WHERE IS YOUR NOSE, NIBBLY?

Charming mice ask Nibbly the bunny to point out his various body parts.

This app is clearly designed for the diaper/toddler set, so it’s no surprise that the design is basic. There’s no animation, no touch-activated features except page flips and scrolls (the pages “turn” downward rather than left to right) and a doorbell that rings when touched. Dialogue is conveyed in comic-style bubbles, and the story is framed entirely in a question-and-answer format. Each page is a split screen, with a mouse on one side asking a question, such as “Where is your mouth, Nibbly?” Nibbly is seen on the right, holding a beach ball in front of his mouth. When touched, Nibbly’s half of the screen flips over, and he responds, “Right here,” pointing to his now-visible mouth. The illustrations are cute and colorful, and the narrator’s voice is endearing. There is, however, a glaring navigation problem. Transitioning from page to page is smooth and fast, but once the story is over there’s no way to get back to the beginning. Even if readers close the app and switch off the iPad, when they return to the story once again they will land in the exact same place: the end. To start over, one must manually scroll the pages backward until they reach the beginning.

Navigation issue aside, Nibbly is a cute and well-designed app that the littlest iPad users will likely enjoy.