Treasure Kai and the Lost Gold of Shark Island - Interactive Book App for Kids

Review

Common Sense Media says

Award-winning book makes for fun, interactive adventure app.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Treasure Kai and the Lost Gold of Shark Island is an interactive adaptation of the award-winning children's book by Karen Guinn Robertson with illustrations by Victor Guiza. The story follows a boy named Kai on his treasure-hunting exploits, letting kids tap treasure chests to decide which part of the story to hear next. The story ends once Kai finds a special treasure in one of the chests, and the outcome is random, meaning the story will always read a little differently from the time before.

  • Ease of use4
    Kids swipe the screen to turn pages and tap to interact with the illustrations. Kids can also tap on treasure chests along the bottom of the screen to navigate to different parts of the story.
  • Violence1
    A couple of scenarios might be scary for very young kids. A shark with a mouthful of huge teeth leaps out of the water suddenly with scary sound effects. Kai is confronted by a skeleton guard and headhunters brandishing spears.
  • Sex1
    Kai's bare bum is visible in one illustration. Kai is invisible but you can still see a wispy outline of his body.
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Is it any good?

 

TREASURE KAI highlights sections of text as they're read aloud rather than individual words, and the in-game voice-overs can be turned off if parents would prefer to read to their kids or have them read by themselves. While the app might not be as focused on honing kids' reading skills as other interactive books, it's sure to entertain and engage readers thanks to fun cartoony scenes with lively animations, enthusiastic voice acting, and plenty of objects to tap on and investigate.

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This review was written by Erin Bell
Parent
July 8, 2011
AGE
5
 
Great fun and totally family friendly
My kids love this app. It's great fun and totally family friendly. We love that you can either have the story read to you (for the pre readers) or turn off the sound and read it yourself. We can't wait for more treasure Kai adventures.
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Helped me decide (19) | Had useful details (21) | Read my mind (19)
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This review was written by Erin Bell
Category:Books
Platforms:iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
Price:$4.99
Size:43.40 MB
Publisher:Treasure Bound Books
Version:1.0.4
Release date:June 18, 2011
Minimum software requirements:iOS 4.0 or later
This review was written by Erin Bell

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.
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