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POP-IT by Raghava KK Kirkus Star

POP-IT

At Home with Appa and Dad

by Raghava KK & illustrated by Raghava KK

Pub Date: July 7th, 2011
Publisher: Raghava KK Inc.

A set of wordless domestic tableaux as rich in content as they are hilarious, presented in deliciously extravagant visuals stocked with clever interactive features.

Each of the six scenes features a happy child and one or two adults—sharing a bathroom or a computer, having a tickle session or laughing in front of a mirror—but a tap of an icon or a shake of the tablet transforms the grownups from male to female, or, for couples, from mixed to two mothers or two fathers. Taking a “surprise me!” approach throughout, the art, which is all semiabstract, features wildly exaggerated figures and exuberant jumbles of loud color, which serve as a platform for both automatic and touch-activated effects. These range from wavy lines of stench floating from the two potties and wallpaper flowers that both whirl and sound a percussive chorus when tapped to two men who triumphantly slap hands after successfully changing the child’s diaper. Utterly silly, but perfectly in keeping with all the rest, an icon on each screen delivers a real local weather report when tapped. Well, why not?

A first-rate mind expander, this app rewards repeat visits and depicts several family constellations with irresistible intimacy and good humor—all the while featuring uncommonly inventive art and software design.

(iPad informational app. 4-9, adult)