Children's Technology Review | News and reviews on children's interactive media

Trip, The – Little Critter Reading Adventure

Posted by Lisa on May 17, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: In this Mercer Meyer story, you start with a choice of the classic “just read” and “reading adventure” modes. The story is a good one … a family of four decides to take a summer car trip to Lake Wakatookee. Along the way, they meet a horse in the road, get stuck in a traffic jam, stop at the beach, get the car fixed ... Read more »

Slice of Bread goes to the Beach

Posted by Lisa on May 17, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: This 15 screen/page ebook tells the story of what happens when a slice of bread visits the beach. The animated effects support the story, which is written, narrated and illustrated by Australian Glenn Melenhorst, the author of Food Fight.Features include animated page turns, touch and hear text highlighting and a “read to me” mode, ... Read more »

Ruff’s Bone

Posted by Lisa on May 17, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: This is an updated iPad edition of the classic Living Book. If you’re in your early 20s, you might recall the CD-ROM edition of the story. Ruff loves his “Sunday bone” but he can’t find it. Each of the 12 screens contains an exotic location. This includes a trip into a dark sky and a hunt on the moon to find it. His determined ... Read more »

Matching Puzzle Cards: Colors

Posted by Lisa on May 17, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: This app turns the pedagogy of the flash card inside out, by making each card into an animated two piece jigsaw puzzle that you can snap together the parts. For example, you are asked to match the pink socks with the pink shoes; you then touch the shoes and they’ll do a dance for you. Color words are reinforced through verbal cues and ... Read more »

Little Oriole

Posted by Lisa on May 17, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: Little Oriole features woodcut art and background music that can be toggled on or off. The 38 screen story is built around the questions “Who are you?” and “Where are you from?” and it features the journey of a little bird. The art is based on the artistic style called Watermark Woodcut, and scenes are inspired from a plum forest and the ... Read more »

iPoe Collection 1

Posted by Lisa on May 16, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: Designed in Spain but available in English (or Spanish or French), this is a digital retelling of four of Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous stories: The Oval Portrait, The Tell-Tale Heart, Annabel Lee and The Masque of the Red Death. This is a typical page flipper, with no narration, and the ability to toggle between three languages (English, ... Read more »

I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today! and Other Stories

Posted by Lisa on May 16, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: This is a collection of classic Dr. Suess stories that are hard to find in your traditional library. The headliner — “I Can Lick 30 Tigers” is the first of three featuring Cat in the Hat, as he explores big themes like humility, equality and teamwork. In this story, a boastful young Cat In The Hat learns the perils of bragging, ... Read more »

Dr. Seuss’s Short Story Collection

Posted by Lisa on May 16, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: This is an eight-pack of generally lesser-known Dr. Seuss titles, all in one $8 app. They include The Big Brag, Gertrude McFuzz, I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today!, King Looie Katz, The Glunk that got Thunk, Too Many Daves, The Zax and What Was I Scared Of? Each contains the standard touch and hear Oceanhouse Media labeling along with narration and good ... Read more »

Disney Princess Cinderella

Posted by Lisa on May 16, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: This is a solid retelling of Disney’s Cinderella, with three modes, (read it myself, read to me, and record my voice). Content includes a sing-a-long to the classic song “Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo” plus six jigsaw puzzles, each with three levels. There are also six coloring activities. In the story, Cinderella shares her dreams of romance and ... Read more »

Wince Don’t Feed the WorryBug

Posted by Lisa on April 22, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: Based on the book, Don’t Feed The WorryBug by Andi Green, this app tells the story of a little monster named Wince who worries so much The WorryBug appears. Children can join Wince on his journey of self awareness. Content includes five pages in the free trial version; 20 in the full version; each with background music that loops and can’t ... Read more »

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Nintendo Land

Posted on March 20, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: Nintendo Land for the Wii U is an invitation to a specialized Nintendo theme park, featuring 12 single- and multiplayer minigames with classic Nintendo characters. Think ...

My First Orchestra App

Posted on March 20, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: This British music app is designed to let children explore the instruments in the symphonic orchestra. Thirty lengthy (but still excerpted) music selections feature ...

Mibblio

Posted on March 20, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: This musical sandbox makes it possible for children to mix and match musical elements as they hear a song sung to them. It’s a bit like a play-back only Garage ...

Meebie

Posted on March 20, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: This is a flannel-board style activity where you drag and drop items onto the face of a virtual plush toy. The app is based on the Meebie cuddly therapy toys that let ...

Letters with Pooh

Posted on March 20, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: Featuring authentic Winnie the Pooh graphics and narration, this app combines a storybook format with simple tracing games designed to introduce each letter of the alphabet. ...

Journey Collector’s Edition

Posted on March 20, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: This is a collection of three PlayStation games that include Journey, Flower, and Flow. Other content includes mini-games, plus a documentary on the making of Journey. ...

