Colours! is an interesting, interactive color theory app that children and their adults will enjoy.

I honestly did not expect much from Colours! as teaching children how to mix primary colors to create secondary shades is not an uncommon topic, so I was pleasantly surprised how complex this app can become.

Colours! allows one to mix red, yellow, blue, white and black to form any color possible. A sponge is also included to use as an eraser – a nice touch.

In Learn, tap a color and drag to paint within a circle seen at the top of the page. Slowly the circle will take on the desired color. Note how when painting, the test tube left of the circle is seen being filled with color drops. Tap the test tube to see 36 drops of color as they represent the proportions of different colors when new colors are added to the circle as seen when a new color is chosen and painted into the circle.

I must say I have spent more time with this app than I expected. I enjoy watching the colors change and checking to see what color parts make up a new specific shade that can be saved to investigate later.

In Play mode, a new, sometimes sophisticated color is offered at the top of the circle, allowing players to match this shade by mixing colors together. This may be easy, such as mixing yellow and blue to make green, but it can also be quite hard, such as mixing different shades of navy blues with red hiding within – a color I would be stuck at if I had not played around in the earlier section and discovered this shade for myself.

In Yours, the colors created in the first section are kept secure in the palette-like area. Tap on a color to see the different parts needed to create this shade.

The look of this app is pleasing, with a paint-splattered background and realistic looking paint cans to choose from. The primary blue color looks a little light with its white base showing through to seem very “true” in terms of being a primary color, and I noted how the blue shade seemed to turn darker – closer to almost navy the more one painted this single shade, compared to the red and yellow shades which were bright and primary-looking from the start.

Another observation I have made is how the color may disappear against the white background although other color parts are still in play in the test tube. I do wonder if being able to choose one’s own background color would mediate this problem as well as add to the visual interest of these colors, as they may seem to change color next to another shade. Relatedly, do point out to children how the top color within the Play mode seems to change in comparison to the bottom color as it too changes with every new color added.

I would also love to work from the test tube side of the Learn area, seeing how the color changes when adding very exact measurements of colors would transform colors when flipped back to the painting mode.

Colours! allows adults and children to dive deeper into color theory more than I thought. Children can have fun just mixing away, but this app can be used in school and at home together with a color wheel to teach about blending colors in a way most infinite.

I remember when my son was young and was given paints for the first time. I really wanted to show him how to achieve green, orange and purple, but my paints were quite less than true, and even with equal proportions mixed, the perfect secondary colors were never achieved. Others may have less of this issue, but from my experience, I can see how this type of app can be quite valuable, as the paint used to create the never-ending shades one can blend here would be mostly wasted in real life – as well as quite a mess.

Colours! is an app worth checking out. Adults, including those with an art background, will enjoy this world of color without any cleanup, but I think it would be a nice inclusion if one had a blank page to paint on with the colors they had created and saved – just a thought for a future update.

Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Just For Fun, Preschool, Primary School, Reviews, Science, Toddlers

Zoola Deluxe is a charming interactive animal app for babies and toddlers – a companion app to the popular Zoola, also reviewed at GiggleApps.

Zoola Deluxe contains a nice variety of animals one can interact with. To start, tap on one of nine animals from either Farm, Safari or Forest animals. Babies will enjoy how chunky the areas for each animal to tap are, making this app intuitive for the youngest app users.

Once a selection is made, listen to the animal’s name narrated as well as see the word on the screen. Also note the mild yet effective animated elements included as well as the sounds for each creature. This app also contains a nice variety of languages, always a nice touch.

On the bottom of the screen, one will see a row of other buttons to explore – specifically a food section, a baby soothing area and a dress-up button that will allow children to interact with each animal.

By tapping the food button, children are brought to a new screen where it’s now feeding time, giving children the chance to feed each animal their three favorite foods. Listen to these animals ask for food as well as offer up appreciative noises when they have been fed. Simple but sweet animation allows each animal to move its mouth to eat – all elements babies and toddlers will adore.

