Billie the Unicorn is a charming children’s interactive storybook based on the book of the same name, now developed into a 3D universal application. Narration is an option, and it is always nice to see the words highlighted when red, along with individual words spoken when tapped.

In this story, Billie is an adventurous unicorn who chooses to leave her cornfield home to live with her forest-dwelling cousins as she seeks out new experiences.

I must admit that from my adult perspective, this tale starts out as a little saccharin for my taste – not a flaw really as I am not the target audience for this tale. My four year old son, however, really enjoys this app a great deal, asking for “the unicorn story” regularly.

What I did appreciate is that within this story, the tone changes to something darker and with a nod to elements from stories like Alice In Wonderland and Rumplestilskin in an unexpected way that I enjoy.

You see, each of these unicorns has special powers to be able to grow flowers and other pretty plants with magic, something Billie has just started to dabble in, creating first corn, then blue cornflowers for the first time. Itching for more adventures, she takes off to find the Queen’s garden, rumored to have the most beautiful flora in all the land.

Billie makes her way to the Queen’s foreboding fortress, allowed inside by robot guards as she is called upon by the Queen to state her business. Billie demonstrates her power for growing flowers, thinking it would allow her the privilege of viewing the Queen’s private garden.

Unfortunately for Billie, the garden is inhabited by an old weary unicorn who has lost its powers as now only oddly-shaped metal flowers grow from the ground. The old unicorn is unchained and discarded as Billie is now being held captive, forced to grow flowers by sunset as the Queen entertains a prince who is visiting that evening.

At first, things do not work out in Billie’s favor as her magic does not work well under these stressful conditions, and none of her flowers are up to the Queen’s strict standards.

Luckily, the cousins come to the aid of Billie, using their magic to fill the garden in order to gain her freedom. Angry that the Queen takes credit for the garden in bloom, Billie uses magic to grow plants so tall around the unicorns that they are lifted over the castle wall, making their escape.

The character of the Queen reminds me of the Queen of Hearts and is rather one dimensional, and I could tell where this story was going from Billie’s first encounter with this abrasive character. However, my son, like Billie, can’t yet see around corners and was surprised at Billie’s servitude reminiscent of the poor princess’s treatment in Rumplestilskin, trying to spin hay into gold with no luck – a detail that I appreciate.

The introduction of the evil Queen and her henchmen of robot guards piqued my interest a good deal, and I do wish more details were available about this land, nicely stylized to look bleak and isolating with gray metal details in contrast to the beauty found within the forest, but for my son’s purposes, I think this book did a good job balancing both tones of this story.

There is also a teachable moment when one of the cousins is corrected when laughing at Billie’s first attempt to make flowers out of magic, and I like how this story includes themes of hard work and self expression as well as the issue of Billie leaving her home without fully thinking through her trip to the queen’s castle, and how adults can tell the queen is up to no good even if children are unaware of her true nature.

An interactive app, hotspots can be found on each page, and I enjoy how these can be highlighted with a subtle twinkle that will draw the eye without being distracting, and it is nice how in the Contents section, each page has a key for what hotspots to look for.

The interactions themselves are a little random, with moving elements and sound effects that don’t further the narrative – effects that children may still enjoy.

Like the other storybooks by Mobad Games, Billie the Unicorn includes a 3D look that can be fully seen as one moves the device, an effective element that works well within this colorful and well-illustrated story.

Improvements have been made with the loading of these pages in contrast to the other apps by this developer that I have reviewed. There is some bounciness to be seen as each of these pages is turned, but this issue is now a subtle one that children and most adults will not pick up on.

Billie and the Unicorn is an application that my son asks for, and it is impressive how intently my son enjoys this story, making it a good choice for families looking for a new storybook to add to their library.

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

Interactive Telling Time is an excellent universal app that will help children practice their time-telling abilities.

In writing reviews for GiggleApps, I have had the chance to check out a few educational apps that teach one how to tell time. I am happy to introduce this app to readers as another stand-out within this category as an app that will certainly help kids learn and study this concept.

Five interactive sections are included as well as a section dedicated to the explanation of telling time, each thoughtfully allowing children to practice their clock-reading skills.

Set the Time in an activity which allows children to move the hands of a large clock to correspond with a digitally displayed time. I appreciate how clearly the hours and minutes of the main teaching clock used here are shown with bolder, red numbers marking every five minutes as well. Both the minute and hour hands can be moved on their own with the correct corresponding clockwise movements of the hour hand as the minute hand moves, with an option for the hour hand to be fixed, only allowing the minute hand to turn as well.

Another wonderful element of this section is the window used, as night and day can be seen transitioning slowly or quickly as the minute or hour hands turn.

