The Gift for iPad

What it is: an interactive book (about 30 pages long) about a boy who finds a baby girl and tries, with the help of the wise creatures Oomorels, to find out what the girl needs to open her eyes.

What you do with it: explore the book (with the narrator or reading by yourself). Touch the objects on the pages for interaction. Also there is a simple mini game (you touch objects in the night sky for sounds and animations).

What we liked: great story, beautiful illustrations, beautiful music and sound backgrounds, excellent narration. Animations and interactions 'immersing' the reader in the story (but see the note below).

What we didn't like: we understand the idea behind the requirement to 'explore' the objects on pages before you can progress to the subsequent page but we would like to see a 'skip' button, too. The 'clues' could be easier to use (why not put the circle around the interactive object itself?). The starting menu (it's text based and pops up every time you want to read the story). The app is a bit slow on the original iPad. Expensive (especially when you need to purchase versions for the iPad and iPhone).

Bottom line: a beautiful, magical book with rich interactions complementing the story.

General notes about our book reviews: although when reviewing books, we try not to review the story itself, the general impressions will be reflected in the Overall Score.

The Age Range assigned to books will be usually broader compared to other apps, as they can be useful for both younger (with parent/narrator reading) or older (reading on their own) kids.

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