What does the inside of a seashell look like? What about an insect, a motorcycle or an iPad? Here’s an app that lets you find out. The app contrasts two images — before x-ray and after x-ray, and every possible gradation between. To move between the views, you swipe with a single finger, from top to bottom. Content includes 26 everyday objects, arranged from A to Z. A double-tap offers a stereoscopic option, or you can pinch to zoom and reveal detail. This app is based on the photography of Hugh Turvey, the Artist in Residence at the British Institute of Radiology. The accompanying text is by author Paul Rosenthal. There are different versions, one for iPad, the other for iPhone or iPod Touch. 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.
Loud Crow Interactive and Peanuts Worldwide have partnered to produced a series of digital interactive books based on the cartoon specials. The first in the series, A Charlie Brown Christmas, features narration by Peter Robbins, the original voice of Charlie Brown, along with original scenes and dialog from the 1965 animated classic, and digitally remastered illustrations, animation, and music optimized for your smartphone or tablet. See also “My Charlie Brown Christmas Tree,” a free add on designed to give you a taste of this app; that lets you decorate your own tree. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-charlie-brown-christmas/id484320301?mt=8 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.
In the nine-screen presentation, children help Bizzy Bear on the farm, picking apples (dragging and dropping from the tree to a basket), gathering eggs, feeding the pigs and rounding up the lambs into their pen. As in “The Three Little Pigs”, the narration by children is professionally done. 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.
Stretching the term “non-fiction,” The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library is an ebook adaptation of the Dr. Seuss series, done in classic Oceanhouse Media style, where you can touch any item or word to see it labeled. You can also tap the stars on some of the pages to reveal constellations and see them identified. Other titles in the series will explore subjects including dinosaurs, pets, marine life and trees, each featuring classic characters from the original The Cat in the Hat series. 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.
As with other editions of Scribblenauts, children use language to unlock puzzles, by typing in the items they need. Need to kill a shark? Type “hair dryer” and drop it in the water, to electrocute it. Want to get through a gate? Type “shovel” and dig under it. Content includes 10 original levels designed specifically for Apple devices, along with 40 fan favorite levels from Scribblenauts and Super Scribblenauts. The more levels you solve, the more Starites you earn, and these unlock in-game achievements. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Based on the children’s line of plush pillows from CJ Products, the idea is to collect accessories for your pets by completing each level. You also help pets find their friends. The story idea works well. Content includes 16 Pillow Pets characters, levels that include “Fantasy Woods,” and “Rainbow Valley”, and the ability to accessorize your pets with 40 items. Developed by First Playable. 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.
Now Moshi Monsters (the popular virtual world)can fit in your pocket, in the form of this one player Nintendo DS game. Your mission is to explore eight areas of the Wooly Wilderness to see if you can spot hiding creatures, called Moshlings. There are 52 Moshlings to find, and each has specific needs that are met by shopping, searching and combining various elements such as the string with a banjo. 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 one player Zelda game turns your Wii into a flying, sword-fighting puzzle solving adventure, complete with problem solving opportunities and reading. Note the E10+ rating, for plenty of fantasy violence mostly due to the realistic fighting. Also note the gender bias, with a story line full girls who tend to giggle and boys who are warriors who must prove themselves for the girl’s approval. You must play the male role. This title requires a Wii MotionPlus controller. Zelda, like Mario, is one of the hallmark Nintendo characters. As a result, the limited-edition version of the game ($70) includes a gold Wii RemotePlus controller and a music CD featuring the Zelda Symphony. 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 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.
Adapted directly from the printed Golden Book with the same title, by Janette Debring Lawrey, this is a 23 page, 12 screen ebook (two “pages” per screen). The story — of mischievous puppies getting into trouble — is supported nicely with good interaction, professional narration, and guided exploration on each page. The story is tried and true, and the springy illustrations wait quietly for a child’s touch. It is easy to jump to any page at any time, making this a solid addition to your ebook library. 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.
You heard it right, Pokémon fans — 3D, for the first time. The game contains 600 Pokémon, including the libraries from both Pokémon Black and Pokémon White.
There’s also Boss Pokémon, which is stronger, and two new battle modes. In Team Battle, you are joined by two of your own Toy Pokémon as you battle numerous mini bosses in a quest to defeat a Boss Pokémon. In Charge Battle, the strength of your team is challenged when two large battalions of Pokémon collide. The game also allows for two players to team up and play over a local wireless connection, or you can use the StreetPass features and challenge Toy Pokémon that other nearby players have collected, and view customized Mii characters within the game. 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 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.