Narration is also included, saying the time after each change is made with the movement of either hand of this clock. This narration makes it easy for those new to time telling to use these cues to set the clock at the correct time, with a Solve button to press to tap when a final answer is entered.

What Time Is It? features the same elements found in Set the Time, but here, the time on the clock and window images are set, asking children to scroll through the hour and minutes found on a digital display to create a time that matches the analogue clock much like the way one sets an alarm on the iPhone.

Here, narration is provided only at the end when the time has been correctly entered, including the time as well as praise for a job well done.

Play Puzzle! consists of nine clock faces that each becomes a puzzle when tapped. These clocks include many cute novelty choices including flowers, train or moon themes as well as a lion and fish.

It is especially nice that the pieces included that children must add to these clocks puzzles vary. Sometimes the clock contains 12 numbers classically seen, but options include clocks that just mark the 12, 3, 6, and 9, as well as a gears clock with no numbers at all, including only the hands and center piece as parts to put back into the clock.

Roman numerals are also touched upon here in a fun clock of The Seven Wonders, giving kids a nice overview of the kinds of clocks they may encounter in real life.

Take the Quiz tests children on what they have learned as a specific time needs to be matched to one of four clocks, and there is also a Stop Watch section that asks children to stop the clock with a tap when the time matches a specific time given. Five speeds are offered, making this section as difficult or easy as the child who is playing needs to be challenged.

A Learn the Clock section is also included, consisting of written instructions that adults need to read to children about how to tell time, nicely broken up into seven short pages of information.

Although well-written and including some nice interactive elements as well, it would be an added benefit if narration were included so that non-readers could explore this section on their own.

I did notice that within this app, the terms “quarter past,” “half past” and “quarter to” are focused on, as here, one would say “quarter to four” for 3:45 – different from my way of speaking, which would read this as “three forty-five” for both analogue and digital clocks alike.

As this was developed by an Australian company, I am unsure if this is a cultural difference, a choice of style thought of as an easier way to teach children how to tell time, or if I am the one who has been wrong all these years. Although an issue for me, this may not be of concern for children new to learning to tell time in general.

One of the best parts of this app is that each of the different clocks found in the puzzle section can be chosen as the clock found within these interactive sections, letting children practice their new-found clock reading skills on a variety of clock faces – excellent for children who have interests in a specific subject like trains or space, but which also serves to give children the chance to learn telling time on clocks that don’t always have the numbers showing.

I personally don’t like clocks without all the numbers, but the ability to be comfortable looking at a clock like this with confidence is a great skill to teach children.

Parents please note that there is a nice selection of choices one has at their disposal to create a personalized experience. Multiple languages are included as is the chance to learn military time by choosing the 24 hour clock mode of this app.

AM and PM can also be focused on, as children may also need to turn the hands of the clock fully around to change the time of day or night as seen out the window, a nice inclusion not see in other apps like this.

There are also five levels of difficulty ranging from just learning about one hour intervals, to increasing the difficulty to 30, and ultimately to one minute intervals as well. Statistics involving the right and wrong answers made while using this app are also made available to parents.

One of the first things I noticed when looking at this app is how bright and cheerful everything found within this app is – from the clocks themselves to the striped wallpaper hung on the wall behind the clock in question, added to simply brighten up the background.

Two song selections are also available, both very easy to listen to for long periods of time, especially the jazzy second choice that I really enjoy. Turning off the music completely is also an option.

My only note is that the aquarium found on the title page along with the settings and clock-change feature and used as an incentive to continue with the use of this app can easily be overlooked as there is no link to this area from the page of interactive sections that children will be spending the majority of their time on.

Having made this minor point, I think that this is another excellent app for learning how to tell time.

It it is also worth noting that this developer, GiggleUp, has also created a few nice puzzle apps available through iTunes, two of which have also been reviewed at GiggleApps. Please search for these reviews if interested.

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

Thumbnail Theater: Macbeth is a wonderful educational resource and a terrific universal companion app to those who are studying Macbeth in school or are simply fans of Shakespeare.

I am very excited to be introducing this app to readers as this app features Michael Mills’s Nine Minute animated adaptation of this tragic Shakespearean play.

Michael Mills is a British-born animator, director and producer – possibly best known for his Oscar-nominated animated shorts – ‘Evolution’ and ‘History of the World in Three Minutes flat.’

I do love his take on Macbeth. The animation style is sly and sophisticated, and with a tongue-in-cheek and will impress all ages.

Not only is this animated short included, but a terrific section, The Self Guide is also included with an impressive amount of information, both specifically about Macbeth as well as about life during this period of time in general.

There is so many great sections to explore, such as the main characters from this play and the complete text of Macbeth as well as the other works of Shakespeare. The Life and Times of Shakespeare and historical information about Scotland are included as well as information about theaters of this time period and a fascinating section on The Symbolic and the Supernatural.