Goodnight ABC

Posted on March 20, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: This interactive alphabet lets children freely explore 26 screens (one screen per letter), each containing a dozen or so interactive hot spots. Each screen has a day ...

Four Little Corners

Posted on March 20, 2013 | 1 Comment

Review Excerpt: This is a story of inclusion, about a square who can’t get through a door, because it is the wrong shape. So the square’s friends — all circles — ...

Foldify

Posted on March 20, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: Foldify plays with your notion of 2D and 3D space, by letting you scribble on one dimension (the flat, 2D part) and see the result, in real time, on a 3D rendering that ...

Faces iMake ABC

Posted on March 20, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: Here’s a collection of 26 drag and drop puzzles — one per letter. Each follows a letter-related theme. For the letter P, for example, you are first shown ...

Dynastid Beetle

Posted on March 20, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: Dynastid Beetle is divided into seven sections: Body, Habitat, How They Move, Raise a Dynastid Beetle, Battle, Quiz and Video. In case you’re wondering Dynastid ...

Clifford’s BIG Birthday

Posted on March 20, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: Children explore Clifford’s doghouse as they work together to set up a surprise party for Clifford’s birthday. This app looks good but it acts a lot like it ...

Brave: Storybook Deluxe

Posted on March 20, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: This is a 36 screen interactive app adaptation of the now Academy Award winning movie. Each narrated page is sandwiched between nicely crafted animated transitions that ...

Brave: Interactive Comic

Posted on March 20, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: This app features 48 interactive comic pages; two reading modes - panel by panel and autoplay; music and special sound effects in each panel; special sections on the ...

Bats! Furry Fliers of the Night

Posted on March 20, 2013 | 2 Comments

Every child wonders about bats. Here’s an excellent app for helping them to satisfy their curiosity. Created by Ellen Jacob, Bats! Furry Flyers of the Night is an interactive ...

ABC Airplane

Posted on March 20, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: Letter tracing is more fun when you have your own set of drawing tools, especially when one is a pretty monarch butterfly who leaves a trail of flowers as you trace ...

7 Little Words for Kids

Posted on March 20, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Except: What’s another word for an old dinosaur bone? How about a sweet treat? The answer is hidden in a 4 x 4 grid of word squares, each with a bit of a word such as FO, ...

Public Domain image of Maria Montessori in 1913

Quotes: Maria Montessori

Posted on March 17, 2013 | 0 Comment

“The environment must be rich in motives which lend interest to activity and invite the child to conduct his own experiences.” *** “The things he sees are not just remembered; ...

CTR March 2013 The Art and the Science of the Children’s eBook

Posted on March 15, 2013 | 0 Comment

Children’s Technology Review March 2013 Volume 21, No. 3, Issue 156 CTR is an ad-free, subscriber-only publication and review database. We welcome new subscribers, for $30/year ...

Toca Boca + zinc Roe = Sago Sago

Posted on March 6, 2013 | 0 Comment

Here’s the exact “cut and paste” of today’s press release announcing the union of Toca Boca and zinc Roe merger: Toca Boca Acquires zinc Roe Tickle Tap App ...

Interested in Making an App? Watch These

Posted on March 2, 2013 | 0 Comment

Here’s a set of videos that any aspiring app designer should watch. Most are from Dust or Magic.

War Horse

Posted on February 13, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: This is a digital edition of Michael Morpurgo’s novel, designed to teach children about WWI and encourage them to discover the real stories behind the war’s ...

Victorious: Taking the Lead

Posted on February 13, 2013 | 2 Comments

Review Excerpt: Based on the Nickelodeon television show starring Victoria Justice, this game lets you play as Tori Vega as you hang out with the Hollywood Arts crew and try to win ...

Super Mario Bros. U

Posted on February 13, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: Super Mario Bros. U is the newest entry in Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. series that began in 1985 on the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). The headline is that ...

StorySmith: Medieval Kingdom HD

Posted on February 13, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: Like a digital flannel board, this drag-and-drop creativity app lets you create your own fairy tale or fantasy adventure. The app is sold in theme packs — this ...

Story Toys Jr. Farm 123

Posted on February 13, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: This is one of a series from Irish-based StoryToys. This particular story mixes farm animals with an all-to-common counting theme. You can herd chickens to hear them ...

Sofia the First

Posted on February 13, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: This animated story is narrated by ABC Modern Family’s Ariel Winter, and the other characters of the TV show, as well as Sara Ramirez from Grey’s Anatomy ...

Rise of the Guardians

Posted on February 13, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: Based on DreamWorks Animation’s feature film, this game lets you play as one of the classic childhood legends including: North (aka Santa Claus); Tooth (aka the ...

The Opposites

Posted on February 13, 2013 | 0 Comment

Review Excerpt: Do you know what ‘efficacious’ means? Just what exactly is the opposite of ‘bear’? This word sorting game provides practice with opposing words. ...