This 7-inch Android tablet is designed to be of use to both kids and adults. It comes from Singapore-based Karuma, and is wrapped in a thin silicone cover for protection against drops that doubles as a flimsy kick-stand for watching movies. It is powered by a 1.2 Ghz processor with 8 GB of onboard RAM. A micro SD card provides an additional route for expansion. Slightly thinner than the Nabi, this tablet has fewer ports (there is no HTMI out). The tablet is both synced and charged through a flat micro USB port. Apps can be downloaded from standard Android stores — two come pre-installed — Soc.io and Applibs, but we found it hard to find anything child appropriate other than a free version of a St. Patrick’s Day-themed version of Angry Birds, in Chinese. Other apps, like the free Pac Man app would run, but only in a phone-sized screen orientation. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Content of this two player game for Kinect and Wii includes 30 songs that feature Dora, Diego, and the Backyardigans as models. It is easy for a second player to jump into the dance, say for a mom or dad to dance along. Created by High Voltage Software, published by 2K Play for Nickelodeon Kids & Family. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This 7 inch Android powered tablet isn’t kidding around when it comes to such things as the ability to play Netflix movies, or apps like Cut the Rope. Nabi comes with a Kid Mode that gives parents what they’ve been asking for on an iPad — a parent-controlled, password-protected interface that locks a child inside a gated digital community. This means you can pick the apps, videos and sites you want your child to see, and because the app runs Flash, this can include sites like PBS kids. If you want to use the tablet to watch a movie or check your own email, you start “Mommy Mode” by entering your password. An essential part of the business model is the Nabi App Store, home to 500 pre-selected apps, games and other content, and there’s a direct pipeline to the Toysrus.com app. Fifteen apps come pre-installed, plus some ebooks and movie trailers which helps to make the out-of-the-box experience nicer. 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.
Slightly larger than a fortune cookie, this robotic creature can “slither” on smooth surfaces, propelled by special offset wheels that give it a unique motion that is best described as “creepy.” It is the sixth of seven Hexbugs. A nose-mounted sensor can detect such things as a leg of a chair, and change directions, accordingly. It is available in five colors, and uses three LR44 button cell batteries. See the video at http://www.youtube.com/childrenstech. 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.
The Bob Books app is based on the print editions of a popular workbook series (learn more at www.bobbooks.com). The app presents a step-by-step word-building experience, where the more letters you match, the more the picture fills in. Reading Magic 1 contains twelve scenes for 32 words, presented in four levels to provide increasing challenges to children as they play. Also available is Reading Magic 2, with 12 new scenes, different animations and 50 words. 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.
Each of the 12 pages in this app document Grover’s creative attempts to keep Elmo (and your child) from turning the page and getting to the end. He tries glue (you can rub it off), locks (you match colors to solve the combination) and so on. See also The Monster at the End of This Book. Created by Callaway Digital Arts for Sesame Workshop. 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.
Toca Kitchen turns your iPad or iPhone into a virtual kitchen. You start by choosing from one of four characters to feed (a boy, girl, goat or cat). You then choose from 12 food items in the fridge by dragging and dropping the items on the plate. To feed your person, you touch the food and drag it near the mouth. They will either eat it, or refuse it. If it is the latter, you can visit the kitchen where you can cut it, blend it, boil it, fry it, or use a microwave. Each item can be made in many different ways. Each of the characters in the app have specific food preferences, and their reactions are dependent on how your prepare the food. They may refuse to eat certain foods, or they may start drooling even if the food is uncooked. 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.
This app features two puzzle sets, each with nine puzzles that start easy (with six large pieces) and become more difficult. A hint system makes trial and error possible. The pirate is playful and it is hard to not complete a puzzle to see the ending. Preferences let you turn off the background music. 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.
Noodle Words: Active Words Set 1, is a set of 18 words that wait quietly until you touch them. The trick is that every action is directly related to the word. In addition, the child’s touch is the driving force behind each routine. Tap quickly three times on the word “pump” for example, and you’ll hear “pump, pump, pump” with the word getting fatter, as if it is being inflated like an inner tube. Keep on pumping and the word eventually starts hissing, and quickly deflates, zipping around the screen like a balloon that has been released, startling two little bugs who rest on every screen, waiting to see what you’ll do next. The app was designed by Mark Schlichting (creator of the Living Books) and programmed by KwiqApps using Cocos2d. 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.