Each of these topics is further broken down into sub-categories – some of my favorites being the discoveries and Inventions touching upon the scientific concepts of Copernicus and Galileo, the great Renaissance man – Leonardo da Vinci, and the importance of Gutenberg’s printing press, comparing it very wisely to today’s internet.

I think it is also great how the other works of Shakespeare are mentioned, such as the Sonnets, Poems, Folios and Quartos, as well as a section dedicated to famous Shakespearean quotes.

Other interesting information, like how the use of children instead of women as actors is touched upon, and I really enjoy how the superstition of the title Macbeth – never uttered while this play is under production – is also incorporated into this very rich encyclopedia of all things Shakespeare.

An impressive three hours of content is included that older grade school kids as well as adults will find very fun and informative. I appreciate how the included text can be narrated by Mills as his narration is wonderful, also allowing children who may be reluctant readers to gain a lot from this app by listening to it alone.

An interactive timeline and world map are also thoughtfully included that students of all ages will enjoy. Do tap on the animations as well, as some fun hidden hotspots are included, triggering some wildly witty animations.

It is great that an interactive mode also exists where one can watch the video and tap icons placed at the bottom of the page that will bring one to the corresponding informational section of this app, allowing one to gain further insight while watching the included animation.

This is very helpful in learning more about the various subjects within this app, but I did have some issues with getting back into the story after I perused the added info.

it would be nice if some sort of button was able to be tapped that would bring viewers back to the area of the video they were watching last. I also felt that the Self Guide of information took some getting used to in terms of its basic navigation -issues not too terrible but which could possibly be smoothed out in a future update.

I enjoy the additional clips of Michael Mills himself found within this app as well, exploring details further or giving instructions on how to best enjoy this app, but I found these clips to be of lower resolution, noticeable but not in a way that took away from the enjoyment of his presence, although the images of Mills himself are quite small, especially on the iPhone.

I also noticed that a few pages from the Self Guide did not have the included narration one would expect from this fully narrated app – an issue I hope can be worked out in the future.

Even with these minor notes, Thumbnail Theater: Macbeth is an app that I greatly enjoyed, both on its own merits and also because apps for older children are not as common as I would like in iTunes. I highly recommend this app to any student who is reading Shakespeare as well as to adults who would like to know more about this time period in general.

I am thrilled to learn that this app is first in a series like it, I will be on the lookout for more of these Thumbnail Theatre apps in the future as this one was terrific.

By Age Range, By App Feature, For Parents, Geography, High School +, Just For Fun, Language, Middle School, Primary School, Reading, Reviews, Social, Stories

Monsters & Mutants, as the name may suggest, is an informative application for iPad that includes the stories behind some of the world’s best known monsters and mutants, along with other fun information.

This app for iPad contains 20 creatures, each colorfully illustrated with lots of details that fans will enjoy. Without narration, this is an encyclopedic app that will require reading skills of either the app user or an adult to help read this text out loud.

I am impressed with the content of this app, nicely re-telling the stories that have made these scary subjects part of pop culture.

It is nice that readers tap to hear the noises these creatures make, as well as quizzing themselves on the correct size of these subjects, allowing readers to scale both adult male and monster images to see how correct they can get in terms of relative size in this interesting interactive application.

Where in the World is another interactive section allowing one to pinpoint sightings of these monsters with surprising accuracy – thanks to Google maps.

A gallery of images that demonstrates the story being told includes a monster close-up, also allowing one to create a coloring page as well as the use of the AirPrint. Some fun Did You Know? facts are also available.

There are a few ways to arrange the icons that each represents a character from this app, either in a grid or spread into a circle, randomly across the screen or in a pile. From here, one can move these images around the screen, further sorting if one is interested, creating a nice trading card feel that I appreciate. One can also re-size these icons, with small, medium and large choices if one so desires.

These beasts can also be grouped in a number of ways, such as their origins around the globe or type of creature, such as Mythological Monsters, Modern Monsters, Ancient Legends and Folklore and Movie Monsters. One can also rate these characters, splitting up and organizing these monsters this way as well.

The organizing by sub-categories is a good idea, but it is unfortunate that the an important aspect of crypto zoology was left out of the “Modern Monsters” section as these creatures such as Big Foot, the Loch Ness Monster or the Jersey Devil are interesting and important because their differentiation between fact or fiction has never been truly proven or disproven.

Developers may also want to change the chupacabra’s category from Ancient Legends and Folklore to Modern Monsters, as this blood-thirsty creature is described as a “modern menace of the Americas,” having first been described in 1995. Japan’s Oni, Western Europe’s Kraken and the Native American Thunderbird should possibly be best moved from mythology to Ancient Legends and Folklore as well.

I have also found that tapping on these monster icons in the interest of exploring these creatures further is sometimes unresponsive – something that I hope can be worked out in a future update.

