Crayola-Colour Alive Colour Alive Barbie

Big disappointment, daughter saw this on you tube and was so excited to try it for herself, yet when we downloaded the app the book was not listed. 1 star is the minimum you can post but this product is a colouring book so don’t pay extra expecting anything extra as it’s not available.

My advice is to only colour in Barbie first then use the app then once you're done taking photos or playing with the app then colour in the rest of the photo. Otherwise the camera won't pick barbie up very well. I personally like the book but you can download the app for free then buy add ons for about £1.50 with the characters of your choice which eliminates the need for the book, plus it's cheaper. Enjoy!

Absolutely waste of money. No app to go with book!. Refund issued

App no longer works so a complete waste of money.

Barbie 'Colour Alive' is a colouring book containing eight sheets of paper with a different Barbie design to each side (16 in total). Included with the book are a set of 6 standard colouring pens plus one special pen which 'unlocks virtual effects'. There is no story in the book it's just a series of largish black and white images to colour.Here's the technical bit; to use the colouring book as intended by Crayola you'll need to download their free app (Colour Alive) from Google Palystore/App Store or Windows store. Open the app and focus your tablet/phone over the images, you can do this at any stage while colouring, and you'll see several on screen buttons offering a variety of special effects and other bits and pieces such as taking a photo. It's basically an on screen design studio which allows children to get more creative.By far the best bit is the 4D effect which brings Barbie to life dancing and moving around on the screen wearing your own colour design. I've read on other reviews that the coloured pens provided don't show up and you need to use standard pens?. Everything we coloured today shows up bright and clear on the image and in 4D.Once completed there are other pages and designs to buy via the app.My granddaughter, almost 5 years and the right age range for the product, absolutely loves this. It's something different and she has already picked up on the basics of the app because it's very simple and no more than a case of pressing buttons on screen. As an older and somewhat wiser person (maybe!) I will tell you that I have a few reservations.My 'niggle' is mostly with the app. You're paying a premium for the book because of the app. It's not particularly reliable and has locked up and refused to open many times during the afternoon. Did it spoil her enjoyment?. Absolutely not. I got fed up with constantly re-starting the app but I don't think there's a Barbie fan out there who won't get a kick out of this novelty. That's why I'm leaving 4* rather than 3*.Crayola-Colour Alive is recommended for children over 4 years to 14 years with adult supervision.

The colouring book is itself quite poor as a stand alone item. There is a hole hanging loop which makes it look like a travel item you'd pick up at the service station. It's kind of tall and thin, not tablet shaped. For a kids scan item you'd have though a tablet shape would have been better. There is good storage for the pens as the front cover opens at the back in a half tear down section. It's reinforced with a bit of plastic.However a one star feature is the half usual size colour pens bleed through the paper disappointing your child even with minimal 1 layer colour - especially the pink main event pen which gives a sparkle effect and your child will want to use the most.The pictures are Barbie by a fountain, Barbie sitting on her car bonnet!!! Love to see the sexist portrayal of women and stereotypes for children continuing..., Barbie a la Paris Hilton with a small dog in her bag, Barbie cuddling a puppy with presumably a wind machine in front of her or tossing her hair, Barbie with a guitar, Barbie lying in front of a laundry basket!!!, Barbie skipping through the park, ballet Barbie x 2, Barbie tossing her hair in front of a waterpark, Barbie tossing her hair in front of her wardrobe, Barbie sitting on the floor rather than the perfectly adequate table and chairs behind her, Barbie tossing her hair in front of a sports car, Barbie posing with a puppy with a sad puppy in the window behind her ...I can see why Barbie is losing her appeal as a role model. I can't see much female empowerment going on her. Even the Disney films have caught up with the times.As for the interactive bit only has one and a half stars in the App Store and is a bit lame. You select your books - minions, monster high etc take a picture and then Barbie stands up as 4d in your colours. An arrow button takes you back to the book. You can purchase additional colouring pages so your children may pester you for those.The 4D Barbie doesn't always pick up the colours you've used correctly which can lead to a frustrated child.