We begin our story in Kiwaka, isolated deep in the African jungle, where we meet four fantastical animal friends:

• A brightly colored toucan, Tuka
• A slithery, sly snake, Shaka
• A pink elephant, Kudi
• A bright, blue crocodile, Kwilu

The four made up an unlikely group of friends who loved to spend nights stargazing together. The friends knew that the stars in the sky formed constellations, but they didn’t know much about them and they wanted to learn more. Tuka remembered a legend that fireflies carried the light of the stars…maybe the fireflies in Kiwaka could tell the friends more.

Sure enough, the fireflies were able to share stories with the group of friends and begin to show them how the stars fit together to form the constellations. The friends were thrilled to learn the stories, and excited that from Kiwaka, on the equator, they could see all of the constellations. Looking at the stars made each of the friends long for their own adventures.

What adventures, you ask? Well you’ll just have to read the story to find out more. Besides a delightful story, this app has several pages introducing thirteen different constellations and telling the story behind each one. Each page in our story is full of interactive elements. You can make each animal move or make the fireflies group to form the constellations. You can make the entire night sky rotate in order to see each of the constellations. Functionally, I found this app to be extremely well made with beautiful, seamless interactive elements. I like that they not only work properly but also tie into the story and enhance it rather than just being thrown in for effect.

Overall, this app is very lovely visually, with bright, interesting characters and beautiful artwork. The narration is pleasant and engaging, telling a story that kept my kids interested through multiple play-throughs of the app. I personally love the section that introduces us to the different constellations and the stories behind them. I am happy to make this app our newest Top Pick, awarding it a strong 4.5 stars.

Bottom Line: Kiwaka Story is a very lovely interactive storybook app that introduces us to a whimsical group of animal friends that live deep in the jungles of Africa. These friends go in search of the stories that the stars tell and have adventures along the way. This beautiful app would delight children who are already interested in stargazing or be a wonderful introduction to the stars for newcomers.