THE MAGICAL TISSUES

An enchanted pack of hankies grants wishes to a sick little girl.

Arianna has a nasty cold, so her mother offers her a package of tissues that belonged to her grandmother, who is now deceased. After sneezing, Arianna blows her nose while wishing she felt better, and she is miraculously cured. Suddenly, the room is filled with bright light, and Arianna comes face to face with what is, for all practical purposes, her fairy god-hankie. Arianna has four remaining wishes—one for each tissue left in the package. Drawing exclusively from her fascination with classic children’s stories, the girl wishes to be the Little Mermaid, Peter Pan and Cinderella, though she breezes through the experiences without exploring them very fully. (Seriously, what little girl skips going to the ball because “she’d already had her fun”?) The layout alternates text and illustration screens, and interaction is minimal with two small exceptions. On one page, eight items often found it a sick person’s bedside can be shuffled around the page, either by flinging or dragging them, or by tilting the device. And on another page, Arianna is covered in a pile of books that shoot all over the screen when tapped. There are other tactile features, but they’re altogether unremarkable.

This story is shallow, and the interactivity is weak. Perhaps Arianna should use the remaining tissue to wish for a more substantive app.