By George! App has farm tales for kids

At the same time, George teaches young minds about the day-to-day lives of Australian farmers - and where their food comes from.

South East creative agency helloFriday directors Simone Kain and Ben Hood have utilised their talents to introduce George the Farmer - the first children's farming story App on the iTunes market.

Last week, the App - suitable for iPhones and iPads - became available and is the number one book on iTunes for the iPhone.

Simone has written the stories and Ben has illustrated it and, as a talented musician, also recorded and sung a catchy theme song.

The App is designed for two to eight year olds, but they are confident adults will also relate to it. The first story in the series involves George planting a wheat crop, but further stories are expected to include harvesting the crop, spraying, fencing, making hay and cleaning troughs.

A package of activities included with the App includes three great pictures to interactively colour-in on-screen, a memory game with three levels of difficulty and a sing-along to the theme song.

Both parents of young children, Simone and Ben realised there was a place for Australian farming stories in books and Apps.

Simone has three young boys and when she first started looking for stories for her eldest son George, she realised the only ones available were written overseas.

"All the stories I could find were talking about barns and fields, not sheds and paddocks," she said.

"I found that along with there not being any Australian farming content for children with Australian accents and terminology, there also wasn't a true farming character worldwide. I wanted to create a character that could teach children about farming in a fun way."

Ben grew up on a property at Bool Lagoon and was passionate about the project, recognising a real disconnect between those living in towns and cities and farmers.

"I still have a lot of friends who are farmers so I know how important it is to recognise what these guys and girls do - they don't get enough thanks for all their hard work, providing the food we eat every day," he said.

"Letting kids know about farming as they grow up will hopefully lead to a future appreciation of farmers."

As the main character, George is a happy-go-lucky farmer in his 30s who is everyone's friend. His farm grazes sheep and cattle and grows crops, such as wheat, lucerne, potatoes and onions.

Unfortunately, his obsession with sports often leads to havoc because he is unable to finish jobs.

Luckily, his wife Ruby is there to lend a helping hand.

The read-along books have been narrated by SA radio presenter Peter Goers, from the ABC891 Adelaide evening program, who enthusiastically agreed to be involved.

Simone and Ben are confident the stories will resonate well with city and country children.