This Kindle-sized Android powered tablet comes with a Kid Mode that gives parents what they’ve been asking for on an iPad — a parent-controlled, password-protected interface that locks a child inside a gated digital community. This means you can pick the apps, videos and sites you want your child to see, and because the app runs Flash, this can include sites like PBS kids. If you want to use the tablet to watch a movie or check your own email, you start “Mommy Mode” by entering your password. At this point Nabi is no different than any other Android tablet. Fifteen apps come pre-installed, plus some ebooks and movie trailers. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Put a science center in your iPad, with this collection of three activities, featuring Sid the Science Kid characters. Following a noisy introduction — just like the show — you tap one of the three Sid characters to start a no-fail activity. In the Collection Inspection, you use a magnifying glass to notice subtle differences in 14 sets of items. Chart It presents seven collections, which vary by shape, color and pattern. You can move them onto dynamic charts. Wrong answers fall back to the bottom of the screen, giving the charts authenticity, and realtime feedback. Time Machine lets you play with time relationships as you freely explore 14 sets of objects such as an apple being eaten, a candle burning or a plant growing. Created by Jim Henson Studios and Carsten’s Studios for PBS Kids. 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.
This is part of a series of apps that feature a new Mom-Comm tracking mechanism, that lets you look over the should on what your child does using Facebook or email. Play Maker was created for Fingerprint by Krome studios. After you design a character by mixing and matching heads, bodies and legs, you can record a happy sound and sad sound. Next, you see your character filling the screen with letters attached to them. You are asked to match all the characters holding a number 9 card, and are told not to touch a robot with the wrong number or you’ll loose. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This “talk and draw” experience makes self-narrating and sharing a drawing into a nearly one-step process, providing you have an iPad. In addition, having an active YouTube account is handy for the optional sharing part. This is a very important App; a fact that was recognized by the 2012 KAPi jurors when they called DoodleCast the “best app for younger children.” For young children, this app turns the iPad screen into a creativity space where sounds and drawing can be mashed into the same project seamlessly. 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.
Disney AppMates ($20 for two) are matchbox-sized cars that transform the multi-touch screen into a slippery playspace, where roads and ramps scroll automatically. The base of each car is a pattern of three capacitive sensors that let the iPad “see” each car. Not only does it know the difference between Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater, but it can tell which direction they’re headed and scroll appropriately, with the correct sound effects. In addition, a block of white pixels is used to send light through a window in the bottom of the car, giving it the illusion that the lights are working. No batteries are required. Once you download the app, you can either drive around the scrolling streets of Radiator Springs or complete missions, such as delivering a lost tow hook to Mater while earning hubcaps. Effects include working headlights (you see the beams in front of your car, in real time) and a large mirror where you see a perfect digital reflection of your car. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This app is designed to teach children the names of common colors using a hungry but friendly monster. There are 10 language options (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Swedish, Russian, Japanese and Chinese). Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This set of timed maze game challenges is embedded with multiple-choice problems. For example, in order to use a ladder to rescue a kitten, you must “find and tap the number ten” (from four possible numerals) or “find and tap something round” (from four shapes). This is one of the four new free FingerPrint apps created by former Leapfrog executive Nancy MacIntyre. Other titles in the series include Big Kid Life: Veterinarian; Big Kid Life: Fairy Princess; Fingerprint Play Maker; and DoReMi, 1-2-3. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This is one of the four new free FingerPrint apps created by former Leapfrog executive Nancy MacIntyre. See also Big Kid Life: Firefighter. In this title, children are introduced to a story, step by step, and then are asked to remember the main events. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This is a narrated version of “The Ugly Duckling” presented Living Books style. There are 15 screens, each with about five hidden hot spots. Sometimes they are sequential. For example, you can press an egg several times before it will hatch. It is possible to record your voice on each page. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This ebook is about a Sleepy Mole who can’t find a place to rest. You help, by choosing a direction to flip the page. If you choose down, Sleepy Mole digs down, where he might meet an angry frog, who might tell him to go away. Content includes four directions to move, with 16 different animals along the way. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This app is designed to introduce children to parts of the body. There are three screens: Learn, Match and Compose. Learn lets children watch and listen; Match lets them listen to the song and choose the image that corresponds to the music; and Compose lets children compose their own song by selecting the pictures they would like to include in the song. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This game came from an extremely non-educational company, called Double Fine, best known for games that the ESRB says are not for children. See for example, Brütal Legend. This time, Double Fine has taken on an even harder-to-please audience — preschoolers. After you log into your Xbox account (required in order to bookmark your progress) a storybook is introduced by Elmo and friends, and you are shown how you can turn pages with a slow wave of your arm. To jump into the page to play an activity, you move both arms slowly as if doing a slow breast stroke. Each page features a different activity, including jumping through an obstacle course (jumping, ducking and leaning left or right), growing a garden by tossing seeds and squirting a hose, flying through a maze by flapping your “wings,” dancing, pulling weeds, and calling out your name, to have it recorded by the Kinect microphone. 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.
