NOA'S STARS

A winning, gentle adventure about a pint-sized aviator's star-gathering is marred only by some minor problems in the app's text.

When Ida the clumsy fairy bumps into the stars while flying, she causes them to fall. Noa, who happens to have a hot air balloon next to the roof of her home, searches the area and helps take the stars back to their proper places before bedtime. Her search is depicted in simple but sweetly evocative watercolor drawings. Noa’s face is practically a blank slate, just two playful little eyes and strands of wayward hair going in all directions. With her lantern, she collects stars amid birds, trees and ponds, creating opportunities for readers to interact with not only the stars, but all the small creatures and even the moon. The app is filled with graceful touches; page turns, navigation buttons, the list of story pages, and even an arts-and-crafts section are indicated with easy-to-find, hand-drawn icons. Though the text and buttons appear translated, the language is fine, if unremarkable. ("She looks around. There's another star! Right there, in the tree!")  The only problems are a few missing quotation marks and commas, which could easily be fixed with an app update. Otherwise, Noa's story is delightful. 

The story's leisurely pace, relaxing music and starry theme make it a good pre-bedtime choice.