The Trip Little Critter Reading Adventure is a fun, interactive storybook app based on Mercer Mayer’s Little Critter’s The Trip, with versions for both iPad as well as iPhone available through iTunes.

This new application, developed by Silver Dolphin, differs greatly from – and should not be confused with – the straightforward adaptation of Little Critter stories developed by another company.

It is worth explaining to readers that the original Mercer Mayer title focuses on a car trip to a camp site as told in pictures. Yet the text, although also telling the tale of this long family outing, included a heavy use of alphabet letters, from A to Z, such as B for Bags and C for Car, as well as words adults can relate to, possibly even more than their children can, such as E for the car’s engine overheating, letter M for the mess the Critter kids made in the back of the car, or T for the flat tire they get along the way, creating a witty alphabet book enjoyable for all – children and parents alike.

Here, The Trip Little Critter Reading Adventure includes two sections – the Reading Adventure where children can follow along with highlighted narration and simply reading this app like a book.

In the Reading Adventure, Little Critter himself narrates this tale of a family trip to the lake. Those familiar with the published title will note the many original illustrations included within as well as the lack of the alphabet elements seen in the direct telling of this story. Instead, one will notice the abundance of items one can tap on within each page, each marked with color-coded dots, denoting the type of interaction available.

Blue dots include added animated moments and added lines of dialogue spoken directly by the characters that nicely propel the story along as well as other details, whereas orange hotspots are alphabet flash cards, bringing the alphabet element back into this story. Green dots are objects one can collect in Little Critter’s back pack – important details that one needs to collect as they will be used later in the story to continue on, but the included map will let readers know what page to check out if a needed object was not collected the first time around.

I really enjoy the animated moments which work seamlessly within Mayer’s colorful, classic illustrations. Another interesting inclusion is a choice of driving through the country or city, allowing children to make this choice with the aid of the map that one can tap on to choose which route to take – first during the outing – as well as using this map as a page selector – always a nice choice.

Other interactive elements are included within these different destinations, such as offering an apple from a nearby tree to encourage a horse to leave the road after placing the apple in and then retrieving it from the backpack.

A few fun educational mini-games are also included such as matching colored cars to their matching color words or a food-themed sequencing game that adds even more content to this engaging children’s application.

Children will love the abundance of items to tap on and to collect for later. I am happy to say that the style Mayer delivered in the published title is alive and well in this new app as well as a new scene of the family visiting the beach.

It is also worth noting that a related app, The Trip Little Critter GamePak, is also available for purchase for both iPad as well as iPhone and includes a series of story-themed actives – also an app worth checking out.

By Age Range, By App Feature, Just For Fun, Language, Preschool, Primary School, Reading, Reviews, Social, Stories, Toddlers

On Beyond Bugs: All About Insects is a thoughtful adaptation of the book of the same name, part of The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library developed by Oceanhouse Media.

Here, children will learn about many bug-related topics as they enjoy the Seuss-like illustrations and rhyming text to which this book is fashioned as The Cat in the Hat, along with Thing One and Thing Two, introducing readers to many fun bug facts such as basic anatomy, natural defenses or the strength of insects such as ants.

As is the case with other adaptations by Oceanhouse media, one has a chance to both read this non-fiction book to oneself or enjoy expert narrator John Bell’s stellar narration as he reads not only the original text from the published book, but also the added word definitions triggered by the tap of an insect-associated word seen in bold text, defining many bugs that are included in the book but never fully explored in the picture book, as this app includes many more words than the short glossary at the end of the printed version.

Also new to this experience are ambient sound effects and mild animated moments, as well as the ability to tap on objects or characters to see their corresponding labels both spoken as well as seen on the page. There are a few moments where one can also drag insects around the page as well as other such interactions.

Seussian books can be wordy but make up for this in the use of shortened, more frequent paragraphs, and I like how these adaptations down even further as a single paragraph is seen per page as one progresses through this story, which includes the original images panned and zoomed to draw the reader’s attention.

