With so many ebook iPad applications now available it’s sometimes hard to know which are worth it and which are junk. Some developers simply throw their hat in the ring just to do so, a cash-grab if you will. Others really get what this whole new area is about and do a tremendous job with their new found submissions.

Treasure Kai & The Lost Gold of Shark Island ($4.99) is one that really gets it…and is great. It’s a very nicely done adventure story that is similar to a “Choose Your Own Adventure”. It will eventually take the reader to the same ending, but how they get there is somewhat up to the user.

Kai is a dreamer, he loves lost treasures, and comes off like a mini Indiana Jones perhaps. One night Kai drifts off to sleep imagining what it would be like to go exploring for lost treasure…

As the story progresses Kai (the user) gets to pick a chest and depending on which chest is chosen, Kai travels to different locations and finds different items. Sometimes it may take 2 chests, sometimes 5 or more, and it’s up to the reader to try and figure out which chest holds the real treasure he seeks. This adds a nice touch of re-readability to the story and app. When the story is finished and Kai has his treasure, you’re told how many chests it took…perfect for going through the story at another time to try and do it in less!

The app has these awesome text bubbles for the words of the story. They highlight sections as they’re read, but the entire bubble can be re-sized and positioned around the screen, or even re-read at the touch of a small icon. It’s a pretty interesting idea actually, and a good one at that.

The graphics and animations within the application are very good. The interactive features are decent…like turning on lights, touching items for sounds that enhance the story, and other such enhancements. There could be a little more animation built in and a couple more user-initiated items added for the benefit of the target audience, but overall it’s a quality build…and it’s universal, so you can use it on iPad and iPhone!