A young boy longs to travel to the moon so he can profess his undying love for it.
Bobo lies awake every night admiring the moon. Desperate to find a way to get there, he formulates several travel options. He piles up his toys to build a makeshift staircase; he climbs out on the roof of his house; he jumps on a trampoline in the hope of bouncing high enough. Of course, none of these things can liberate him from the Earth’s atmosphere, and his mother finally explains that the moon is not an everyday travel destination. The simplicity of this app is appealing. Italian illustrator Mancusi combines straightforward drawings, a narrowed color palette and a handful of interesting textures, all of which add up to a refreshingly uncluttered screen. The interaction and animation are rudimentary by current standards, but a few elements are so pleasantly unexpected they feel like more than they are, technologically speaking. However, there are a few intermittent glitches. Page turns often take several swipes or taps to advance, and some touch points are so narrow in scope that one must know exactly where the “trigger” is in order to stir action.
Though certainly not a giant leap for all mankind, a promising first effort that puts Mancusi squarely on the app map. (iPad storybook app. 3-6)
