A Present for Milo: A Touch-and-Surprise Storybook Review

A Present for Milo is a lovely and fun interactive app for iPad from the developers at Ruckus Media Group. This book was designed especially for the iPad by graphic artist Mike Austin and lends itself very well to a multitude of places to tap, discover, and interact with. This story about a game of chase between cat and mouse friends is written with short, pithy phrasing and is perfect for young readers, but will surely entertain children and adults of all ages.

I am very impressed with the look of this app. The love that graphic illustrator Mike Austin used in crafting these pages is apparent. The colors are bight and vivid, and I enjoy the use of details and textures within these drawings, as well as the placements of objects in the various rooms that these crazy animals run through, adding to the feel of action and chaos they are creating while playing their game of chase. The interactions included are just as grand, and I like the fact that many times something different happens whenever you tap to interact with specific elements, and that the interactions can be performed an infinite number of times before swiping to the next page.

Just as impressive is the use of music and percussive sounds to further this story’s action. Interactions include tapping a piano to make sounds just as the mouse and cat did while running over the piano moments before, tapping sheet music to hear music samples, and tapping to hear the sounds of a metronome or musical key sounds when tapped as well. I find these noises, especially some of the drumming used to illustrate the running that these animals do in circles “around and around and around” especially well done, as are the choices made to illustrate this activity.

Without giving anything away, I enjoy the ending, which may come as a surprise to children, and I like the gentle message sent about friendship and that some of the best gifts one can give are not store-bought.

While searching for hidden hot spots, my son did have some issues with accidentally flipping pages back and forth without meaning to, and it would be nice if some visual clues was added, like triangles to show where to tap or avoid in terms of page turning.

This issue aside, this is a sweet and entertaining interactive storybook for new readers and adults alike.