The next area allows users to sooth each animal – be it with a bottle, pacifier, blanket or their own stuffed animal. Gentle, classical music is played throughout this section that children as well as adults will find peaceful and relaxing.

The dress-up section is also cute and fun with costumes each animal can wear, ranging from period attire such as top hat and bow tie, construction hat, boots and tool belt, or a variety of mini skirt choices. More music can be heard ranging from classical to more upbeat selections that children will have fun listening to.

There is an overflowing of charm in this app that will appeal to babies, toddler, and I am sure, my son at the age of five, although this app may get a little young for most kids this age and older.

The inner “Lisa Simpson” in me feels a little weird dressing majestic creatures like a lemur in western garb, a hippo in a chief’s hat and bib or a monkey in a clown outfit, anthropomorphizing them for the amusement of children but does not see any real harm, and this is certainly a concern I would keep to myself while sharing this app with young children.

I know my son will greatly enjoy dressing zebras up in Batman masks, giving animals baby bottles and feeding them favorite snacks.

Zoola Deluxe is an app for children to love. It may make some adults a little uncomfortable, especially those who take themselves too seriously at times, but they will be won over by how much their children truly enjoy spending time with this application.

Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Just For Fun, Language, Preschool, Reviews, Social, Sounds, Toddlers

Animal Planet Hide & Seek Pets is a lovely application young children can explore, as this app includes a variety of pet-centric activities.

This app opens up to a unique menu page, that of a hamster on a wheel which when tapped will spin and ultimately land on one of six mystery animals who are introduced by both simple word questions and related icons, such as a bone for a dog, bubble for a fish or yarn for a cat. Later children play a game of hide and seek to find the animal in question, be it with a flashlight to discover a turtle, tap to remove flower petals to uncover a rabbit or cut tall grass away to find a hidden dog.

Once the animal is discovered, children will be able to interact with photo realistic animals, moving them around the page, dedicated to each of these creatures such as a fish in a fishbowl, complete with classic underwater toys such as a castle, chest of gold and a vintage diving man.

I really appreciate how many fun facts are included, heard when triggering a hotspot and complete with highlighted narration – a very nice element that children and adults can learn a lot from.

On the bottom of the screen, children have access to some fun activities, such as a puzzle to complete, a tracing section and a hide and seek activity. Each of these sections has both “easy” and “hard” modes, and is thematically specific to the animal in question, be it about a bird, turtle or bunny.

Also included is a painting section with a large variety of pictures to choose from and brushes to use, including a paintbrush, chalk, crayon, spray paint and “paint bucket” mode where a section of the drawing is filled in with a single tap.

A music area complete with animal piano is included, as well as a section with re-sizable stickers that one can move around the screen and a learning section for parents that includes topics of conversation to share with their children.

I appreciate how this app is intuitive and thoughtfully designed, avoiding some of the pitfalls I have seen in other applications. Coloring pages are often included in other such apps such as this which can seem like an afterthought, but very nicely done within Animal Planet Hide & Seek Pets.

I love the choice of the soft, sheer coloring choices of the watercolor paintbrush and the chalk, as these colors can be layered and mixed together while coloring for a very nice effect, and I am also impressed by the simple decision to allow children to “erase all” with a “yes” or “no” instead of red or green “X” or check – signs that adults may understand but that can be confusing for children.

Also of note is that when coloring within a specific section of an image, one cannot color outside the border of this section – wonderful for children who hate the sloppy look of coloring with a finger because without this feature, staying within the lines of a picture can be frustrating and difficult.

An eraser as well as “go back” buttons are included, and it is also great that the colored-in pages are also saved within this app to be worked on further in the future, as well as giving children the option to save to the camera roll of their iPad.

I also really like that within the tracing section, when children trace either the first letter of the pet, both in upper and lower case letters or the entire word in the harder section, this app includes the direction children should trace as well as being quite sensitive to the movements of the finger creating the tracing. It will not accept random scribbling over the template – an issue I have with most over-tracing apps.

