ONE RAINY DAY

Tiny, bulbous, yellow Duck, who might more accurately be called “Duckling,” loves rainy days. With his orange umbrella and bright red boots, he splashes in puddles, spies pink worms along a curb and plays with a brown mud pie. The story is little more than a list related to variously colored creatures and objects, set to soft-edged, bright drawings that look like they might have been made with digital chalk. The story’s rain is presented as a constant stream of animated white raindrops. The names of objects are read aloud when tapped, Duck supplies dialogue on demand and other characters—a frog and Mama Duck—have their own sound effects. The app also includes a game meant to help the youngest readers learn to identify colors (dragging over, say, a blue puddle for Duck to splash in from a list of three choices) and four coloring pages. Duck’s story is as insubstantial as fading dew, but it’s sweetly illustrated, and the app’s interactive features save a (rainy) day. (iPad storybook app. 2-5)