Storybook App Keeps Things Simple
Petey Parrot Flies Outside ($1.99) by iCouch Inc. tells a “grass is greener” story of an adventurous parrot named Petey.
The story is manipulated by swiping to turn the pages. Swiping in the middle will bring you back to the menu. Each page is narrated, though you can turn it off if you’d rather read by yourself. A slider in the menu can navigate you to any page in the app.
Petey is kept in a bird cage with anything he could want, but that’s not enough. He wants to fly outside. Once he makes it to the wild open, he quickly discovers the world can be a dangerous place. An owl, eagle, and crazy-eyed cat all want to eat him. Petey realizes he actually had it pretty good inside the cage and returns to it.
Aside from touching to turn the pages, no other interactivity is present. This app is simply a story. Brian Dear, the app’s developer, wanted a simple story without distractions. “Some people might criticize the lack of animations or flashy tricks,” said Dear, “but our app was never meant to be more than a story book with optional narration.”
The mismatched media used for the illustrations work for this story. Overall the pictures have a kind of “Eric Carle” feel about them. Petey is also reminiscent of Carle’s "The Foolish Tortoise".
While I see the developer’s point about not wanting flashy gimmicks in the app to take away from the story, I still find the story lacking. Essentially, its moral is to never take a chance on something new. Ironically, Petey is happiest when he’s in the cage.
The hand-drawn illustrations and lively narration are likely to capture children’s attention.
