Gimmicks can often be a bad thing in book-apps for children: interactive bells and whistles risk distracting kids from the actual words and storyline. That doesn’t stop us being (aptly, given the name) sneakily impressed with Sneak a Snack HD.

Developed by U.N.I Interactive, it’s a story about a boy named Alex, hunting for his “giant snack gone missing” with three suspects in the frame.

The whizzy bits come in the use of your iPad’s accelerometer and camera, enabling you to tilt the tablet to reveal more of each animated scene in the story: “Thanks to the video game ‘techno-magic’,” as the App Store listing puts it.

The video (below) shows exactly how it works, with some neat interactive elements as your child taps around each scene too. Time will tell whether the story holds their attention as much as the effects, but it’s certainly fun.

Sneak a Snack HD costs £1.99 / $2.99 for iPad on Apple’s App Store. Here’s that video: