download the app before the kit arrived so they could get acquainted with the app and the introduction into it.  But not a problem, we moved right on once the app was loaded.  There were introductions on the app for the kiddos and also a parent tab to bring me up to snuff what this was all about, so it was very helpful.

Upon entering the first chapter, the narrator begins reading the story to the begin the adventure.  The player can turn the pages as slow or fast as they want and the narrator continues.  Realize that the narrator reads 29 (like half) pages before the first puzzle begins.  My 5-year-old was getting a little antsy awaiting the starting of the REAL puzzle as my 14-year-old was trying to pay attention to the story to help with the upcoming puzzle.

When it was puzzle time, both my 14-year-old and 5-year-old and I had to work together to locate the hands on material and utilize the ipad to get the chapter accomplished and move on to the next chapter, but that would be another day.

In the end, we successfully completed the 3 chapters and completed the puzzles in each chapter.

Further Findings

This product is intended for 6-10 year olds, but I found it to be for ages 8-14 or so.  With the lengthy reading and the intricate puzzle pieces, it is a little over the heads of the young ones (at my household anyway).  Kiddos also need to be ipad savvy to accomplish some of the tasks.  (My 14-year-old seemed better at the ipad techniques more than I was.)  The chapter numbers were handwritten with sticky notes on the paper puzzle pieces and paper clipped together.  This didn’t seem to be a problem, but I could see families with multiple kiddos taking everything out and mixing up the pieces where as an envelope for each chapter might be helpful.  At any rate, the wooden puzzle pieces were really nice and easy to use and the kiddos kept going back to use the pieces even once that specific puzzle was finished. They were a really good quality.

All in all, this product was a really great “think outside of the box” kind of project for my kiddos as it combines both online content and hands on content.  They never had anything like this before and it really was a good fit for them. It would be a great Saturday project to do one Chapter a Saturday or a great summer project.  Also, this product would fit a homeschooling family looking for a little extra fluff for those parents wanting a little downtime for the kiddos, yet have a learning experience.

Give it a try!

The app is free to download and customers can try the first puzzle by registering for free at the Storied Myth website: www.StoriedMyth.com

The ongoing plan is $9.99 monthly and includes a new piece of the adventure kit each month, monthly mailings and all stories.

Give Michigan Mom Living some feedback once you try it out!

Good luck in your new adventure!