Duck Duck Moose’s fourth app contains two nursery rhymes woven into one app: Baa Baa Black Sheep and Row Your Boat. There are three ways your child can navigate from scene to scene: manually, by swiping or touching; using an arrow button; or selecting autoplay in the preferences to automatically change the scenes. As children explore, they can hunt for four hidden outlines in the pictures. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Baby Einstein content comes to your mobile device for the first time in this mixture of short video, and do-it-yourself fact screens in which you can record your own voice and follow links to online purchases. The videos consist of six three minute video segments taken from existing content (Baby Neptune and Baby Beethoven). Each follows the tried-and-true formula of mixing classical music with close ups of interesting objects. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Modeled after the classic See ‘n Say spinner toy, the See ‘n Say app mixes cartoon-like farm animals with clear video of real animals. After you start the App, children see six of the 12 animals (a different selection each time) and can either touch a spinner in the center of the screen to randomly select an animal, or manually turn or “steer” the spinner to an animal they want to see. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Recently, the head of public relations from the Baby Einstein Company (owned by Disney) asked if I would take a call from Susan McLain, the General Manager of the Baby Einstein Division. They wanted to find out what I thought about what they called kids and screen time, given the famous rebate issue. The line from the email was: “Given the fact that I’m a children’s technology reviewer and an advocate for screens, was I a friend or a foe to the Baby Einstein concept?”
That’s what led to this post. I certainly don’t like being characterized as an advocate of anything other than developmentally appropriate experiences for children, be they on a screen or off. Regarding Baby Einstein, was I a friend or a foe?
Concentration anyone? This iPhone/iPod touch app delivers a simple game of concentration. Each card shows a picture of an animal, and an associated sound. The object is to try to make a match by touching any two squares. When the squares flip over, the animal displayed makes its sound, and the pictures stay on the screen, a fact that clutters the game. If the animals don’t match, they are flipped back over and you must try again. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.