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

The Opposites is a wonderfully educational universal app that I greatly enjoy and recommend to others.

I really enjoy this word game. Here, players tap word balloons, finding corresponding opposites as these balloons quickly fill up the page. If the board is not cleared before the page fills up with words, the game is over.

I must admit that by re-reading my own explanation of this game, this app does not sound all that interesting or unique. I do agree that other developers could have gone down a road making this app less dynamic that this application really is, but what really makes this app wonderful for me is the visual style and interesting back story that is offered here – much of which is open for interpretation.

This application is centered around two contrary children, presumably brother and sister. I love the choices made here, as the backdrop of this wordplay game is a wall behind these verbally sparring children that is filled with family photos, often including moments of their sibling rivalry. I think it is very clever how these siblings, although opposite sexes, look very much alike, not being as opposite as they may wish, and the styling of these siblings with green eyes and red hair simply makes me smile.

I am also happy to report that the ambient music found within this app is very easy and desirable to listen to over long period of time, a interesting and unique choice that I enjoy.

Other details include an overhead light that sways side to side with the movement of the device. The word bubbles are also affected by gravity and the movement of the device as well, something that players may use to their advantage, as the layering of these bubbles tightly allows more words to fit on a page before the game is over.

It is great to hear these words narrated by both these male and female characters, allowing players to hear the pronunciation of these words.

The word pairs themselves increase in difficulty from the simplest combinations, such as Stop and Go, or Left and Right, and increase in difficulty through the ten levels, ultimately including words more obscure and scholarly, such as words rooted in biology, medicine, economics or politics and even popular culture, such as a “Guys and Dolls” reference.

Players will learn to decipher the prefixes of words, including “ex” vs. “in,” “in” and “out,” as well as the inclusion of the prefixes “im”, “in,” and “un” to be the opposite of the corresponding word beginning used. I enjoy how these words may have different meanings and multiple possible opposites, with the context falling into place when the second word is revealed.

Although listed as an app for seven and up, I would not hesitate to buy this app for older children or even an adult who enjoys word games. It has been twenty years or so since I took my SATs, and to this day I still make metal notes of sources of material that may make studying for this test easier, and I think this is a great application for those studying for this most important exam.

Personally, I would start the use of the app younger, allowing these sometimes advanced words to be part of a student’s common knowledge instead of words one tries to cram in so that one can do well on a specific test.

I really appreciate how this app includes a dictionary that includes each of the words used, broken down by level and comprised of an easy-to-scan list of opposites, also allowing one to tap on a word to read more about its definition.

Players can decide if they want to study the words for each level found in the included dictionary or have a go at the game, learning what works and what does not along the way.

Although apparent for many words used, it would be nice if the part of speech, be it noun, verb or adjective, was also included, and I would love to see this dictionary be narrated as well, possibly in a future update.

It would also be nice for a link to the dictionary to be available when one is choosing a level, as this is not provided as one rises through these levels, and it takes a couple of clicks to find this important, well-written resource.

It is impressive that the list of possible words for every level is a lot longer than the amount of words covered in each level before one moves on, allowing for a new experience when replaying this game or individual levels.

I think this would be an excellent app for educators to use within the classroom, as well as for home use. I know I would have enjoyed this game as a child or teen, as well as the adult I am today, and I appreciate how this word game is focused on one’s vocabulary and reasoning skill without focusing on spelling in any form – something I have always been lousy at.

Some level of strategy is also incorporated here as a word bubble may be highlighted yellow, letting players know that pairing this word will allow for a fruit break for these siblings, pausing their delivery of words – in effect also pausing the flow of words into this page to match or lose the game. Keeping this in mind, I do like to save this special grouping for when the board is getting full and I could use a little time to think.

I have had moments with bad luck where many words without pairs fill up the screen, making the level easy to lose, but for the most part I find this game to have a nice level of difficulty in terms of the amount of time given, both in the levels as well as in the bonus rounds

Typically, I do not comment on the reviews apps have received in iTunes, but I must say that I am surprised with the low score this app has received. It is worth noting that I have not had any issues with this app crashing, and I have completed every level. I do agree that this app takes some time to load – something that I hope can be looked at in the future, but this is not a big issue for me as this app is well-worth waiting for.

