FUSSY EATER STORY

Mixing together satire, visual recipes and quirky illustrations, this app takes a fresh approach; unfortunately, the results seem a bit half-baked.

A saucy interview with The Carrot starts off this unconventional app. “My ideal role is in Carrot Soup but I am open to suggestions. Vegetable Soup was as a result of solid cooperation with Potato, Parsley, Celery and Brussels Sprout.” A short chapter on vitamins follows, but the interactive features fail to add to readers’ knowledge; readers simply touch the apple, then an apple core and finally a smiling girl to show that eating fruit makes for happy, healthy kids, for instance. The illustrations complement the satirical tone with offbeat animated characters. A bag of flour waves—“Hey, hey”—and an egg gallantly tips its hat. But the stylish illustrations don’t make up for the overall lack of substance. Recipes are not spelled out clearly for young readers to follow. Nutritional facts are obscured by the focus on humorous caricatures. Interactive features are uneven and do not further real understanding of the content. Awkward sentences, possibly due to poor translation, contribute further problems.

While the clever illustrations might draw children to the app, the overall package does not deliver a wholesome offering.