I am impressed with the amount of insect information included, such as the bad smell lady bugs give off when feeling threatened as well as the differences between butterflies and moths.

The addition of extra glossary words not included in the book, new additional information about creatures such as the diving beetle, dog flea or pipevine caterpillar make this app rich with content – a very nice choice of apps for all ages of children, including older grade-school age children who will learn interesting insect information as well.

Animals, By Age Range, By App Feature, Just For Fun, Language, Nature, Preschool, Primary School, Reading, Reviews, Toddlers

Colours! is an interesting, interactive color theory app that children and their adults will enjoy.

I honestly did not expect much from Colours! as teaching children how to mix primary colors to create secondary shades is not an uncommon topic, so I was pleasantly surprised how complex this app can become.

Colours! allows one to mix red, yellow, blue, white and black to form any color possible. A sponge is also included to use as an eraser – a nice touch.

In Learn, tap a color and drag to paint within a circle seen at the top of the page. Slowly the circle will take on the desired color. Note how when painting, the test tube left of the circle is seen being filled with color drops. Tap the test tube to see 36 drops of color as they represent the proportions of different colors when new colors are added to the circle as seen when a new color is chosen and painted into the circle.

I must say I have spent more time with this app than I expected. I enjoy watching the colors change and checking to see what color parts make up a new specific shade that can be saved to investigate later.

In Play mode, a new, sometimes sophisticated color is offered at the top of the circle, allowing players to match this shade by mixing colors together. This may be easy, such as mixing yellow and blue to make green, but it can also be quite hard, such as mixing different shades of navy blues with red hiding within – a color I would be stuck at if I had not played around in the earlier section and discovered this shade for myself.

In Yours, the colors created in the first section are kept secure in the palette-like area. Tap on a color to see the different parts needed to create this shade.

The look of this app is pleasing, with a paint-splattered background and realistic looking paint cans to choose from. The primary blue color looks a little light with its white base showing through to seem very “true” in terms of being a primary color, and I noted how the blue shade seemed to turn darker – closer to almost navy the more one painted this single shade, compared to the red and yellow shades which were bright and primary-looking from the start.

Another observation I have made is how the color may disappear against the white background although other color parts are still in play in the test tube. I do wonder if being able to choose one’s own background color would mediate this problem as well as add to the visual interest of these colors, as they may seem to change color next to another shade. Relatedly, do point out to children how the top color within the Play mode seems to change in comparison to the bottom color as it too changes with every new color added.

I would also love to work from the test tube side of the Learn area, seeing how the color changes when adding very exact measurements of colors would transform colors when flipped back to the painting mode.

Colours! allows adults and children to dive deeper into color theory more than I thought. Children can have fun just mixing away, but this app can be used in school and at home together with a color wheel to teach about blending colors in a way most infinite.

I remember when my son was young and was given paints for the first time. I really wanted to show him how to achieve green, orange and purple, but my paints were quite less than true, and even with equal proportions mixed, the perfect secondary colors were never achieved. Others may have less of this issue, but from my experience, I can see how this type of app can be quite valuable, as the paint used to create the never-ending shades one can blend here would be mostly wasted in real life – as well as quite a mess.

Colours! is an app worth checking out. Adults, including those with an art background, will enjoy this world of color without any cleanup, but I think it would be a nice inclusion if one had a blank page to paint on with the colors they had created and saved – just a thought for a future update.

Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Just For Fun, Preschool, Primary School, Reviews, Science, Toddlers

Zoola Deluxe is a charming interactive animal app for babies and toddlers – a companion app to the popular Zoola, also reviewed at GiggleApps.

Zoola Deluxe contains a nice variety of animals one can interact with. To start, tap on one of nine animals from either Farm, Safari or Forest animals. Babies will enjoy how chunky the areas for each animal to tap are, making this app intuitive for the youngest app users.

