A sweet if anemic version of the tale, with custard and butter in Little Red’s basket and a wolf that staggers off moaning at the end with a belly full of rocks.
The interactive effects are scanty at best: There are just a few stiff, small-scale animations in the flat and simple cartoons, plus the odd sound effect or other feature that will reluctantly respond to being touched or dragged. Single taps on the bottom corners will usually turn pages; a double tap at the bottom of any page pauses the narration and also opens a ribbon of thumbnail page images for easy navigation. The tale is available in English, Spanish, Czech and Slovak—read aloud by pleasantly expressive narrators who, however, will keep going even when the menu’s “Read Me” button is set to “Off.” Presented in several sizes, the text is simply written but so long that it spills over into several interpolated screens of generic forest scenes. Though readers will enjoy pulling Little Red and her grandma out of the wolf’s stomach, the weightless stones on the next screen won’t stay put in his belly unless held there, and the fact that he survives at all will likely be a disappointment to many.
There are currently at least 40 digital versions of the story available. This one needs a whole lot of work to bring it up to serviceability. (iPad storybook app. 6-8)
