Treasure Kai and the Seven Cities of Gold by Karen Robertson -Review

Treasure Kai and the Seven Cities of Gold is an interactive book app, and the much anticipated sequel to Treasure Kai and the Lost Gold of Shark Island. It was written by Karen Robertson and developed by RipplFX Mobile Media. It is an iPad only app, an iPhone version is coming soon.

If you are already a fan of the first Treasure Kai book, I’m sure you will have been awaiting this book as eagerly as my kids – as soon as my son spotted the familiar Treasure Kai logo he had to start reading. If you aren’t already familiar with Treasure Kai, he is like a young Australian version of Indiana Jones, and the first few pages of this book do a great job of summarizing his previous adventures. The story starts in Kai’s bedroom when his friend Kate bursts in to tell him all about a dream she just had – it is the same dream Kai had about Shark Island. Or was it a dream? When Kai woke up he found a treasure map and a clue in his pocket and he shows them to Kate. When they study the map they see an X marking a spot in Mexico, Kai touches his globe lamp in the same spot, and disappears!! Kai has been transported back in time to Mexico in 1540, where Francisco Coronado and his men are searching for the Lost Seven Cities of Gold, he realizes they have the same map as he does, and creeps closer to hear what they are saying. Meanwhile, Kate is desperate for a way to connect with Kai. Remembering the words of the clue she searches the shop where she finds a special way to keep in touch with him- Kai’s magical locket.

Back in Mexico, Coronado tells his men legend says this land hides the Seven Lost Cities of Gold to reveal them we must collect a key from each city and bring them back here. A pyramid guards each city, and the keys are in a chest on top of each pyramid. When a key is placed on the map it states a challenge which must be overcome to reach the next city. The one who first brings back all seven keys to the chest of top of this pyramid, will reveal the Lost Cities, and will rule them all. There is more than one key in each chest, so Kai ends up in a race with Francisco Coronado to try to collect all the keys first. The reader can also take part in the race to find the keys -each time Kai reaches a pyramid, the reader picks a chest and sees which key is inside, each key leads to a different challenge. The keys shuffle every time you restart the story, so the challenges are faced in a different order each time the story is read.

As Kai faces all these challenges Kate is watching the action, encouraging and helping him. He has many challenges to face such as riding a horse off a cliff, riding a dirt devil and crashing through an anthill. Each page has light animation, realistic sound effects and subtle interactive elements that are in keeping with the story; it also has background music in places which adds to the atmosphere. Kai wins the race, but is faced with a dilemma – does he stay in the Lost Cities as their King and let the Cities be discovered by the world, or does he choose to hide the cities forever and go back home? To go back home Kai has to remember the order he found the keys in. The reader can take the challenge to put the keys in the right order too, but don’t worry, when put in the correct spot the keys click into place, and you can keep trying until you get it right.

The app has read by myself and read to me options, with words highlighted by the phrase as it is read. The music volume and sound effects can be independently adjusted, the text box can be moved around the screen, and the narration can be paused.  There are no adverts, social media links, and no external links except in the settings  screen which has links to The Treasure Kai website where there are extras including a video game, videos and activity pages.

Overall, we really enjoyed this book, it is very true to the original Treasure Kai story, but at the same time is different enough to keep my children’s attention. We loved the feeling of adventure in the book, and the fact that you learned a little history at the same time. The treasure chests and keys are a great way to keep the children involved in the story and to make it a fresh experience every time. We liked that the keys were all different and that you need to collect all seven keys to complete the story. It is a sequel that doesn’t disappoint, my three children give it an enthusiastic thumbs up and vote it even better than the original.

Treasure Kai and the Seven Cities of Gold by Treasure Bound Books Category: Books, Education Requirements: Compatible with iPadFourthGen4G, iPadMini4G, iPadMini, iPad 3G, iPadFourthGen, iPad 2 WiFI, iPadThirdGen4G, iPad 2 3G, iPadThirdGen, iPad WiFi Size: 191.61 MB

$4.99USD

Screenshots for iPad

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Mary

Mary is originally from England but now lives in California with her husband and three children, an 8 year old boy and 5 year old boy/girl twins. Mary and her family love soccer, camping, hiking and playing with their iPad which is also used for therapy for their daughters Apraxia (speech disorder).

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You can email me direct at mary(at)theimums.com