
This is a beautifully illustrated and enhanced ebook based on the classic story by Margery Williams. The illustrations are rich and evocative of a bygone era. There are wonderful objects on every page that respond to the motion of the iPad or the flick of a finger. This interactivity is particularly nice in such a long book, giving my preschooler a way to be involved as I read it aloud. In the past I haven't been able to get him to sit still for me to read our print version of this book, which was unfortunate since The Velveteen Rabbit is one of my personal favorites.
The book is also accompanied by wonderful background music, a classical music track on a very long loop. This is a nice addition, especially since this book lacks narration. The only thing that made this review hard to write is that this book is ad supported. After a few page turns, a pop up asks you to 'Get the version without Ad!' and a small AdMob ad (with family-friendly products) comes up somewhat un-obtrusively at the bottom or the page. I tried to purchase the book to remove the ads, although I was never able to get the transaction to go through.
Overall, this book is well-made with nice animations, interactivity and easy, although slow, swipe-style page turning. The overall experience of reading it, even with the interruption of ads, is quite charming. Although I am ambivalent about ad-supported free book apps, I really liked this one. I would suggest turning your iPad to airplane mode to avoid exposing children to the ads if you aren't willing to pay for the app. The pop up still will annoy you, but this is a book that is worth a paid download, especially for only a buck.
All reviews are of the app, not the platform/device. Based originally on iPad versions. Minor technical details may vary.
Author/Illustrator:
Margery Williams/Zainagova Rimma
Developer:
XIMAD
Length (time):
25 - 35 Minutes
Based on non-digital book: Yes
Allows Own Narration:
No
Uses Motion: Yes
Age: 4 - 10
Languages:
English •
Length (pages):
30 Pages
The full text of this story is available from the archives of the Digital Library from Penn Libraries.
Orientation: Portrait
Format: iPad
Options:
Background Music On/Off, Page Index, More Books
App Release Date:
2011-04-19
Size: 66.7 MB
Version: 1.1
Lite Version Available: Yes