Once a selection is made, listen to the animal’s name narrated as well as see the word on the screen. Also note the mild yet effective animated elements included as well as the sounds for each creature. This app also contains a nice variety of languages, always a nice touch.

On the bottom of the screen, one will see a row of other buttons to explore – specifically a food section, a baby soothing area and a dress-up button that will allow children to interact with each animal.

By tapping the food button, children are brought to a new screen where it’s now feeding time, giving children the chance to feed each animal their three favorite foods. Listen to these animals ask for food as well as offer up appreciative noises when they have been fed. Simple but sweet animation allows each animal to move its mouth to eat – all elements babies and toddlers will adore.

The next area allows users to sooth each animal – be it with a bottle, pacifier, blanket or their own stuffed animal. Gentle, classical music is played throughout this section that children as well as adults will find peaceful and relaxing.

The dress-up section is also cute and fun with costumes each animal can wear, ranging from period attire such as top hat and bow tie, construction hat, boots and tool belt, or a variety of mini skirt choices. More music can be heard ranging from classical to more upbeat selections that children will have fun listening to.

There is an overflowing of charm in this app that will appeal to babies, toddler, and I am sure, my son at the age of five, although this app may get a little young for most kids this age and older.

The inner “Lisa Simpson” in me feels a little weird dressing majestic creatures like a lemur in western garb, a hippo in a chief’s hat and bib or a monkey in a clown outfit, anthropomorphizing them for the amusement of children but does not see any real harm, and this is certainly a concern I would keep to myself while sharing this app with young children.

I know my son will greatly enjoy dressing zebras up in Batman masks, giving animals baby bottles and feeding them favorite snacks.

Zoola Deluxe is an app for children to love. It may make some adults a little uncomfortable, especially those who take themselves too seriously at times, but they will be won over by how much their children truly enjoy spending time with this application.

Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Just For Fun, Language, Preschool, Reviews, Social, Sounds, Toddlers

Itsy Cars is a unique interactive app that allows children to build the race track of their dreams using a combination of thirteen pieces of track which are connected to create a track that one can drive a race car through.

Four differently styled cars can be chosen, and then children will build their tracks with the tap of a finger, connecting pieces of track together. When complete, start the car down the track, tapping the “Turbo Button” when players want their car to go faster.

The look of this app is highly computer-generated, with the use of many angles and bright yet not terribly unrefined colors – a style I am not always a fan of but which makes a lot of sense in this app.

By far, my favorite element of this app is the ability not only to view the cars that are moving along the track, but enjoy the view of the car in motion from the driver’s seat, giving players a wonderful POV shot where one can gaze at the very realistic clouds and distant horizon, making me nauseous – in a good way – as well as winning me over as a fan.

I was surprised how much thinking this game necessitated as the inclusion of a physics engine made my track not work the way I expected, as my car was unable to make all the elaborate turns I first added to my course. This made me appreciate how this app takes effort and forethought to create a track that a car can actually drive down without getting stuck.

I enjoy much of this gameplay, as the adding of track, including both driving on the grass pieces, as well as ice track pieces for a much slicker ride is quite intuitive, as is the ability to move the screen around with a finger to keep the track in view and also the ability to pinch the screen to minimize it, allowing users to see a smaller, more complete view of their work.

I did not fully understand how the presumably saving of these tracks works, as “save” disks can be seen – an area I was not able to muddle through. I would love to see a tutorial on how this function works in the future.

I would also like to be able to “snip” problem spots out of the track where my car always gets stuck with new pieces of track instead of using the “go back” button, removing each piece of track from the end, which can be tedious and unnecessary.

Even with these notes, I can recognize an app that will entertain my son, and this is one of them. I also expect some tears and frustration when the natural physics of a moving car will not keep my son’s car on track, but the overall effect of being able to view one’s race track as if driving is enough to recommend it to children who love playing with and building Hot Wheels or classic train tracks.