Designed for older (upper elementary) readers, this 40 page/screen story is about life at the animal film studios, where The Fox is the director. The mystery has to do with finding some stolen jewelry. While there are no text-to-speech features, each page has something interesting to discover, or fun to do to support the story. On one page, you might match various types of lace to different dresses to complete a wardrobe. 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 second edition of Bartleby’s Book of Buttons contains 17 pages, each containing one or more puzzles that must be solved in order to unlock the next page. In the page labeled “Whale in the Way”, you must figure out how to get a sleeping whale to wake up, in order to see the door to a hidden cave. This requires playing records on Bartleby’s phonograph (spun with your finger). If you pick the right record (street noises) long enough, the whale wakes up. Other screens have you tilting the screen to steer a bubble and shining a spotlight on various points on the screen. 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 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.
Based on the printed book “When I Grow Up” by Al Yankovic with illustrations by Wes Hargis, this 18 screen book deals with the age-old question “what will I be when I grow up.” In this case, the question is answered by the author, “Weird Al” Yankovic, the famous wisecracking comedian/musician. Note that the app was initially released as a book but has since been enhanced with five story-related games. For example, in Haute Cuisine Hero you’re a cook who is supposed to tap an ingredient when it is above a pot of stew. 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.
Originally called the InnoPad, InnoTab is designed for children aged 4 to 9 years-of-age, whose parents are wary of giving them a smart phone. As tablets go, InnoTab is massive in size. When layed over an iPad you realize that it is the same height and width (but much fatter). Despite the bulk, the screen is relatively small; just 5 inches diagonally, which is slightly larger than an iPhone. Inside, are accelerometers for tilt and motion sensing, a microphone, headphone jack, SD card slot and a USB connection to a computer for downloading additional content. There’s also a game card slot. The screen is touch sensitive, like the Nintendo DS. Included software includes a music player, games, an Art Studio with painting and drawing applications and a Photo Viewer/Editor. Other included apps: an MP3 player for both videos or songs, a Calculator, Calendar, Notepad, Clock with personalized voice alarm and Friends Address Book. 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.
First the bad news. This app, based on the book of the same name, costs $13. That’s plenty for a muggle. But the good news is that that it succeeds in satisfying the curiosity of any Harry Potter aficionado, young or old, with added (“oh wow!”) interactive features that include pinch and zoom set blueprints, behind-the-scenes photos from the movie sets, and trailers for each Harry Potter movie. See… that’s why you spent $500 on an iPad. 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.
Based on the 1955 book of the same name by Crockett Johnson, this app tells the story of a little boy’s journey into his dream, where he uses a crayon to draw things that he wants to see. For example, when he falls into the sea, he draws a “trim little boat.” 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 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 15 page/screen ebook lets you customize one of the cars (from the movie) with pre-made patterns and a spoiler. You then can enter a race which is held on one of three tracks, at the end of the story. Features include the ability to toggle between English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Swedish. All text is highlighted as it is read. 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.
If you liked Nosy Crow’s iPad treatment of “The Three Little Pigs,” you’ll love their rendition of Cinderella. The interactive design is springy, responsive and multi-dimentional. For example, you can touch any character to read and hear a pop-up sentence of dialog, but if you touch a second or third time, you get another line. You can also help Cinderella with jobs, such as dragging and dropping scattered logs in the fireplace. Options are available for either UK English or US English. You can also choose the length of time the text appears (short, medium or long) to give early readers more time to read. 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 the first of the Berenstain Bears to be adapted for multi-touch tablets by Oceanhouse Media. In the 33 screen story, it’s bedtime for Brother Bear and Sister Bear, but they have other plans such as playing with dinosaurs, having a tea party and getting a piggyback ride from Papa Bear. When Papa Bear announces that it’s bedtime, the bedtime battle begins. Features include Auto Play, which plays like a movie by automatically reading and turning pages; Read To Me, which allows children to listen to the narrated story with words highlighted as they are read; and Read It Myself, which lets children read the book in its traditional format. 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.
