Available in the App Store

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The I Wish Story Book & Xylophone iPhone app brings a touch of classic charm and delight to eBooks.

This charming tale from Australian author Kelly Jarris is dedicated to her three sons, Jake, Tyler and Ashton. It tells the tale of one little boy’s wishes as he falls asleep.

From rubber cars to strawberry cake eating dinosaurs, this delightful tale is told through hand painted scenes from illustrator Rosy Sale. These aren’t soulless graphics from a glorified clip art file. You can see that this pair put their heart into this children’s story. The results are beautiful.

An imaginative soundboard and several reading options flesh out this eBook app. Your child can either listen to the story being read by a young fellow with a dashing Australian accent or read through it on her own. Both versions of the tale contain the soundboard.

A fully functional on-screen xylophone is a lovely (but rather random) addition to the app. Tapping the pictures around the instrument play storyboard sounds, extending this app’s shelf life considerably.

User Interface Concerns

While youngsters read through “I Wish” they tap the bottom corners to move between pages manually, both forwards and backwards. This is not an app children can flip through with a swish of their finger, which is slightly disappointing.

Then there are the app’s audio files, which unfortunately do not respond to my iPad’s volume controls. There is no way to adjust the volume with the application, although some scenes and sounds are inexplicably much louder than others.

Value

Despite my misgivings about the app’s execution, at $1.99 it’s impossible to pass on this app. The story is too good, and the xylophone is too fun.

I’ll hang on to this app. I’m sure a simple future app update will address all my concerns.

Bottom-line

The I Wish Story Book & Xylophone app contains a charming story and thoughtful extras, but needs a little work.

‘I Wish’ is a children’s bedtime story book. Featuring audio narration, sound effects, an xylophone and sound board with sounds from within the story.

The writer, Kelly Jarris is an Australian author who’s aim was to make something very special for her three boys. With it’s beautiful originally hand painted illustrations by talented illustrator Rosy Sale and simple sound effects, ‘I Wish’ has a unique touch.

This app was designed to bring back the classic book to the iPhone and iPad with the addition of a fun interactive xylophone that will delight young audiences.

We hope your children enjoy “I Wish” just as much as we loved producing it.

The book is suitable for all ages.