Drag-and-drop puzzles abound these days in the app store, but not many have animated pieces. The animated features bring a new type of timed problem solving to the challenge. For example, you can watch an animated part of the scene move, and use that as a clue to know the order in which the parts go. Songs include Take Me Out to the Ball Game, Oh Where Has My Dog Gone?, Down By the Bay, Itsy Bitsy Spider, You Are My Sunshine, Old MacDonald, This Old Man, I’m a Little Teapot, Twinkle Little Star, Yankee Doodle, Bach Minuet, Wheels on the Bus, London Bridge, Saints Go Marching, Boccherini Minuet, and Coming Around the Mountain. 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.
Puzzingo was inspired by classic wooden puzzles for kids. As children play with the puzzles, they learn what the different pieces are, as well as the different sounds they make. After they complete a puzzle, they are rewarded with minigames – including singing the ABC song, popping balloons, swatting flies, and more. In addition, once a puzzle is completed, children will unlock new puzzles to play. All the puzzles come together to build a circus ground. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
The series Millie Was Here is a book app series for iPad featuring Millie, a mischievous dog. The first book in the series, Meet Millie, is a free teaser, in the form of an eight page introduction. You’ll learn about Millie’s origin, and see some of her magical powers in action. The second book in the series, Millie & The Lost Key is $4. In it, Millie travels to a far away land in search of a powerful treasure – The Key to Endless Bacon. 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.
Ms. Frizzle’s Magic School Bus comes to your Nintendo DS, complete with hundreds of ecology-related facts. The games are fast-paced and generally fun. For example, in one you try to find fish with spots as quickly as possible, while avoiding predators. In another, you sketch fish outlines. The game features seven games with just under 200 science interactions, and you will earn points to unlock ocean areas to explore and learn hundreds of facts about underwater life. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Featuring ten animals (five bears and five large cats), this interactive animal sim lets you explore an island with a realistic looking pet. After you choose your pet, you can give it a name using the Kinect’s voice recognition abilities (you don’t actually hear your recorded voice, but your pet runs over when you say it’s name). Other voice commands include “jump,” “roll over” and “play dead,” plus you can give the Kinect general yes and no commands, which speeds things along. The story varies with each pet. If you choose a cat, you’ll solve a mystery on the island of Lemuria; bears undertake Fiddler’s Quest on the island of Mira. On both islands, you’ll be able to unlock items and personalize the gameplay experience. These items include special toys that can be unlocked by buying one of the $12 plush toys, that include a special tag. The items can be unlocked by holding a tag up to the “scan stone” at the start of the game. Microsoft now has a deal with select Build-A-Bear Workshop stores, which also use the Microsoft Tag technology. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Here’s a fun way to put yourself into a book, and create a funny language experience. Note, that you’ll need a camera on your iPad (e.g., the iPad 2). Also note that there are both free and paid version pathways to these stories. This first title, called “The Biggest Pizza Ever,” tells the story of a kid who wreaks havoc on his town with a gigantic pizza pie. The book features simple character animations. Additional titles cost $8 each, or you can subscribe for $4/month. 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.
This electronic flannel board features four sets of resizable stickers that can be combined, and then “played” on a race track, as a rock riff plays. There are no coloring or drawing features. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This letter recognition app is designed to introduce and teach letters in Spanish, based on the Montessori methodology. After each letter is introduced, children can practice writing each letter, one at a time, in upper or lower case by following the prescribed path. If you stay inside the line, you are praised in Spanish. The app is available in Spanish and Catalan. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
The idea behind this alphabet app is to teach children to read and write the alphabet, one letter at a time. Activities include picking the right letter to fill in the blank to complete a word, singing along with the alphabet song as they pop each bubble to reveal a hidden creature, and tracing letters. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This four-pack of previously released apps consists of four chapters: Into the Snow We Go (make pictures in the snow, decorate a snowman); Rainy Days and Rainbows (draw paintings, dig through leaves for treasures, race pine cones); Backyard at Twilight (look for bugs, discover constellations, learn about shapes); and Go-There-Square (pop musical bubbles, collect dandelions, build a bridge out of flowers). Each adventure combines original animation from the Canadian Television series, and three activities that support free play. 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.
