SWEET PEA: WHAT TO WEAR?

Hartas’ little blonde character, Sweet Pea, and her cat Inky show that Sweet Pea can dress herself to go outside, even if it takes a while, resulting in an absurd layering of clothes and requiring a fair amount of clean-up. The softly outlined and gently colored illustrations themselves warmly depict the many contortions a preschooler undergoes in readying herself for the day—but they receive no enhancement whatsoever for the interactive medium. The app is stripped down even beyond the most basic storybook apps. It doesn’t have read-along narration, menus, sound effects, animation or any kind of motion or touch features except the ability to swipe pages along and to start the story over once it’s finished. A less-is-more approach might work for an app with a remarkable story, but this one’s text lacks rhythm, its drawings display raggedly on the iPad’s screen and it features an abrupt, unsatisfying ending. Only those entertained by reading about a child digging in a wardrobe need bother downloading this one. (iPad storybook app. 2-5)