New reading apps from actors Curtis, Burton

— -- Hollywood actors Jamie Lee Curtis and LeVar Burton have each independently decided that the iPad is the next hot platform for storytelling.

Jamie Lee Curtis, says she was "blown away" by the process of turning her print book Where Do Balloons Go into an interactive book app. "This is the most cutting edge and creative venture I have ever been involved with and I'm so pleased that it captures the inherent poignancy of the story of losing a balloon and all the emotions that it brings," says Curtis.

For LeVar Burton, who hosted the popular PBS television series Reading Rainbow , his new Reading Rainbow app is a "reimagining of that series built from the ground up." As he did in the TV show, he is still "encouraging adventure, exploration, and tying the real world into the literary experience." While Reading Rainbow is now on the iPad, Burton notes that "books are at the heart and soul of what we are doing."

Book authors have different responses to the addition of interactivity and animation in their book apps. Some of the most popular book apps, like The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore and The Monster at the End of This Book….starring Grover!, feature a tremendous amount of interactivity and animation. Curtis says interactivity is something she is "proud to use." She sees it as something that "doesn't disturb the preciousness of literature but enhances it if you want it." LeVar Burton decided to go with only light interactivity in the digital books presented in his Reading Rainbow app. Says Burton, "We know kids want bells and whistles; we give them some bells and whistles." But for him, staying true to the books as published is important.

Here is a closer look at these actors' two apps.

Auryn HD - Where Do Balloons Go? An Uplifting Mystery

From Auryn, best for ages 4-8, $5.99, iPad

Rating: 4 stars (out of 4)

Jamie Lee Curtis talks directly to you in a video introduction to this app. She also narrates this charming rhyming story where kids follow the imaginings of what happens to a helium balloon once it has been accidentally let go. The musings are both fanciful and poignant. Curtis wonders if plain balloons can read the words on printed balloons; or if the balloons ever dance with airplanes or birds. She ponders if balloons ever catch a cold and what happens if they reach the stars.

The bright watercolor illustrations are filled with balloons doing all sorts of interesting things. When you tap on them, they respond by moving, talking, inflating, deflating, or zipping around the scene. Even more interesting is the use of an interactive fan that is found in the upper left corner of some pages. By placing your finger on the fan, it attaches to your finger and you can move it around the scene to blow balloons in every direction.

Also fun is a balloon dance party that challenges you to find all 213 dancing balloons. And when balloons are shown up in space, the app provides you with a connect-the-stars game which results in artwork in the sky.

When you are finished reading this fun story, the app provides you with a balloon theater where you can create your own balloon characters and make a video of them moving on stage as you narrate your play. Creating a play is simple and it allows kids to be imaginative. It's rewarding to watch and share a movie of a play you just created.

Reading Rainbow

From Reading Rainbow, Free for first book (thereafter $9.99/monthly subscription or $29.99/6 months subscription), for ages 3-9, iPad

Rating: 3.5 stars (out of 4)

LeVar Burton greets you in a video introduction to explain that this book service provides hundreds of digital books found on floating islands. Kids can choose the first one for free, but thereafter must have a subscription to access new books. You can explore activities with stickers and games, and there are videos with Burton exploring interesting locations like the inside of a submarine.

When children sign in, they are asked their age, gender, and interests. The service uses that information to provide personalized recommendations. At launch, only one child profile is available, but more are coming. Your child is provided a personalized backpack in which to store books and a reading card.

After joining the Reading Rainbow subscription service, kids can keep up to 5 books in their backpack at one time. Kids can rotate those books anytime they want. At launch there are 150 books distributed over four islands: Action Adventure & Magical Tales, Genius Academy, Animal Kingdom and My Friends My Family. Parents are sent regular reports showing minutes read, and are provided with suggestions for discussion and future reading.

The books have been selected by Burton and his team and are read by professional storytellers. Burton reads about 15% of the books himself. The app is partnering with several respected book publishers including Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Holiday House, Peachtree Publishers and others.

While the stories are fun and read by lively readers, the words don't highlight as read. Most digital books provide this option so that early readers can get help; and its absence seems shortsighted.

The books provide light animation which means that places to touch to make things happen don't show up on every page. If you choose the book Moose on the Loose by Kathy-jo Wargin, a madcap adventure about a moose invading a little boy's life, you can touch to make a silly animation about the moose wearing smelly socks appear. But when you come to the page where the moose is shown dancing, you can't tap to see it dance nor do you hear any music.

This reading service has a great interface of visiting floating islands based on a child's interests. And the ability to make recommendations based on your child's likes and age is also fabulous. But it is expensive at $9.99 a month or $29.99 for six months and the books aren't very interactive. Its strength is providing lots of books that tell good stories read by professional storytellers. Choose this service if you trust Burton to select stories that will be fun for your child; and you want constant access to new books to read on your iPad.

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Gudmundsen is the editor of Computing With Kids magazine (www.ComputingwithKids.com). Contact her at techcomments@usatoday.com.