There is definitely a lot of content to keep children occupied, with a fun mix of realistic animals as well as bright and colorful illustrated spaces for them to occupy and explore.

Because of this, Animal Planet Hide & Seek Pets is an easy app to recommend for toddlers and young preschool children who love animals, coloring, and other activities.

Animals, Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Just For Fun, Music, Nature, Preschool, Reviews, Social, Toddlers

Little Red Riding Hood by Nosy Crow is a universal app that I have eagerly been anticipating for quite some time, and I can say with much excitement that this app is worth the wait.

This is a re-telling of the classic story with a few great twists along the way. A special app, Nosy Crow has added some wonderful new elements to a classic story, specifically allowing children to choose one of many paths they would rather take as Little Red travels through a forest on her way to Grandma’s, collecting numerous objects along the way as well as meeting new characters.

From the moment this app opens, the beautiful, bright and bold animation that Nosy Crow fans expect can be seen. The look of this app, as is the case with the other Nosy Crow storybook apps, is simply stellar in every way dealing with animation.

Also of note is the layered 3D effect one can see as the moving of one’s device will change the perspective one can see at any given angle – a nice touch but a little sensitive for my taste as the effect can look jumpy if the device is held with a shaky hand.

There are two ways of enjoying this book. “Read and Play” allows children to follow along with highlighted narration as seen as the main text and narration of this story, as well as read along with spoken extra lines of dialogue heard when a character is tapped.

“Read by Myself” allows children to read on their own the text and speak bubbles without the aid of narration and gives children the choice of the speed in which the lines of text are seen on the page, allowing those new to reading to slow down these words for an easier time reading – a very helpful inclusion.

There are a lot of interactions to partake in, such as gathering up fun and inviting foods like as cake, cheese, sandwiches and produce to share with Grandmother as well as fun moments of Little Red and her mom gently telling readers what to leave at home when users try to add non-food items to the basket as well as other items that will not travel well. It is also nice to be able to drag these characters around the page, making them look as if they are walking, even running around the page for a very nice effect.

After making up a basket, Little Red is off to Grandmother’s, walking through the forest. As one may expect, Little Red meets the Big Bad Wolf on her journey, wonderfully stylized with a cap and plaid pants as a nod to vintage styling that makes me smile.

Little Red is able to pass the Wolf and later comes to a fork in the path where she needs to make a decision on which way to continue. Both paths are marked with signs that demonstrate the item one may need to collect such as flowers, feathers, acorns, or even a spider.

Children will enjoy each of the activities that will allow Little Red to collect the items of interest, such as catching feathers from a bird flying overhead, pulling thistles from a moose’s fur, gathering flowers, acorns or a bucket of water, as well as helping a bear pour honey to collect a jar of one’s own. A maze involving a spider’s web is included as is a “Whack-a-Mole” styled game where one grabs dandelions from a mole. There is also a delightful “Simon” styled music game where Little Red needs to repeat the musical sounds made by a monkey willing to give away his whistle for five correct answers.

After completing three of these sections, Little Red will arrive at Grandmother’s house to find the Wolf in Grandmother’s bed, who threatens to eat Little Red.

I adore Little Red’s defensive posturing when being threatened by the Wolf as well as the very cinematic close-up shots of Little Red and the Wolf, reminiscent of “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” that will make adults smile. Here Little Red strikes with the objects she collected along her way, such as tickling the Wolf with feathers, making him sneeze from flowers or momentarily shocking him with a splash of water to the face. This fight comes to a conclusion in three different ways, from a police officer taking away the Wolf after hearing Little Red blow the whistle, scaring the Wolf away with the large spider who came along for the ride in the basket, or covering the Wolf in honey and who then gets chased away by bees, never to bother Little Red again.

