Adarna is the first interactive e-book of the country. It’s a great classic tale for kids with a great illustrations and some animations.
Adarna is a free ipad app produced by Vibal Foundation’s Vee Press. It was released last January 2011 but I just recently downloaded it.
The ipad app is an e-book that tells the classic Filipino tale of the Ibong Adarna. I was facinated by this story when I was young and I’m sure that today’s children will still like the story and the lessons.
The illustrations were beautifully made. The Philippine motif in the clothes was a good approach. What seems to be unique with this e-book compared to others at the App store is that there are some animations on it. The animations are simple but they bring life to the story.
The narration and the text is in Filipino. The voice was excellent. Just the right tempo and it was very clear.
However, the interface was frustrating. The start up screen did have instructions but I didn’t find it clear. It was different from other e-books. It’s unfamiliar, thus, confusing. To start reading, you need to swipe down to hide the menu. You will swipe up to bring the menu back. Then, once the story starts, you swipe to the left to move to the next page.
When I got to the last page, there was no option to read again from the beginning. You need to exit the app and launch it again.
Another drawback is that it is only written and narrated in Filipino. Since the app is free, many users from other countries wanted an English translation.
In conclusion, I applaud the effort to bring Filipino stories to children into the ipad apps. However, the technical execution of the interface was not perfect. Adarna is a great story to start with. I’m looking forward for more Filipino ebooks in ipad from Vee Press.
Check out this free ipad apps at itunes.
Daddy Rating: 3 of 5.
