WATERCOLOR TALE
by Ru Osika & illustrated by Nana Demenkova & developed by Zhe
A young fox undertakes a (mildly) scary journey to help an unusual friend in this simple, if wordy, original tale.
Having become attached to the single tangerine tree that grows near his house in the evergreen forest, Little Fox ventures out past dark woods and a steep ravine to reach its distant citrus siblings. He brings back a sweet tangerine and plants the seeds nearby, contentedly leaving them to dream their “orange-tangerine dreams” beneath the snow until spring. Infused with sunny oranges and yellows except for in the single scene depicting Little Fox’s courageous excursion into the darker forest, the cartoon art gives this elementary episode a bright mood overall. This is enhanced by tap-induced showers of flowers, stars, strawberries and sparkles that are accompanied by chimes and bird song on most of the dozen pictorial screens. The text is available in several languages with an optional, very distinctly pronounced audio reading in (so far) English and Russian only. Though lengthy and not always smoothly translated, the narrative is confined to separate, undecorated, easily skipped screens that appear between the pictures and can even be toggled off entirely.
Natural history concerns aside (Tangerines? In a pine forest?), a visually appealing story with an easy-to-grasp emotional base and uncomplicated interactive effects.
(iPad storybook app. 3-5)