After unlocking the wardrobe where Grandmother was trapped, they sit down to eat what was packed in the basket, helping Little Red unpack the foods and feeding the characters, helping them to eat and ending this exceptional interactive application.

Although this app has been compared to the classic “Choose Your Own Adventure” series of books, I am pleased to see that although decision-making is part of this story, these choices are age-appropriate for young children of all ages and do not truly change the outcome of this story.

I mention this as I have begun to read my son “Choose Your Own Adventure” titles and I feel that negative conclusions to the choices my boy has made can stress him, and for now he does not enjoy these titles as much as I had hoped.

Here, Little Red’s choices of paths will allow her to play different mini-games with fanciful characters she meets along the way, but there are no pitfalls in the choices one can make within this story, and all roads lead to Grandmothers house, so the comparison to a true “Choose Your Own Adventure” or “Which Way” book is not spot-on in my opinion, which I feel children actually benefit from.

I am also quite pleased to see what a strong female character Little Red is in this re-telling, as I am with the illustration of Little Red’s mother who has her own womanly curves, a nice detail that although does not attract attention to itself, is a nice element for children to seen in the world around them.

There are many more points I could make about the high quality of Little Red Riding Hood by Nosy Crow, but I think it may be best just to tell readers that this is an app worthy of purchase that a wide range of children and their adults will adore.

Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, Just For Fun, Language, Preschool, Primary School, Reading, Reviews, Stories, Toddlers

When I first read about the app Little Dead Riding Hood, I assumed that it was a novelty platformer with zombie elements, as these types of apps can easily be found in iTunes, typically devoid of any educational value.

I am so very happy that I gave this app a closer look because my assumptions were totally wrong, as Little Dead Riding Hood is an interactive storybook app with both English and Spanish translations included as well as the highest of production values – a refreshing tale on this classic story of Little Red Riding Hood. Although I highly recommend this app, this recommendation is a qualified one, and here is why.

There is a lot of the macabre in Little Dead Riding Hood, and as I was enjoying this app, I did say to myself a few times with a smile, “Well, they went for it” in ways that will please or displease families depending on their sensibilities.

This is the re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood, who has died many years ago, along with her parents, who from the grave want to kill Grandma and steal her inheritance. To do so, they come up with a plan to poison Grandma by sending the corpse of Little Red to Grandma complete with utterly poisoned food and drink. Grandma does get poisoned, dying a gruesome death, after first having defended herself from Little Red, living up to her old nick-name “Ramba” using any and all fire weapons in a scene that is glorious with presumed cartoon violence that also made me smile.

Styled with equal parts Tim Burton, Eddie the Mummy and Seth McFarlane, this app, with wonderful, top-notch black and white illustrations and bold pops of color, is an acquired taste that will offend some families a great deal. Others will really appreciate the humor and biting wit that this irreverent app offers.

The included narration is perfection, as is the included music and I appreciate how the book of this app is lengthy, with a page of text found on pages complete with beautifully hand-crafted and sepia-toned drawings, lovingly distressed in keeping with the style of this app. Do also tap these characters to read speech bubbles that add to the richness and fun of this rather odd application.

This is a highly cinematic app, so it is a real treat that this app also includes the original sketches and productions while still showing the making of this app – quite interesting indeed. Also appreciated is the menu of pages, always helpful to readers.

Make no mistake, this app included a rather dead and decaying Little Red, the graphically poisoning of a family member, guns and other military-inspired weapons which get pointed and shot at Little Red, a vividly farting wolf who later gets attacked by snakes, maimed in a metal animal trap and stepping on a bomb which explodes and launches the animal into the air, plus other details I am sure I have overlooked – all at the height of storytelling.

This is an app that I have chosen not to show to my five year old son, as he is a sensitive soul who would not enjoy this adaptation at this time, and I can understand parents of toddlers and the preschool set not having much interest in downloading this app as well, but for grade school and older children through adulthood who have acquired a taste for gruesome humor and parody, this is a perfectly realized application in every way possible.

