Volkswagen Lover: food fight! A pre-release view of the most beautiful iOS children's book yet

food fight! is the most beautiful interactive children's book I've seen to date. It's currently going through the App Store review process and isn't yet available, but when it hits the iTunes store, it will sell for US$3.99 and be released as a universal app playable on any iOS device. There are a number of things that make this book special, but the most obvious is the amazing 3D graphics found on every page. The book was written and rendered by Glenn Melenhorst, a visual effects artist at the Iloura studio in Melbourne, Australia. Glenn has been instrumental in such projects as The Pacific, Where the Wild Things Are, and Charlotte's Web. food fight! started as a print book called Little Boys which I couldn't find anywhere, and perhaps never made it out of Australia.

The book tells the story of Tim, who would eat nothing but sausages no matter how much his parents tried to fool and cajole him into eating something else. It's also the story of Sammy, from somewhere else altogether, who happens to be a sausage who eats nothing but little boys. Sammy reads about Tim and takes a rocket to earth where they confront each other and come to a workable compromise. It's a very cute story, whimsically told and I'm sure will entertain children four and above.

The app is beautifully designed and has more play value than most of what I've seen in the burgeoning market of interactive children's fiction. There is no musical soundtrack, but it's not necessary, since over 80 interactive elements found in its pages all come with their own sounds, voices, and effects. Tapping on most anything kicks off nicely done animations, some of them, in keeping with the 3D look, spill right off the page. The pages can be turned by a quick swipe as is usually the case, or in a manner similar to iBooks, by slowly swiping which displays a nicely dimensional page-turning effect at the speed of your fingers.

Gallery: food fight! gallery