THE MONKEYS WHO TRIED TO CATCH THE MOON

One monkey’s curiosity about a strange circle in the water leads a large group of simians to try to rescue the wayward moon, which has obviously fallen. Bold, sharp, computer-assisted illustrations of monkeys with exaggerated, funny facial expressions enliven a mildly amusing story that turns a corner when one of the monkeys catches a glimpse of the real moon up in the sky. The story’s narration can be heard in English, either of two Chinese dialects or Japanese in addition to the option for a reader’s own recording. The app also has a “Sleeping Mode” that allows the story’s audio to be played without the visuals, “So to help your kids fall asleep quickly.” Something seems lost in translation from its original Chinese when the story ends and an old monkey gives an explanation of where the monkeys went wrong: “There’s only one moon on the earth, and is up in the sky [sic].” While the app features some beautiful drawings, its story text and conclusion aren’t particularly well-written or edited—for a much more artful treatment of the same concept, revisit Kevin Henkes’ Caldecott-winning Kitten’s First Full Moon on traditional paper pages. (iPad storybook app. 2-8)