Even though this app is one that many families will disregard as maybe they should, I would like to recommend this app for older grade school if not middle and high school students, especially those in media study, as great thought was put into the developing of this app as is seen in the included sketches, and adults can talk a lot about the choices made in this app, from modernizing a classic story to the satire as well as the dramatic structure – well-crafted in every way.

This app demonstrates to older children that the envelope can be pushed while maintaining a level of quality that cannot be denied, even if certain subject matter may not be for everyone.

Families will need to make up their own minds about whether or not this app is for their family, but I can say that I personally enjoyed Little Dead Riding Hood immensely, and I welcome other tales like this from an incredibly talented group of developers.

Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, High School +, Just For Fun, Middle School, Primary School, Reading, Reviews, Stories

Round The Block is a very unique app that teaches children how to draw in three dimensions, creating shapes that will save the life of Igor, the main character of this app, who is being chased by robots.

This is a rather oddball, quirky app that I appreciate a great deal. Other drawing apps ask users to trace over templates to a varied degree of success, which can be said of this app as well, but here, the drawing of these shapes has a fun context with a lot of action – great for children who may not typically gravitate towards art applicationss.

There are a few elements I really enjoy within this app, set in a distressed urban environment. Not a lot of information is given as to why Igor is being sought after by robots, other than that he is, thereby creating a rather bizarre chase scenario that reminds me of old school Warner Brothers cartoons where the wishing for a parachute while falling off a cliff could produce the parachute from mid-air, save one’s life.

Here, Igor may draw a bridge to cross over, avoiding electrocution by these robots, stairs to climb, evading contact or ramps with large rock spheres to roll over and take out these killer robots.

I enjoy how this setup creates a sense of urgency as well as requires accuracy when tracing, as every line must be drawn to create these structures, and being chased will get children to learn really fast how to identify the areas of these large objects not properly drawn to create the 3D perspective.

I have been drawn into the fantasy of Round the Block, as complete cars may be created to get away in, or ornate, multi-story buildings drawn to hide out in, really capturing one’s imagination as one learns to draw these shapes – interesting choices, as I can to some degree draw in 3D this way although I consider myself without drawing talent or ability.

This app may indeed appeal to those who have felt other drawing apps involving animals to be too precious, with no middle ground between them which is condescending or too professional for non-drawers.

Round The Block has a styled look to it, with bold pops of color and a character more odd than quite human-looking – an inquired taste with an indie feel that will be of interest to some readers, I am sure.

I do wish one could pause the action to take in the 3D drawings as they are created and come to life, as the need to keep moving prevents users from taking the time to really study what is being drawn, but even with this note, this is an original app that I found quite appealing. I also like being able to go back and choose favorite scenes to replay, eleven in total, a nice touch.

Round the Block reminds me of a modern, charmingly grim Harold and the Purple Crayon, if Harold were giving chase to avoid death from killer robots – an intriguing concept to say they least, definitely worth checking out.

Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, Just For Fun, Preschool, Primary School, Reviews, Shapes

Dr. Panda’s Beauty Salon is a charming new app in a series of delightful role-playing applications for children that let them explore different characters such as a doctor, chef in a restaurant, farmer and now a worker at a beauty salon for animals.

Fans of these Dr. Panda apps as well as those new to this genre will delight in all that this salon has to offer their animal clients, many of whom have starred in previous applications, as well as a few new faces.

To start, greet a customer at the door who will then take a seat and wait for their turn. When one is ready for them, tap the animal and they will tell the player via image in a speech bubble the service one is looking for and then will choose a seat in one of two client rooms. There is a first floor area where one can adjust lights and drapes to create a relaxing mood as well as vibrating chairs to give the animal relaxing massages or an upper level with an Asian theme which includes a decorative screen and a plant that can sprout cherry blossoms as well as candles to create ambience as well as the ability to change the chairs into personal hot tubs.

