FAM BAM

Rhythm-and-blues singer Brandy Norwood joins her brother and parents to tell an animated story about competing musical tastes.

This fam bam (a tightknit family, according to one definition in an urban dictionary) has music in their blood. Dad likes inspirational tunes, mom’s a jazz enthusiast, Brandy sings R&B, RJ likes hip hop, and Brad—the Yorkie-looking canine narrator—prefers opera. All of the family members sing their favorite genres as they go about their various tasks during the day. But when they’re all together, they argue about whose music is superior. The conflict resolves one night when their dinnertime conversation takes on a new twist, and by the end of the story, they’re all harmonizing. Each page offers some sort of animation, but interaction is mostly limited to the characters, all of which sing, talk or grouse when tapped. The vibrantly colored pages are crammed with simple illustrations, and of course, there are various musical accompaniments the whole way through. On certain screens, sound effects and/or music linger until the page is turned, which can become tiresome if reading is temporarily interrupted. Both the platform and the story are simple, but the app does have some charm.

Not the most inventive tale, but an earnest one that addresses the idea of respecting others’ musical palates. Brandy fans will love it.