iLounge

Only two things struck us as a little less than ideal in Old MacDonald. First, the title continues to lack a fully guided mode that just tells the full story, complete with automated animations, in the event that the child doesn’t know how or want to interact with the on-screen characters. Instead, it loops the same verse over and over until someone—adult supervisor or child—flips the page. Additionally, unlike Wheels on the Bus, this app departs a little from the theme with a few elements that aren’t totally farm-like, and might be better-suited to adult viewers than kids: UFOs and aliens start popping up in a cow page a la South Park, for instance, reappearing in a pigeon stage. Similarly, bulldozers, bears, and frogs all wind up on the farm, as well, while horses, roosters, and rabbits make no appearance. The pages that are here are cute and fun, but they’re not all as theme-appropriate as they could be.

Of course, kids won’t mind. And most adults won’t, either. Old MacDonald is, like its predecessor, a beautiful little application that demonstrates the value of the iPhone and iPod touch as interactive teaching tools for kids. With music and artwork this good, electronic books leave old fashioned ones with only one chance of surviving: the comparative price and fragility of the playback devices.