There are more than eleven mini-games and other details that one can explore. It will always be a surprise what each animal is looking for in terms of being pampered, and I appreciate how the same animal may come back for various treatments such as a hippo in need of a facial, a polar bear needing his nose hairs plucked, a pig looking for lipstick, a sheep looking for a little powder blush application, perfume and accessories such as hat, glasses, hairpiece or earrings for a night out, or an animal asking one to design a special necklace to take home.

There is an interesting mix of charmingly realistic tasks to accomplish such as giving an animal a shave or having his fur washed, as well as more creative, open-ended activities such as face painting and nail art that can be accessed at any time without the need to wait for a specific request for these treatments. Likewise, feel free to arrange the shoes of the clients being treated any time – a cute matching puzzle game that kids will enjoy.

I am happy to say that both male and female animal characters are included as well as both beauty and personal grooming needs that boys and girls alike will have a lot of fun exploring.

My family loves it when a new Dr. Panda role-playing app is released. I enjoy watching my manly husband paint animal toe tails with my son as well as other cute, colorful activities in this application.

Animals, Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, Just For Fun, Preschool, Reviews, Social, Toddlers

Jubitron the Girl Robot: The Lovely Little Picnic is a charming universal, interactive storybook.

As the name may imply, this is the story of Jubitron, a robot girl and her friends Little Birdy and Mr. Alligator as they go on a picnic that gets rained out and then fly high into the air on a space ship to see where the rain is coming from.

At first, before the gang in the story experience their rained-out picnic, I thought this story was cute, if not a little simple for my taste, but I really enjoy their time spent up in space discovering where all the rain came from, adding whimsy and a sense of style that also reminds me of Poyoco, a favorite TV show of ours.

This is high praise, to be sure, as this app ventures into the realm of quirky mythology that I really enjoy, as I do the included narration which also reminds me of the unseen narrator from Poyoco – an element which effectively works within this app as well.

This app is nicely illustrated and music is also included, upbeat and fun, as is the included music well as other musical elements found within the interactions that will entertain both young children as well as their adults.

I like that hints can be found if one opens the tap found at the bottom corner of the page. It would be nice if there were an option for this added information to be narrated as well.

I do think Jubitron the Girl Robot: The Lovely Little Picnic is best suited for babies, toddlers and young preschoolers, but also for their parents who will admire the sophistication this app has to offer as all of the elements – the plot, illustrations, narration and music as well as interactions – are of a very high caliber.

This is a creative tale that in turn may stimulate the imagination of the young children listening to this story. For this reason, it is easy to recommend Jubitron the Girl Robot: The Lovely Little Picnic.

Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, Language, Preschool, Reading, Reviews, Social, Stories, Toddlers

Yummiloo Rainbow Power, from the developers at Night and Day Studio, is an absolutely delightful universal, top-notch interactive app that teaches about healthy food choices in a way most charming.

When first exploring this app, one will watch a short introductory video that I found hugely impressive, with great looking, bright and colorful animation and music to rival the opening scene of any highly regarded children’s television program.

Presumably computer-generated, this video includes animation at its height of quality, including the details of the fresh foods shown in this scene – rich with realistic details, such as showing the tender delicate flesh of raspberries and other fruits, making this animated video, as is true of this application in general, a love letter to produce.

The included cheerful music is wonderfully upbeat – memorable and fun, even for adults and reminiscent of an indie band’s album for children. Narration is included which I greatly enjoy as well, talking directly to the user – wonderfully effective to be sure.

Here you meet Rooty, a sweet little root vegetable character and friends from Yummiloo who need help as the Rainbow Machine which powers their carnival is out of energy. To get this machine going again, children will have to help Rooty gather up fruits and vegetables that will power up the Rainbow Machine.

The Rainbow Machine is a Seussian contraption, styled with different colorful sections that all have to be filled up with corresponding colorful foods that are found in the garden and need to be tapped and dragged to a basket – also nicely color-coded. I appreciate how one needs to wait to pull foods that are fully matured as well as adding other foods to the compost bin, which then gets emptied back into the garden – a very nice choice.

