BETTY IN SPACE
by Emma Hardy & illustrated by Emma Hardy
A child flies solo into space and makes a friend in an unremarkable story marred by sloppy text and a dearth of features.
Betty says goodbye to her family before she flies into space on an orange rocket ship. On the surface of the moon, where the helmeted Betty sits and enjoys a mug of tea (which also wears a space helmet), she encounters a green alien named George. After George gets over his own fear of the alien who has invaded his home, he agrees to eat dinner with Betty’s family, ending Betty’s uneventful episode of space travel. It seems churlish to pick on an app that looks like it was made on a shoestring, but the writing, lackluster artwork and sparse features (which consist only of some very minor animation) make it impossible to recommend. Missing punctuation is also a problem, as in this exchange: “ ‘Hello’ said the Alien ‘Hello’ said Betty”. On multiple pages, the navigation is broken; despite a “back” arrow, readers cannot do so.
Amateurish, but blessedly brief and undeniably heartfelt, Betty’s trip to space is a small step back for app-kind. (iPad storybook app. 3-6)