The Magic of Reality Review: An eBook that Demonstrates the Power of the iPad for Reading and Learning

The Magic of Reality Review iPad-3

The Magic of Reality Review iPad-3

[rating: 5/5]

The Magic of Reality Review: Most books are made available for electronic formats generally in two forms, PDF or ePub. Both of these formats allow the full document of the book to be published along with illustrations and for the most part do a great job. However, some books are beginning to take full advantage of tablet’s full color touch screen by providing a more interactive experience and in the case of The Magic of Reality that is certainly true.

At $13.99 it may make many people balk at the price, however, when you consider that you are getting the full text of the book and interactive features the price becomes much more validated.

The Magic of Reality for iPad attempts to present the world in a real, scientific perspective, debunking myths and putting forward the beauty and fascination that the real, natural world provides.

The Magic of Reality Review iPad-4

For anyone that knows the work of Richard Dawkin’s it will come as no surprise that he uses this platform to discuss not only the myths of childhood tales but also of religious mythology and it’s all presented in a way that is great for older children and for adults alike.

The app starts with a video introduction from the author, where he details the book and his aims for it, once you have past this you are launched into the content it self.

While you can read the book in the normal way, flipping between pages, you can also swipe down on the iPad with two fingers to reveal two streams of the content. Using the top stream allows you to jump between the 12 chapters, while the 2nd stream allows you to browse the pages of the selected chapter.

The Magic of Reality Review iPad-2

The illustrations by Dave McKean look even more beautiful on the iPad than they do in the book itself and as you scroll between the pages the illustrations scroll in the background too. In some case the illustrations are animated that really bring the book to life.

But that’s not the only difference between the physical book and this iPad version. Throughout the book there are audio pieces read by Dawkins and then there are the interactive pages where you can attempt to evolve frogs, alter liquid and fire newtons cannon. While these interactive features aren’t full blown mini-games they help break up the text and are especially useful in explaining some of the concepts of the book to younger children.

The Magic of Reality Review iPad-1

The Magic of Reality is a great example of how to produce an interactive reading experience on an iPad. While the content itself is engaging, thought provoking and informative the production values set this above and beyond your standard eBook.

What we like:

  • Full content of the book
  • Beautiful illustrations
  • Interactive content

What to know:

  • This is how interactive books should be made!

2 Comments on “The Magic of Reality Review: An eBook that Demonstrates the Power of the iPad for Reading and Learning”

  1. TabgripforIpad

    I love these things. I’m so jealous that they get many things like this, I wish I had an interactive/innovative technology when I was younger. Perhaps, it would have moved me towards different interests.

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