LITTLE BUNNY

Cute but insubstantial, this simple, toddler-aimed app is more toy than story.

In the app, an adorable, large-headed bunny with enormous ears goes off to hide while readers search behind signs, bushes, rocks and logs to find him. Along the way, birds, squirrels, butterflies, snails and other wildlife join the game. The colors are bright and saturated, the objects are large and touch-friendly, and the whole affair is only seven brief pages long. The dead-simple navigation and friendly tone throughout makes it appropriate for kids who are just learning to read or younger. But given that the whole point of the app seems to be touching items on screen to see animations that have little connection to the text, it doesn’t feel much like a book. The sole extras here are the option to hear the narration in German (the English narrator has a strong German accent) and to choose a page. The artwork is so cartoon-perfect the absence of much to read or do may be beside the point

At most, it's a brief, entertaining diversion, something to poke and play with rather than be transported by. (iPad storybook app. 2-4)