Even with these issues, I have really enjoyed reading about these creatures. This is an app that I would have enjoyed this app a great deal in grade school and middle school, as this app will be a hit with fans of this subject matter.

It may be worth pointing out that some of the stories re-told about certain characters, such as the Reptoid Alien are rather disturbing if taken literally. I mean this is a good way, of course, in terms of the children who will naturally gravitate toward this application, but this app may be too intense for younger children, so my son will have to be older before I can share this app with him.

If interested, apps focused on vampires and dragons are also available from this developer, please check out iTunes for more information.

Animals, Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, Geography, Just For Fun, Middle School, Preschool, Primary School, Reading, Reviews, Social, Stories

Alien Buddies is a universal educational app that my son has been really enjoying.

Three activities are included – a very educational matching game that teaches basic colors, shapes, letters and numbers, a well-done dot-to-dot game as well as sticker pages to explore.

My son has really taken to the connect-the-dots activity – something he has been exposed to before, but until now had no interest in. Here, eight silhouettes are offered. Tap to choose the image one is looking to complete. Really nice jazzy music (which parents will be happy to listen to as well) is included as children connect these dots. The night’s sky is the backdrop, complete with floating stars seen in the distance as these images are being transformed from numbers to a complete image once sequenced, reminding me of constellations.

It is especially nice that one can either tap each number in sequence individually or drag a finger around number to number or complete with one continuous movement with a finger, depending on the fine motor skills the player possesses – something my son could use some practice in. As of now, he is only tapping each number, but I hope soon he will be able to drag his fingers to each number as well – a more challenging way to complete these puzzles. If needed, players can also have a hint mode turned on, highlighting the numbers in sequence to make this section easier for young players.

The Matching game is very nice as players drag aliens, labeled with a specific letter, number or the like to the matching pod waiting to carry them to safety. The styling of this section is super-cute as are these colorful aliens who subtly tap their foot or look around nervously waiting for their turn to be saved as they step to the right of the screen.

Part of me wishes that there were some hazard one is trying to save these aliens from, but instead of negative consequences, children are encouraged to do their best by being rewarded with a new sticker unlocked in the sticker section of this app, adding to the base number of stickers one starts out with that can be used to decorate various landscapes.

I especially like how a just-listening mode is included, where no visual clues for corresponding matches are seen, making players rely on their listening skills, also great for children learning English as a second language or for use with special needs children who may need to focus on the understanding of spoken language. It is also nice that the dot-to-dot and sticker sections require no reading, allowing non-English speaking children to enjoy these sections as well.

The first thing I noticed about this app is how bright and colorful all the images found within are. This is especially true within the landscapes of the sticker section, as each of these eight sticker pages contains very different looking fantasy locations with vivid pinks and oranges, greens and turquoise – many colors really that create backdrops which could be at home in Dr. Seuss stories. Forty stickers can ultimately be utilized, with six stickers included to begin with, allowing players to be able to unlock the others as they succeed at the matching and dot-to-dot activities.

It is endearing how each of these aliens or monsters is cuddly and not at all scary. Parents who have spent some time in the iTunes store will understand the popularity of apps that teach these basics, and because a lot of time will be spent with apps like this, it is important for these apps to be fun and engaging, not only for the child, but for the parent as well.

Recently, a puzzle section has been added to this application, adding even more value to this fun, educational app. Here, eight colorful alien choices are offered. Choose with a tap and the drag pieces where they belong, with subtle jigsaw outlines seen as hints. Fun narration explains this intuitive gameplay, as well as a witty comment that kids will enjoy, such as “Where are my legs?” Players can choose to have these images broken up into 4, 6, or 8 pieces.

I appreciate that these puzzles have a nice level of “grab” to them, as they pull themselves into the correct spaces if the piece becomes close enough, as if by magnetism, “clicking” these pieces into place, along with the use of sound effects create for a satisfying experience. A subtle amount of rotation within these pieces is included that adds to the visual effect but does not effect the placement of these parts within the puzzle, and it is nice that kids can collect stickers for completed puzzles as well.

The bright and lively style of Alien Buddies unique matching game play, well-crafted dot to dot and sticker sections, cool puzzles and nice music will keep children entertained for a long time as well.

By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, Just For Fun, Language, Matching, Preschool, Primary School, Puzzle, Reviews, Shapes, Special Needs, Toddlers

OLIVIA the Great on iPhone is a charming application that includes some fun hidden object activities, as well as re-enforcing fine motor skills, making this app a great choice for children – both fans of Olivia the pig and children new to this franchise. A version of this app is also available for iPad.

OLIVIA the Great stars Olivia herself, the pig that many children know from her own TV show as well as the series of books by Ian Falconer.

