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The most stunning iPad app so far

Moonbot Studios

Yes, we — yours truly in particular — gush about iPad apps constantly and proclaim every other one to be the most fantastic thing since the invention of the toaster oven, but the one we're about to show you stands apart from the crowd. It's beautiful, delightful, and — if you let your inner child be the judge — a little bit magical.

The app is called The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore and it is an interactive children's book — but it's also so much more.

It was designed by award-winning author and illustrator William Joyce and the folks of Moonbot Studios. Together these people created something they describe as both "old-fashioned and cutting edge."

And it's difficult to disagree.

As soon as you start flipping through the interactive pages of the iPad book, you're pulled back into the days of bedtime stories and fairytales. At the same time though, you're perfectly aware of the fact that you're being drawn into a wondrous narrative by a series of animated clips and interactive cues.

If you choose to, you can tap, swipe, swirl, and smash your fingers against your iPad to trigger additional animations and sounds — or you can simply swipe through the book's "pages" and let the tale unfold as if it's simply a well-produced short film.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is available in the Apple App Store right now. It will set you back $4.99.

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Rosa Golijan writes about tech here and there. She's obsessed with Twitter and loves to be liked on FacebookOh, and she can be found on Google+, too.