I do wish saving instructions were included as well as being able to change out track pieces from the center of the track, but even with these notes, Itsy Cars is an app worth checking out.

By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, Just For Fun, Preschool, Primary School, Reviews, Science

Animal Planet Hide & Seek Pets is a lovely application young children can explore, as this app includes a variety of pet-centric activities.

This app opens up to a unique menu page, that of a hamster on a wheel which when tapped will spin and ultimately land on one of six mystery animals who are introduced by both simple word questions and related icons, such as a bone for a dog, bubble for a fish or yarn for a cat. Later children play a game of hide and seek to find the animal in question, be it with a flashlight to discover a turtle, tap to remove flower petals to uncover a rabbit or cut tall grass away to find a hidden dog.

Once the animal is discovered, children will be able to interact with photo realistic animals, moving them around the page, dedicated to each of these creatures such as a fish in a fishbowl, complete with classic underwater toys such as a castle, chest of gold and a vintage diving man.

I really appreciate how many fun facts are included, heard when triggering a hotspot and complete with highlighted narration – a very nice element that children and adults can learn a lot from.

On the bottom of the screen, children have access to some fun activities, such as a puzzle to complete, a tracing section and a hide and seek activity. Each of these sections has both “easy” and “hard” modes, and is thematically specific to the animal in question, be it about a bird, turtle or bunny.

Also included is a painting section with a large variety of pictures to choose from and brushes to use, including a paintbrush, chalk, crayon, spray paint and “paint bucket” mode where a section of the drawing is filled in with a single tap.

A music area complete with animal piano is included, as well as a section with re-sizable stickers that one can move around the screen and a learning section for parents that includes topics of conversation to share with their children.

I appreciate how this app is intuitive and thoughtfully designed, avoiding some of the pitfalls I have seen in other applications. Coloring pages are often included in other such apps such as this which can seem like an afterthought, but very nicely done within Animal Planet Hide & Seek Pets.

I love the choice of the soft, sheer coloring choices of the watercolor paintbrush and the chalk, as these colors can be layered and mixed together while coloring for a very nice effect, and I am also impressed by the simple decision to allow children to “erase all” with a “yes” or “no” instead of red or green “X” or check – signs that adults may understand but that can be confusing for children.

Also of note is that when coloring within a specific section of an image, one cannot color outside the border of this section – wonderful for children who hate the sloppy look of coloring with a finger because without this feature, staying within the lines of a picture can be frustrating and difficult.

An eraser as well as “go back” buttons are included, and it is also great that the colored-in pages are also saved within this app to be worked on further in the future, as well as giving children the option to save to the camera roll of their iPad.

I also really like that within the tracing section, when children trace either the first letter of the pet, both in upper and lower case letters or the entire word in the harder section, this app includes the direction children should trace as well as being quite sensitive to the movements of the finger creating the tracing. It will not accept random scribbling over the template – an issue I have with most over-tracing apps.

There is definitely a lot of content to keep children occupied, with a fun mix of realistic animals as well as bright and colorful illustrated spaces for them to occupy and explore.

Because of this, Animal Planet Hide & Seek Pets is an easy app to recommend for toddlers and young preschool children who love animals, coloring, and other activities.

Animals, Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Just For Fun, Music, Nature, Preschool, Reviews, Social, Toddlers

I have not come across many apps for Mother’s Day, but I did want to let readers know about Just Me and My Mom – Little Critter, based on the title of the same, now a lovely adaptation by Oceanhouse Media based on the book of the same name.

This is a delightful story of Little Critter, a small anthropomorphized boy-like creature who goes on a trip to the city with his mom.

Both parents as well as children can relate to this charming story, as Mom and Little Critter take a train and visit a museum in a big city.

Adults will appreciate how this story, as well as the other Little Critter titles, each written from Little Critter’s point of view and now include excellent optional child-read narration.

