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PETER PAN by Nicolas Randall

PETER PAN

From the Touch of Classic series

adapted by Nicolas Randall ; illustrated by Miguel Calero ; Luis Diaz ; developed by Touch of Classic

Pub Date: Oct. 9th, 2013
Publisher: Media Minds

This take on J.M. Barrie’s classic has a few navigational challenges and isn’t going to win any awards for being exceptionally artistic or innovative. But it’s pretty good for free.

Since the story needs no introduction or explanation, the best place to begin is with what’s good about this offering from Spain. The narrator is easy on the ears, and the flow is solid, though the adapted text has little magic. Some interactions are fairly noteworthy: Readers can twirl the topographic Earth while the children fly and help Peter find his shadow. Many of the pages cannot be advanced until a puzzle is solved—help Peter hide from Mrs. Darling, for example, or help Tinkerbell give the Darling children pixie dust so they can fly. The biggest plus here is that the characters are loosely based on designs created by children from ages 5 to 16. But there are a few substantial glitches too. Narration isn’t optional, and there’s no explanation on what the fairy box at the top of the screen means (or how it’s populated.) On the “paper doll” screen, where readers must dress Tinkerbell in a complete outfit before turning the page, she looks like a zombie/hoochie hybrid, which is a little disturbing. In fact, the bug eyes and rictuslike smiles that prevail throughout are pretty unpleasant from an aesthetic standpoint.

Does it soar? Occasionally it floats but not with flying colors.

(iPad storybook app. 3-6)