In this application, help Olivia perform a series of magic tricks, first by looking for the items needed in one of a few messy rooms of Olivia’s house and beyond, such as bedrooms, living room and playground.

Players may need to move other clutter aside to look for items such as a stuffed doll, top hat or robot, making this a nice take on a classic hidden-objects game that kids can relate to, as my son sometimes needs help finding his favorite toys among a sea of others.

It is also fun how the objects one helps Olivia find are relevant in the trick she is about to perform, be it the Floating Hat or Dancing Robot tricks – cute details that adults as well as children will enjoy.

With only the outline of the items in question given, this activity have a nice level of difficulty for preschoolers as it can sometimes be tricky to tell exactly what toy is being asked for by silhouette alone, but if a mistake is made, the incorrect choice is simply removed, making this game light, fun and with many items to tap on.

Once the necessary tools have been found, players are taken to the next scene that is minimally stylized with Olivia nicely dressed as a magician on a darkened stage beside a steamer trunk used for her performance. Olivia will then demonstrate the motions she needs to make with her magic wand, movements which players perform with the drag of a finger, complete with fairy dust and twinkling sound effects that my son really enjoys.

The movements needed to produce magic may include a circle, horizontal line or three-sided, almost square shape. Although not complex, these shapes will be the foundation of letter writing, making this an excellent app to practice fine motor skills.

It is also nice that one can perform these interactions, repeating what Olivia just demonstrated, or wait until her explanation is over, making these magic tricks more difficult as one must remember the shapes or movements just seen, especially when two drags of a finger are necessary.

Once the interaction has been performed, the scene is transformed to a brightly lit stage with friends and family in the audience as the trick is ultimately performed by using the toys once searched for, now having been placed in the steamer trunk on stage next to Olivia.

It is super-cute that other pigs in the audience will ask for specific tricks already in Olivia’s repertoire, or one can tap on the trunk to see the next trick one can learn, as these tricks are unlocked slowly one after the other.

Olivia the Great will greatly appeal to fans of Olivia as the voice of Olivia is used here with great effect, as is the delightful look of these stylized pigs and the fun, jazzy theme song which is used both here as well as on TV. It is also nice that a few tie-ins exist, like familiar areas of Olivia’s house or characters including younger brother William, Dad and cat Edwin, each partaking in the magic as well, but children unaware of this series will enjoy this cute and quirky app without feeling as if they are missing anything.

It is also worth noting that this app does not contain any of the sassiness that critics of Olivia sometimes point to in terms of bad behavior.

With 16 magic tricks to participate in, there is a nice amount of content to explore, and I appreciate that although the toys needed to be collected for specific tricks remain the same, the placement of the objects one must weed through is random, creating a new experience each time one of these sections is played – great for replay value.

This is an app that we have had for a long time now, and I am glad to have the chance to share this app with readers. This is an app my son has had a lot of fun with, choosing this to show off his tricks to other adults, as well asking for help as the finger movements required can be challenging for young children and their newly acquired fine motor skills. At four, this is an app that my boy still enjoys and has started to do a lot of these tricks on his own.

I appreciate how although this app is a little forgiving with the dragging movements needed for these tricks, this app does expect some precise lines or shapes to be drawn, and it is great how children cannot cheat their way through this app in the way it is possible if one simply fills in the templates found in letter apps also used to support fine motor skills.

Olivia the Great is a lovely choice for an app that is something fun and a little different. Children will not realize the educational aspects of this cute app, but parents can feel good about their young child spending time with Olivia the Great.

Animals, Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Just For Fun, Primary School, Puzzle, Reviews, Toddlers

Bizzy Bear on the Farm is a charming new universal interactive storybook by Nosy Crow.

Two modes are included, each interactive, one with included narration and one meant to be read on one’s own.

My son has really taken to this delightful story about Bizzy Bear, a cuddly and relatable bear who is looking to be very helpful as he visits a farm, asking players for help as he partakes in such chores as feeding the pigs, helping sheep back into their pen or collecting eggs from hen houses.

Each page has a main interaction or two that is nicely explained by the narration or text found at the top of the page. Do tap Bizzy Bear to hear the multiple lines of dialogue offered as well as the other objects and characters found throughout these pages, and experiment with dragging Bizzy Bear around with a tap and drag for fun.

In looking at the comments left on iTunes, I have noticed that others do not feel that this app is as intuitive as the other apps developed by Nosy Crow – specifically The Three Little Pigs and Cinderella.

I have not found this to be the case for my son who has had no issues with the use of this application. It is true that without an autoplay section, the pages do not turn automatically, allowing children to play out these interactions fully before turning the page – an aspect that never tripped up my son as he happily explored these pages for all that they offer. They nicely include the use of the blue dots found also within their previous apps that mark characters that have something to say when tapped. When my son is finished with these pages, he simply taps the blue arrow found at the bottom right corner twice to turn the page.