Here, it is obvious that there is more to the story being told by this lovable character who causes lots of trouble along the way on his big city adventure, such as Little Critter loses the train tickets, touches a dinosaur egg much to the displeasure of the guard at the museum, and is not thrilled with clothing shopping – all moments in the life of Little Critter that all moms can relate to.

Do note the expressive facial expressions seen on the various adults in this wonderfully illustrated story as Little Critter causes a commotion in many different scenarios, each of which I would not put past my own son, especially when he was a younger boy.

I also appreciate being able to see the drawings by author Mercer Mayer up close as these illustrations are panned and zoomed in on to draw the eye – a nice touch as there is a lot to see in these fun and busy city scenes.

Little Critter apps are great for new readers, and the stories tend to be short, with a few words on a page that go far in terms of storytelling.

Even when reading this book to oneself, one can tap on a word or even paragraph to hear it read out loud – a nice aid for children who may still need help with certain words.

This book can be listened to with or without Auto Play and also read by oneself. One can also choose to record one’s own narration as well as share this recording with others who also have this same app.

Very nice sound effects can be heard such as train sounds and ambient city sounds. Also note the ability to tap objects and characters around the page to see and hear these items labeled with text as well as spoken narration – elements that can now be turned off if one wishes.

It is also nice that Oceanhouse Media has now included a menu of pages to use as a reference as well – always a nice touch.

Mothers will certainly relate to the antics that ensue in this Little Critter title. This is a story that is easy to love on many levels, making it a nice choice to share for Mother’s Day.

This app is currently free, thanks to Oceanhouse Media – a gift to mothers and children alike. Do check it out.

By Age Range, By App Feature, Language, Preschool, Reading, Reviews, Social, Stories, Toddlers

Little Red Riding Hood by Nosy Crow is a universal app that I have eagerly been anticipating for quite some time, and I can say with much excitement that this app is worth the wait.

This is a re-telling of the classic story with a few great twists along the way. A special app, Nosy Crow has added some wonderful new elements to a classic story, specifically allowing children to choose one of many paths they would rather take as Little Red travels through a forest on her way to Grandma’s, collecting numerous objects along the way as well as meeting new characters.

From the moment this app opens, the beautiful, bright and bold animation that Nosy Crow fans expect can be seen. The look of this app, as is the case with the other Nosy Crow storybook apps, is simply stellar in every way dealing with animation.

Also of note is the layered 3D effect one can see as the moving of one’s device will change the perspective one can see at any given angle – a nice touch but a little sensitive for my taste as the effect can look jumpy if the device is held with a shaky hand.

There are two ways of enjoying this book. “Read and Play” allows children to follow along with highlighted narration as seen as the main text and narration of this story, as well as read along with spoken extra lines of dialogue heard when a character is tapped.

“Read by Myself” allows children to read on their own the text and speak bubbles without the aid of narration and gives children the choice of the speed in which the lines of text are seen on the page, allowing those new to reading to slow down these words for an easier time reading – a very helpful inclusion.

There are a lot of interactions to partake in, such as gathering up fun and inviting foods like as cake, cheese, sandwiches and produce to share with Grandmother as well as fun moments of Little Red and her mom gently telling readers what to leave at home when users try to add non-food items to the basket as well as other items that will not travel well. It is also nice to be able to drag these characters around the page, making them look as if they are walking, even running around the page for a very nice effect.

After making up a basket, Little Red is off to Grandmother’s, walking through the forest. As one may expect, Little Red meets the Big Bad Wolf on her journey, wonderfully stylized with a cap and plaid pants as a nod to vintage styling that makes me smile.

Little Red is able to pass the Wolf and later comes to a fork in the path where she needs to make a decision on which way to continue. Both paths are marked with signs that demonstrate the item one may need to collect such as flowers, feathers, acorns, or even a spider.

