SENDA AND THE GLUTTON DRAGON

A candy-devouring dragon is at the heart of this fairy-tale–themed bedtime story.

Little Senda hears a story of a "Glutton Dragon" at reading time and then imagines herself helping a prince and princess in a typical faraway kingdom. The dragon makes off with the princess when he mistakes her for sweets. Senda and the prince teach the fire-breathing but otherwise very easygoing dragon that there are others kinds of food to eat, including carrots, potatoes and peas. Princess saved, Senda returns from her imagination to finish off the school day, then goes home and is tucked in. The app’s presentation is lovely, with dynamic animations and detailed color illustrations with a wider palette than is usually seen. The backgrounds are wider than the screen, allowing readers to move the image left and right and giving each page a panorama effect. The app keeps a running tally of the 100 or so stars readers can collect throughout the story. Unfortunately, the text ranges from only serviceable to clumsy, as if a few bad translations made it through editing: "The Prince suggested the Dragon: We'll cook a delicious meal for you and, in turn, you'll free the princess."

Still, it's very hard to resist a dragon who finally eats his vegetables; parents who are trying to wean a child off an all-sugar diet should take a look.