Children will enjoy this activity with mild arcade elements as they sort by color, also learning each fruit or vegetable by name as children’s narration notes each food’s name when added to the basket – a nice contrast to the adult who narrates prompts during this game.

When all the colored sections of the Rainbow Machine have been filled, this game is complete and children are rewarded with a video of the carnival in motion – a glorious display and quite the treat for children who spent the time to complete each color of the Rainbow Machine.

It is also worth noting that although the de-fault of this app is a dragging and dropping motion from the garden to the basket or compost bin, one can change these controls to a simple tap – great for toddlers who will gain so much from the color sorting and learning the names of these fruits and vegetables such as yellow squash or jicama.

This is a terrific app to re-enforce good eating habits, allowing children to fully appreciate the term “eat a rainbow.”

There is so much to love about Yummiloo Rainbow Power. It is sure to be a hit not only with children but with their adults as well. I am thrilled that this app is the first from a series of Yummiloo apps that I am quite eager to review in the future. I don’t think toddler and preschool families can go wrong with Yummiloo Rainbow Power – a special app that families will adore.

Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, Health, Just For Fun, Matching, Preschool, Primary School, Puzzle, Reviews, Social, Toddlers

Dandelion is an interactive universal app with a wonderful sense of style, developed as an app with a message about bullying.

There is a lot that I enjoy about this app, recently chosen as an application of special interest in the books category by iTunes.

The most striking element of this app is the sense of style, shown not quite in black and white, as more of a sepia-tone look is included, adding the slightly warmer shades of subtle desaturated browns – an interesting choice – which allows areas of the screen to pop softly, adding a vintage, almost timeless look to this app that is also quite modern-looking as seen on the screen of one’s device.

Likewise, the illustrations and simple, animated moments are gorgeous to look at as are the intriguing characters, especially that of the main character Benjamin, drawn without a face and who seems to glow from the backlit device. These images are beautiful and will stay with readers for a long time, especially the ability to blow fluff off a dandelion – lovely to explore, to be sure.

Very good narration is also included if one wishes, and I enjoy how this app and the page turns are styled to look like one is looking through a view finder, including a 3D effect that one can see when moving one’s device, as well as an artful use of mild distressing which adds a bit of texture as well.

This is the story about how Benjamin is being bullied by boys from The School for The Misguided – what to me is presumably a reformatory of sorts, “A place for Ne’er Do Wells and Bullies.” However, it is unclear to me if this is the school that he attends or has to pass by on the way to his own school.

As only one school is noted in this story, I will assume that Benjamin attends The School for The Misguided, and this is an element that I have a hard time getting past. How could this child be thrown into such an institution where he will obviously be eaten alive, as he is less than half the size of the other students and a sensitive soul who would not fare well in this environment?

It is worth noting that Benjamin is not just being teased, he is being physically harmed, needing to tend to wounds. Because of all this, while blowing on dandelions, he begins to make wishes for the school to disappear, which never happens, but he learns from these dandelions how to let go of his fears and and gain confidence.

I find many of the elements of this app quite moving, such as the included music and imagery.

I do find the actual story, written in rhyme, to be underwhelming. yet if one wants to take away from this tale a sense of confidence and a lack of being afraid, this I welcome them to do so.

For me, it may have worked better if the main character were dealing with a different sort of bully, more subtle in the approach, such as an outsider girl dealing with “mean girls,” who could possibly rise above the mental daggers thrown her way, but if one is being physically harmed by dangerous teens with one foot in jail, confidence will go only so far.

I have no doubt that the chance to blow the dandelion fluff as well as the mythology of Benjamin making his wishes will be moving to anyone reading or listening to this story, but with the setup included here, more than inner confidence is needed to deal with the situation as it has been written, leading me to struggle to understand the message of this application.

Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Preschool, Primary School, Reading, Reviews, Social, Stories