The narrative for this book is not as involved as the classic story applications that Nosy Crow is known for, but works well for telling this simple story that young children will enjoy. Not being as intricate as the other apps, this simple story lends itself well to the open-ended and exploratory nature that this app offers, as my son fed, fed and over-fed these pigs until he felt satisfied enough to move on, not having to worry too much about remembering a specific plot underway.

I did, however, find that riding the horse was not easy to manipulate, as players need to figure out that one swipes behind the horse as if he is propelling him vs. dragging him where one may want him to go. An arrow demonstrating this in the future would be helpful.

After some practice, I could move this horse back and forth, turning directions, slowing down and speeding up but was not able to stop or slow down long enough to tap the bunnies found in the background of this page, which are highlighted with blue dots and looking for a tap – a disappointment for us in this otherwise very enjoyable application.

Fans of Nosy Crow will also notice that the style of illustrations found within this app is different from the previous digital tales. I enjoy the bright and bold color choices as well as Bizzy himself and all the other animals that kids will love. To me, these illustrations include nuances of Richard Scarry’s Busy Town characters which I appreciate, while maintaining a look all their own.

My son has really enjoyed Bizzy’s trip to the farm and has asked me if there will be more Bizzy apps soon – high praise from a kid with an abundance of applications to choose from. This is not a lengthy story but just right for toddlers and preschoolers, although longer stories in the future would be nice too.

Seeing how my son really enjoys Bizzy Bear, a bear who is thoughtful and kind to animals, I will be looking for some published books from this series also from Nosy Crow.

I am impressed that Nosy Crow is an independent publisher/developer of both printed books and applications. I hope to see more of their work in the future.

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

2BME Firefighter is a universal educational app that teaches fire safety, allowing children to role play as a fire fighter, as well as including a classroom setting where kids can be quizzed on what they have learned.

My son has been enjoying this app a lot recently, as here, kids can pretend to be fire fighters, learning in more details about this occupation that I have seen in other apps.

I really like how all the hot spots are marked with different icons used to clue in players on how to interact. Be it a red circle to tap or a blue arrow to swipe, this app is very hands-on.

I also appreciate how not just basic fire fighting is touched upon here but also allows children to visit the command center and operate the control panel as calls come in from the wire. Fire safety is also taught, including such information about what to do if one’s clothing catches on fire, not touching matches or lighters, as well as preparing an escape route and meeting place.

My son especially loves to help the fireman slide down the pole and get him dressed as well as to explore the equipment on the truck and pretend to drive to emergencies.

I am impressed with how much information is provided, including advanced vocabulary, such as “turnout coat,” “air pack,” or “hydraulic rescue tool, with cutter and spreader.”

Three scenes can be selected individually or played in sequence and include a cat rescue at the park, a tour of the firehouse and an emergency call to put out a fire which includes a fun mini-game where one helps save a burning building.

A separate section is available, quizzing children on what they have learned.

We both really like how interactions more detailed to fire fighting and not commonly found in apps such as this, like how connecting the hose to the hydrant and then manipulating gears and levers to control the amount of water released through the fire hose are demonstrated.

It would be nice that if in a future update, a menu could be included as my son does ask for help finding his favorite moments to interact with.

I am glad that this is a universal app, as we have been enjoying this app on both our iPad as well as iPhone, but I do notice that the resolution could be a little bit better on the iPad and the narration sounds a little halted and computery, but my son has not complained about these adult concerns, as he enjoys the computer-generated 3D images that give this app a sense of dimension.

As one can expect, there are a lot of bells and alarms here and because of this, this app can get pretty noisy. It is nice, however, that kids are in control of these sound effects, allowing kids with sensitive ears to hear these sounds only momentarily, if at all.

It is also very nice that an interactive tutorial explains the tapping, swiping and dragging found within – good for children new to applications and information that will serve them well in working with other apps in the future.

2BME Firefighter is a great choice of apps for children interested in fireman-related activities or for parents who want to teach fire safety in a way that will be fun and engaging, as there is certainly a lot to interact with, touch and move in ways that are thoughtful and necessary to the task at hand.

I am not sure if this is part of a larger series of apps, but we would love to see more occupations explored in this manner.

This is an app my son keeps coming back to, and I really like the information he is learning. I would love if dialing 911 were also taught as well – something to think about for a future update.

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

Fun Clock – Learn to Tell Time, is a universal app that teaches the concept of telling time, and is one of the best, most comprehensive app of its kind.

I greatly appreciate how this app includes not only interactive activities but also a narrative section in which the theory of telling time is very well explained – something not seen in other apps.