Singing and Storytelling Belle (from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast movie) is a large (20 inch) soft-bodied doll dressed in Belle’s signature outfit. But this doll does a lot more than just look pretty. Besides the doll, seven special accessories trigger one of 100 related phrases, stories or songs. For example, when you place the storybook in Belle’s hand, she will read a Beauty and the Beast short story. Place her microphone in her hand to hear her sing her two songs (including “Be My Guest”); hold a teapot to her mouth and you hear her take a sip of tea. Belle can also interact with her friends Chip, Mrs. Potts and Lumière (included) when placed in her hands. Three AAA batteries fit into her back, hidden beneath her clothes, along with the on/off/demo switch. 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.
Eight timed games give young children a chance to play with firehouse themes. Games include Firetruck Traffic (help the firefighters get to the fire while avoiding other cars by tapping on the screen); In The Trees (tilt the screen to guide a firefighter into the trees to rescue pets); Put Out the Fire (spray water on burning windows); Safety Net (guide a net to catch jumping animals); Find & Rescue (a hard to control maze game); Helicopter Drop (a confusing game where you drop water out of a fire helicopter onto flames) and Firefighter Gear (a confusing matching game). Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Mercer Mayer’s rendition of the classic folk tale comes to your iPad. As you know, this fairy tale has a dark theme. Mayer deals with that by turning the wolf into a frustrated Shakespearian actor who simply ties up Grandma instead of eating her. When it comes time to eat Little Red Riding Hood, she’s able to hide while the woodcutter chases the wolf away. There are two word search games. The more you read or play, the more coins you collect, although there’s no real connection between the coins and the story. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
The Kid-Tough See Yourself Digital Camera from Fisher-Price (in stores now, $70, www.fisher-price.com) features a swiveling lens. So your child can take a traditional front-facing snapshot, or flip the lens 180 degrees toward something of greater interest — their face. An SD expansion slot augments the onboard 256 MB of memory, and the 1.8″ color preview screen makes it easy to review pictures, crop photos, or edit on the fly with a set of playful face-warping tools. It is also easy to toggle the camera into video mode, making this a handy digital camcorder. The 4 AA batteries are preserved with an auto-off mode. 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.
In this app, your job is to run a helicopter taxi that picks up different characters that need to get to certain places. Your kids can fly the helicopter by walking around the room, and rotate the iPhone to see all different angles as well as turn it upright to see the pilots Rita and Skip. When your kids get a call from someone who needs a ride, they place the iPhone on any flat surface to land and pick up new passengers. The app features five characters including Señor Fox, Minda, Rooster, T-Bot and Dr. Clifton, and five locations to bring them too. 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.
This farm-related interactive sticker book lets you touch and hear items and add your own stickers, which can be arranged on the screen. Content includes 500 pieces of art on 20 pages, including a sticker drawer that lets you drag and drop different items on the page. Each scene can be toggled between day and night (just touch the sun or the moon). Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This well intentioned app looks good, but it is (at times) painfully didactic. It combines matching games with a playful Winnie the Pooh story; proof that some things don’t mix particularly well. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This animated stickerbook app features four scenes: Drag Race, Classic Roadster, Monster Car, and Junkyard Car builder. You tap and hold a sticker of a car-related item, such as a tire, then drag it into the scene. You can then resize it. To remove a sticker, just drag it off the screen. At any point, you can select a “play” button to animate the stickers, e.g., to make the cars start moving across the screen. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Fifth in the series of the ABC apps from Peapod Labs (see also Music, Wildlife, Play and Go), ABC Food turns your iPad or iPhone screen into an alphabet-themed visual encyclopedia. You start by pressing one of the 150 thumbnail images, organized alphabetically. Each leads to a letter themed food item. For C, for example, you won’t want to miss the closeup view of a child eating an ear of Corn, one of the 38 photos used to illustrate the letter C. Others include coconut, chocolate and croissant. Hungry yet? 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.