Good for older readers (upper elementary and middle school) this children’s magazine (by Bayard Presse) on an iPad mixes age-appropriate content with some mid-to good-quality interactivity. There’s no doubt that this is a British publication, and the narrator accent is proof. The idea is to continue stories from app to app, so there is continuity from issue to issue, like the printed counterpart. We reviewed the first issue (#1) so quality might improve. At the core of each issue is an animated story. For this issue, “How about a MOOH?” is about Stella the little calf who wakes up but does not moo. The farm animals are worried but a little cuddle with her Mom is all she needs. Features include the ability to record your own voice, or zoom into illustrations for a closer look. Content also includes Science – Why do aeroplanes leave trails in the sky? (note the British spelling); SamSam – GumGum the giant – follow the cosmic adventures of the smallest of the big heroes plus watch an episode of the SamSam TV series; Animal world – learn about Humpback whales; Games – fly your kite, join the dots, maze, match the pairs, find the correct order; and Polo – an adventure without words to lead you into the world of dreams. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Looking for some cut and dry spelling practice for the iPad? After you create a user account, you start working through a set of 25 word lists (about 10 words in each), spelling each one letter at a time while your progress is saved. The words are presented verbally and in a sentence. A keyboard is shown beneath the letter grid. Letters can be typed or dragged into place, and it is easy to get a hint or re-arrange the letters to make a word. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This 16 page ebook mixes home-made art and sounds with the story of two frogs, Phil and Freddy on their quest to become country music stars. Children can touch a paragraph of text to hear it read outloud. The app is the second book in the Phil and Freddy series. Created by Mike Rigsby and Erya Cash. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This CD based series of four titles features a set of exercises drill with arcade-style games. There are four titles: Phonological Awareness, Following Directions, Sequencing, and Auditory Memory. In Phonological Awareness, children play instruments and form a rock band while learning to segment, blend and manipulate sounds. In Sequencing, children are shown a set of cards depicting an event, such as building a snowman, and are asked to drag and drop the cards in the correct order. The cards contain print, which can be read outloud as each word is highlighted. 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.
Turn your iPad into a talking alphabet/language generator. To build a word, you drag it from an alphabet strip onto a 44 letter grid, where it snaps into place, pronouncing any word that might be created, including nonsense words. The main menu offers two choices: Moveable Alphabet, for free exploration of word combinations; and Spelling Quiz, a talking spelling ten word test with 173 built in word lists (e.g., nature words, or 1000 most frequently used words). In the spelling tests, you hear the word, and must spell it using the same alphabet strip used in the Moveable Alphabet. Options include a spell checker that highlights unrecognized words, American and British voices, the ability to change the speed or tone of the voice, uppercase or lowercase letters, and two backgrounds. 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.
Touch a cartoon-ish farm-related object or animal to hear a sample sound, and hear it labeled, animated and described. For example, if you touch the donkey, you might hear “the donkey has big ears,” along with a donkey sound and an animated routine. Content includes 300 sentences, along with moving pictures and sounds. This is the first of a planned series. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Good facts and illustrations are combined with Oceanhouse Media’s excellent labeling techniques to create an excellent early literacy experience that can enhance a child’s emerging reading abilities. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This ebook app is based on the children’s book of the same title (by Eric Drachman). In the story, Leo — the littlest lightning bug of all, can’t make his own light. The other lightning bugs tease him, but eventually Leo learns to light up the night. Features include professional narration, background audio, and enlarged artwork for each scene. There are three presentation modes available from the main menu — Read to Me, lets you listen to the narrated story with words highlighted as they are read; Read it Myself, lets you read the book in its traditional form; and Auto Play, which plays like a movie, automatically reading and turning pages. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This talking story construction activity is designed to let young children experiment with sentence construction. There are two modes: Edit and Write. In Edit, you see a page of print, from the Three Little Pigs. It is possible to touch select words, marked with an underline, to toggle between different options. So, for example, you can change “there were three little pigs” to “there were three smelly hippos.” In Write, there are 10 blank pages with “word drop” zones. Made with GameSalad. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This iPad edition of Jack and the Beanstalk has 18 screens and is told with a modern twist. In this case, Jack is addicted to video games, when his mother asks him to go to the market. Content includes 18 screens or pages of content, each with zany story-related hot spots. Text is both highlighted or you can touch and hear individual words, making this a viable language experience. There is both Read to Me and Read to Myself modes. 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.
Based on the book by William Joyce, this is an interactive edition of a short animated film that nicely tells the story of a man (Morris Lessmore) who loves books. Each of the 27 pages weaves interactive features with the storyline. For example, you help scatter the books during a windstorm by circulating your finger on the screen, spell words using alphabet cereal, or tilt the screen to fly Mr. Lessmore through a tunnel of words. Programmed by Twin Engine Labs, created by Moonbot Studios. 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.