PLANES STORYBOOK DELUXE

A thoroughly enjoyable, hands-on aviation app twined with a story of the little plane that could, from Disney.

Dusty is a lowly crop-duster, but he has big plans: entering the Wings Around the Globe Race and showing the world just what a crop-duster can do. When he starts showing his stuff, other planes—especially Skipper, the old warplane, who has a surprise story of his own—come to his aid when needed. This is often, since there are thugs and betrayers out there wishing Dusty nothing but a crash landing. The story has its moments—lots of camaraderie and the glories of resolve—but two non-narrative elements really give this app its varoom. The first is the artwork, which emphasizes the fairy-tale quality of the story while coaxing a distinctly exotic feel from such locales as China, India, Mexico and an aircraft carrier. Even cooler, readers pilot the planes by tilting the iPad this way and that to fly through circles and collect fuel, with the ability to choose different levels of difficulty and different planes to fly. Plus, there are 6 languages to select from, so readers can brush up on their French as they try to get Dusty through an ice storm or a Swiss tunnel.

Fine amusement, elegant illustrations and a decent-enough story—and readers can play on as independent pilots to their hearts’ content.