Van Gogh and the Sunflowers!
© 2011 Auryn, Inc.
Based on the book by Laurence Anholdt, this app layers two types of interactive activities onto the pages, along with some scaffolding features (narrated text, and touch-and-hear words). The end result is a useful way to help children explore the work of one of the world's most famous painters -- Vincent Van Gogh. There are 30 screens, plus a 360 degree art gallery, where you can explore the ten photos featured in the book. And this, of course, includes those famous 15 sunflowers. As a part of your mainstream app library there are several design weaknesses to note. Page turning is clumsy on some pages (you touch to explore an item, but accidentally flip back a page), and testers noted the music, which consists mostly of somber saxophone etudes, can grow repetitive. While there is an option to mute the sound, this also turns off the excellent narration. The two activities also have quirks. One asks you to rebuild the complex machinery of the pop-up book mechanism. This is a timed challenge, and the parts can be frustratingly small, and the mechanics are removed from reality. The most relevant are the coloring activities, which let you color in key parts of the story. We liked how you can reset the coloring image, showing Van Gogh's original illustration. But you loose your work. And if you zoom in too close, the images become bit mapped. This app fills a gap for art education. If you currently teach art and Van Gogh's style of painting is on your lesson plans, definitely download this app. You won't find biographical information about Van Gogh, but you will walk away with an introduction to his paintings.
$1.99, iPad
Teaches: art, art history (Van Gogh), reading, word recognition
CTR Rating: 78%