Welcome to the Bartleby's  Book of Buttons, Vol 1: The Far Away Island. This is an unusual book and the price is great. It's a story and a puzzle, but not the usual kind of puzzle. Has music, sound affects, and unusual animation. Excellent illustrations. Listening or reading the story and pushing the right button gets you to the next page. Has a read to me on and off button. Even on the front cover of the book, you have to find the button that takes you to the next page. The button on the side turns green when all the correct buttons have been pushed. Occasionally this app will stick and not work on a button. Push the home button, wait 10 seconds, and open it up again. Then it will work. This app is best for ages 7 and up, or it's a fun read with a parent. There is some thinking involved. Recipient of the Children's Technology Review Editors Choice award and a Kirkus Star for 2010. iPad only. Published by Octopus Kite. .99 (A)

Sunday in Kyoto is described by School Library Journal as enchanting and delightful. It is much more than that. It is exquisite. The Japanese music and finely detailed illustrations bring the user into another world. The words show up individually as the song is sung. It has a non standard approach as there is animation but the user cannot start or stop the animation. The user does not have control of page turning during the singing. The story can be read by the user without the music. Here the user can control the page turning and the text can be made bigger. Sunday has an excellent menu and the story/song ends much too soon. iPad only. Published by Les Productions Folle Avoine. Secret Mountain. $3.99 (A)


The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is a spinoff app from the short award winning film. As a librarian this is a book lovers delight, but it is the ground breaking presentation that really sets this app apart from the thousands of book apps available. As Morris ages, 27 interactive pages are available for exploration. Some of the animation is fabulous. The side menu allows for read aloud, read to yourself, turning off and on music, and eliminating seeing the text. In the read aloud the text is not highlighted. Beautifully constructed story reminding us all that we each have a story to tell. A 2011 Kirkus Star app has a 4+ itunes rating meaning that the story is not for under 3. A 4 year old would love it. iPad only. Published by Moonbot Studios. $4.99 (A)

Astrid and Siri is a very nice FREE ipad only app if you have young daughters or granddaughters. It's not perfect, but fun for the girly girl. The illustrations are in a gorgeous Scandinavian design. Very detailed somewhat like Jan Brett but in muted colors. The animation is charming but not sophisticated. There is interaction on every page. There is way too much giggling and animal sounds, otherwise the story is unusual and fun. There is both a read to me and read to yourself section. Words are highlighted as read. Music can be off or on. The last page is a fashion page where the reader can change Astrid's outfit. Published by Artic Star. (free) (aa)