Children will enjoy each of the activities that will allow Little Red to collect the items of interest, such as catching feathers from a bird flying overhead, pulling thistles from a moose’s fur, gathering flowers, acorns or a bucket of water, as well as helping a bear pour honey to collect a jar of one’s own. A maze involving a spider’s web is included as is a “Whack-a-Mole” styled game where one grabs dandelions from a mole. There is also a delightful “Simon” styled music game where Little Red needs to repeat the musical sounds made by a monkey willing to give away his whistle for five correct answers.

After completing three of these sections, Little Red will arrive at Grandmother’s house to find the Wolf in Grandmother’s bed, who threatens to eat Little Red.

I adore Little Red’s defensive posturing when being threatened by the Wolf as well as the very cinematic close-up shots of Little Red and the Wolf, reminiscent of “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” that will make adults smile. Here Little Red strikes with the objects she collected along her way, such as tickling the Wolf with feathers, making him sneeze from flowers or momentarily shocking him with a splash of water to the face. This fight comes to a conclusion in three different ways, from a police officer taking away the Wolf after hearing Little Red blow the whistle, scaring the Wolf away with the large spider who came along for the ride in the basket, or covering the Wolf in honey and who then gets chased away by bees, never to bother Little Red again.

After unlocking the wardrobe where Grandmother was trapped, they sit down to eat what was packed in the basket, helping Little Red unpack the foods and feeding the characters, helping them to eat and ending this exceptional interactive application.

Although this app has been compared to the classic “Choose Your Own Adventure” series of books, I am pleased to see that although decision-making is part of this story, these choices are age-appropriate for young children of all ages and do not truly change the outcome of this story.

I mention this as I have begun to read my son “Choose Your Own Adventure” titles and I feel that negative conclusions to the choices my boy has made can stress him, and for now he does not enjoy these titles as much as I had hoped.

Here, Little Red’s choices of paths will allow her to play different mini-games with fanciful characters she meets along the way, but there are no pitfalls in the choices one can make within this story, and all roads lead to Grandmothers house, so the comparison to a true “Choose Your Own Adventure” or “Which Way” book is not spot-on in my opinion, which I feel children actually benefit from.

I am also quite pleased to see what a strong female character Little Red is in this re-telling, as I am with the illustration of Little Red’s mother who has her own womanly curves, a nice detail that although does not attract attention to itself, is a nice element for children to seen in the world around them.

There are many more points I could make about the high quality of Little Red Riding Hood by Nosy Crow, but I think it may be best just to tell readers that this is an app worthy of purchase that a wide range of children and their adults will adore.

Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, Just For Fun, Language, Preschool, Primary School, Reading, Reviews, Stories, Toddlers

Zoe’s Green Planet is an interesting universal application about diversity. This is the story of Zoe, an inhabitant of a green planet with a demographic of entirely green people, seen vividly with the use of illustrations with heavy paper mache elements creating a subtle 3D effect, as well as a tactile, slightly distressed feel that I find appealing, as I do the numerous shades of green that make up the palette of this app.

One day, a red space ship lands on the green planet. Inside is a red family who would like to visit other planets and makes a home on the green planet. They have a daughter who is Zoe’s age, and they go to school together and become friends.

The girls have fun together but also face a difficult time dealing with another child who teases the new girl for being different. The parents from the red family become homesick and they fly their spaceship home.

The concept of diversity is nicely introduced here for children, and the red colors seen in this new family really pop off the screen, adding an engaging visual style.

This app is narrated with a choice of both English as well as French languages. A few mini-games are also included, such as sorting by type as well as color, two arcade-styled games and a memory game with musical elements, each which can be found within the story as well as found within the menu page of this app. Do search these pages as well for hidden hotspots.

The look of this app is colorful and unique and quite well-meaning indeed, but I am on the fence about the stylings of the red Takino family. Styled with Asian – presumably Japanese – details such as kimono-esque garb and a planet with Japanese temple-type buildings, I must admit I was uncomfortable with what could also be seen as Asian stereotypes including a slitted Asian eye, and even worse, the buck teeth seen on Mr. Takino, reminiscent of an ugly stereotype from many years ago that took me by stunned surprise that this detail is included.