Here, the main character of this application, Jonathan, a learned flamingo, asks another flamingo named Bob, who is dressed hip-hop style and wearing a clock around his neck what time it is. Bob confesses that he actually does not know how to read his clock. Jonathan explains all that there is to know about telling time in a way that is most thorough while maintaining a light, conversational tone.

I like how this video does not assume any knowledge of clocks, hour or minute hands, making the character of Bob green to this new experience as well, allowing Bob to ask questions I am sure children will be thinking.

At times Bob becomes confused and asks for clarification from Jonathan, a thoughtful, empathetic teacher who understands how telling time may seem difficult at first, as this app tackles the ideas such as 60 minutes in correspondence to twelve hours, and how the hour and minute hands move together to keep proper time, making this story an excellent foundation for the skills that will be touched upon in the other sections of this app.

Having had some experience in reviewing apps about telling time, I have seen applications that are the equivalent of number recognition apps opposed to actually teaching kids how to count, where the names of the hour and minute hands are touched upon, as well as the numbers on the clock, but don’t really explain how to tell time.

There are also clock apps that allow children already experienced in telling time to practice this skill, setting interactive clocks by moving the hands to correlate with a specific time, but these apps serve more as related exercises after being taught the basics of time telling by an adult. Without this previous training, many of these other apps may be of little use.

Few apps actually tackle explaining the true concept of telling time they way this app does.

After watching the included video in Fun Clock – Learn to Tell Time, children will be will well on their way to understanding how to read a analogue clock. As a parent, I don’t think I could have explained this better myself, also wishing that this video had been around when I was a child.

The only thing that I don’t fully find desirable is how rigid the language used to tell the time is – as here, Jonathan calls 3:30 “half past 3:00,” correcting Bob and his “30 minutes past 3:00” whereas I would call this “3:30,” when reading this time off a analogue as well as digital clock. It would be nice if different ways of expressing the same time were equally looked upon as accurate, as there is a moment where Jonathan acknowledges Bob’s alternative way of saying this specific time but really poo-poos this other way of expression, unfortunate as they way I read time out loud is very different from the way taught here.

This is an issue I have throughout this app, as 4:40 is called “20 minutes to 5,” 12:07 is “7 minutes past 12,” 3:59 “is one minute to 4,” and the terms “quarter past” or “quarter to” are preferred over 5:45 and 5:15. I do wonder if this is a cultural difference I am not aware of as this app offered in both English and Chinese, is not a specifically America app. Although these semantical difference surprised me, it is possible children may find this an easier way if reading and expressing time.

It is nice that digital clocks are also briefly touched upon as well, but at the end of the included video, a military clock using the 24 hour style is introduced when discussing digital clocks. It is explained how 8:00 can also be expressed as 20:00 in the evening, but the 24 hour clock is not thoroughly introduced, leaving kids possibly confused.

Even with these issues, this video-like element for telling time is the best I have seen in terms of really teaching this subject.

Five interactive sections are also included with elements I have not seen before in other clock apps.

First, players are asked to drag the numbers and hands to the correct positions of a clock that had broken, allowing all these pieces to fall to the page and bounce about with the use of a physics engine.

When a number is put in the correct position, this number becomes a part of the clock again, complete with a satisfying sound effect and Jonathan narrating this correct number as an amount of time.

After this clock is complete, players get to move the hands about, hearing the times they have created narrated, allowing kids to decode the time-telling concepts for themselves as they listen to narration and move the hands on their own.

In the Second section, one is able to set the clock for specific times, here dealing with hours and half pasts. Here, the clock is filled in except for empty number holes that correlate to a time either on an hour or half past, and the hands point to 12:00 as a default.

On the bottom of the screen are these numbers that have fallen out of their positions, and it is especially nice that the hour hand and ball used are red where as the minute hand and ball are purple. When these balls are placed correctly, the hands move accordingly.

After fixing the clock, one must match one of three clocks with the corresponding time narrated, as these times are departure times for buses – often with animal-named destinations, such as “Gooseville” or “Los Flamingos.”

This format of clock fixing and bus departure times continues as one learns about quarter to and quarter past as well.

Five and One minutes are taught much in the same way, as one fills in the clock, but here more details are found on the clock, with the five seconds now denoted, and there are three spaces open with only two balls that will ultimately tell the hour and minute hands to turn, making this section more challenging.

It is nice that if chosen, a digital clock can also be looked at as a reference to the time needed to be set amongst these sections, and a large “go back” arrow can be easily tapped if one wants to hear Jonathan narrate instructions over again.

These games can be accessed on their own after becoming unlocked with the previous section being completed, or one after the other if one would like to work through all these lessons at once.

Star achievements can also be earned for correct answers, and after this app is complete, players have earned a personalized certificate for job well done.

Finally, after completing this app, a certificate of learning how to tell time is unlocked for the player, which can be saved as a photo to email later to friends or just to save for posterity.