It is also worth noting that the current price of $2.99 seems expensive in comparison to other apps at this price point.

This is the first in a series of apps based on colors, presumably including the very nice paper mache illustrations seen in Zoe’s Green Planet. I have appreciated the look of this app enough to be curious to see the others in the series as well.

By Age Range, By App Feature, Language, Preschool, Reading, Reviews, Social, Stories, Toddlers

Brains My Body is a very nice interactive app for children which teaches about basic anatomy and diversity and includes fun facts about the body.

The look of this app is crisp and clean, with colorful, textured woven fabric used as the background for these activities.

Also of note are the layered ambient sounds heard throughout, consisting of a beating heart, blowing wind and wind chimes – interesting choices I have enjoyed listening to.

Eight sections are included, four of which are puzzles that ask children to re-build the body. I do appreciate how this puzzle includes multiple levels of difficulty, seen in each of these sections as these puzzles become more in-depth.

The basic body structure is covered as one adds the head, chest arms and legs into an outline of a body, while a second level breaks down these parts into smaller ones while chunky parts like head, chest, thigh or foot still remain.

There is also a puzzle focusing on facial features, as at first the face is divided into strips such as hair, eyebrow, eyes, nose and mouth – pieces that must be placed back into a face template. In the second level, these features such as both eyes and ears need to be placed back where they belong independently as well as other areas of the face.

It is especially nice how in this face puzzle section, one can choose between a variety of faces, including diverse choices such as an Asian character and darker skin-toned non-Caucasian to re-build, adding to the re-play of this section as well as the diverse nature of this application.

The skeletal system has its own dedicated section, optionally narrating these bones as one places them back where they belong inside a body outline.

At first these skeletal pieces are large, consisting of a single piece for the trunk, arms, and legs, while later, in the second and third levels, breaking the spine, pelvis and ribcage into individual pieces, ultimately including each side of the rib cage as a separate piece, as are the hands and feet, upper and forearms, shin, and shin bone.

The internal organs are also touched upon here, as one needs to place the organs back into the body where they belong.

Again, during the first level of this game, these body parts are grouped together, such as brain and spinal column, lung and trachea, large and small intestines, bladder and kidneys, each of these pieces then separated into individual parts ultimately adding the nose and mouth cavity, as well as also including the pancreas, spleen and gallbladder.

Three other activities are included, such as an activity to tap various parts of the body to peel back a level, such as from the chest to the internal organs to then see an x-ray view of the bones. A variety of skin tones and different heads are included. One can also scroll through with a tap, creating an anatomical model of the player’s choosing.

There is also a chance to interact with a beating heart, as tapping in time to the beats will fill the body with blood, allowing children to see the coronary arteries fill, delivering blood throughout the body. A mistimed tap will remove blood. There are three levels to this exercise, increasing the speed of the heart being pumped, thus increasing the difficulty of this interaction.

One also has a chance to see a cross section of a body in order to view digestion at work. Do tap the hose included within the stomach as this adds necessary digestive juices needed to move the food through the body and out the other end, complete with flatulence noises – appropriate for this app.

A memory game is also included where one needs to turn over tiles in order to make pairs, with three levels ranging from twelve to sixteen tiles in play.

Each of these sections includes a magnifying glass that one can tap to read an interesting fact. A camera icon is also included to take and save a screen shot to the camera roll of one’s device.

The main note I have is that the organization of these sections could be arranged together – including the most basic sections as well as the more in depth anatomy puzzles.

This is a very nice, very stylized app introducing the human body to young children. I do see this app as a good choice for toddlers and early preschoolers and beyond as well as their adults who will enjoy this app a great deal, as these puzzles are reminiscent of multiple-layered wood puzzles I have always been interested in.

By Age Range, By App Feature, Health, Just For Fun, Preschool, Primary School, Puzzle, Reviews, Science, Toddlers