This is a wonderful app for iPad that will teach children how to tell time.

From a concise and well written explanation on telling time to engaging interactive activities, this application is defiantly a go-to app for those looking to teach children this important skill.

I remember learning how to tell time being difficult to master, partially I am sure as my parents did not have a good handle on the best way of explaining this tricky subject.

Parents no longer need to feel at a loss as to how to help their children. Just let Jonathan explain what he needs to and allow children to explore the interactive sections of this application.

By Age Range, By App Feature, Preschool, Primary School, Puzzle, Reviews, Time

Feel Electric! is an interesting free, universal educational app aimed at helping children learn about and express emotions in a healthy way.

This app features the cast and content of The New Electric Company, teaching children the meaning of 50 emotional words and further exploring these different feelings with a variety of fun activities.

One area of this app is called My Life and consists of three sections, Mood Dude, Mood Tales and Moodosphere.

Mood Dude allows players to change the eyes, brows, mouth, arms, and color of an avatar reminiscent of an M&M character, allowing one to express how he is feeling. It is nice that both happy and sad choices are included as well as many other emotions.

Mood Tales includes ten story makers that also demonstrate emotions, here used as the tone to these short stories that get filled in with the choice of random words – Mad-Libs style – and include images from this hit PBS T.V. show.

Moodosphere allows children to choose three emotions that best describe their current mood do tap to hear and see proper usage of these words.

I really enjoy the vast selection of eclectic emotions included within this app, such as calm, confused, bored, regretful, jealous or proud, as well as how these words are explained as a tap of a finger opens up a glossary of terms, both written, narrated, and with a photo. I think it is great that the narration also expresses the emotion word in use, really bringing home the meaning of these important words.

The My Games section includes three fun arcade-style mini-games that also focus on children learning to express their emotions through words.

Pets Vs. Monsters is a fun game taking place on a baseball field where the player moves a batter back and forth with a finger trying to hit photo images that correspond with the emotion in question. I enjoy this mini-game, but I found this game a little hard as I tried to match up expressions that did not match 100 % with the emotion at hand but were good choices until the correct, most obvious choice was offered.

Prankster Madness is a tilt game where players tilt their devices to move a skateboarder back and forth matching expressive photos to word balls dropping from the sky, missing incorrect words and other objects in the fast-paced, timed mini-game.

Hey, Catch This is another emotion centric arcade-style game, here allowing players to shoot word balls at moving targets with matching expressions.

My Stuff is a section full of photos, music, and video clips from The New Electric Company. This section allows one to decorate the photos from the My Photos with stickers that also express different emotions. It is nice that a large selection of images, music and video clips from The New Electric Company are included, and I appreciate how this media can be accessed without an internet connection.

Fans of this show will love all of this included content, but I think children not familiar with this series may feel that there is a lot of context missing to fully understand what one is looking at or listening to.

Although this may be the case for this section of this app, it is nice that the other areas of this app are accessible to children who may not watch this show on TV, even if the concepts and characters past the basic gameplay may also be over the heads of those not fans of The New Electric Company.

My personal favorite area of this app is the What’s the Word section, a glossary of emotional words used throughout this app. Here, one can study the faces that make up each expression close up, also listening to the explanation of each word expressed in a way that demonstrates each word really well. This is a great area to compare similar yet different words as it pertains to how these expressions are demonstrated on the faces of those who possess these emotions. It would be nice to be able to see these photos blow up to even larger images, and it would be nice to choose words that are similar and be able to compare these images side by side.

Feel Electric! is also part of the website, Military Families Near and Far which aids children in expressing their emotions and keeping in contact with family. This is a wonderful application for allowing children to express their feelings especially while being faced with the challenges of deployed family members.

I would also like to recommend this app to families with special needs children who will gain a lot by the images of expressive faces and verbal cues offered about a variety of emotions. Jessica Ruiz and Danny Rebus, the teen cast members who star in this app as well as The New Electric Company do an outstanding job expressing these emotions in a way that is exaggerated enough for these feelings to register clearly, while still being grounded in reality.

Parents and teachers may also appreciate how this app keeps a log of the various emotions chosen on different days, allowing adults and children to look back and discuss the feelings that were previously felt.

It is impressive that an app of this caliber is free, as it is bright, colorful and a lot of fun, also including some fun, up-beat music used throughout.

Because of this fact, I would think many families would enjoy downloading this app and seeing what it is all about, as I can imagine young children not associated with military families, or those who have special needs, can gain a great deal of new vocabulary words, making this a good app for toddlers who can peruse the emotional faces and new words found throughout the What’s the Word section, making it a great first app where kids will grow into the other sections.

By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, Health, Just For Fun, Language, Preschool, Primary School, Reviews, Social, Special Needs, Toddlers