My son is too young to appreciate this app now, but I look forward to when he is old enough to enjoy this word game. I have routinely been impressed with the apps the developers at Mindshapes have come up with. A prolific bunch, their apps are each unique to themselves, but with the same overall very high quality. I look forward to more of their apps in the future.

By Age Range, By App Feature, High School +, Just For Fun, Language, Matching, Middle School, Primary School, Puzzle, Reviews

Word Kids, developed by Mobile Madness, is a word search game for iPhone/iPod/iPad that also translates English words into French, Polish and Spanish, depending on the setting. It has Easy, Normal and Hard levels of difficulty. English words are hidden vertically, horizontally and diagonally in a traditional-looking grid. When a child locates a word, he or she then highlights it with their finger. Once the English word is highlighted, the translation into the second language is displayed, along with a graphic to go with it.

I was initially interested in this game because my daughter likes word games and the graphics looked really cute. I also liked the fact that this app encourages kids to learn a second language, remembering that she enjoyed learning some French words when she was in the second grade. My daughter, now almost ten, found the word search component to be somewhat challenging, even on the Easy level. I actually ended up helping her quite a bit to locate the words so that she could see the French translations. The app held her interest for a short while, but she soon grew tired of the repetition. She told me that she liked the aspect of learning foreign words, but that she was hoping for more variation as the play continued. She thought that a reward or other kind of incentive for locating words would have been a good idea. She also thought that some kind of quiz at the end of each level would also have made the app more interesting and helped her to remember the French words that were introduced.

I do agree with my daughter that some kind of built-in incentive where a child can unlock new surprises, such as new backgrounds or music, might capture and hold kids’ interest for longer periods. Another improvement might be to make the graphics interactive, rather than static. Although my daughter has not played with the app since she first tried it, I do give Words Kids high marks for introducing children to a second language (or third or fourth). It has a simple design, nice graphics and the content is both educational and useful.

By Age Range, By App Feature, Language, Middle School, Primary School, Reviews

Toontastic is a wonderfully creative and educational app for iPad which allows children of all ages 5 and up to create their own animated shorts, learning about the dramatic structure commonly used within storytelling.

I am greatly impressed by this app, as this application allows kids to choose from different location and character elements as well as use their own drawings to create an animated cartoon.

Intuitive to use, this app helps children to create more complex stories than they may be accustomed to as this teaches the principles of dramatic structure, breaking down the story to be told into a story arc of the traditional five scenes. For the purposes of this app, these five sections are called Setup, Conflict, Challenge, Climax and Resolution and include a concise and easily understood explanation of what each of these scenes should entail thematically.

It is nice that the page describing these scenes has a diagram of these scenes, creating an image somewhat akin to the traditional “Freytag’s Pyramid” used to illustrate the five sections of the traditional story arc.

Easy to use, players tap each scene from beginning to end and choose a location from those provided, including different landscapes appropriate for a pirate, space, or royal motifs. Once the setting is chosen, scroll through the characters available bottom of the screen, tapping to make one’s choices appear with this scene. From here, one can arrange these characters, re-size them, and even change the colors to details found amongst these characters.

I especially like how multiples of these same characters can be used within a scene if one wishes, and do play around with articulating the moving elements of these characters such as moving an arm holding a sword up and down to duel, and note that one can have these characters face right, left, or straight ahead. Users can start the animation at any time, although the moving of these elements past simply dragging the characters around the page can be difficult and one may need to practice a few times to get the finer articulated movements down the way one wishes.

The ability to record narration or dialogue to be heard within this scene is also intuitive and produces well-done results. Do move the characters around the page as these movements will be captured and played back within this scene. When complete, music can be chosen that corresponds with the emotion the scene at hand is trying to convey, and it is interesting that one can choose from music selections that also correspond to the “emotional energy,” found within each scene, as one is able to move the level of energy with the tap of up or down arrows, creating different musical choices depending on the energy level chosen.

I appreciate how players can draw their own backgrounds and characters, complete with the sophisticated color choice of allowing one to grab and color from the rainbow of choices provided, as well as a relatively fine paintbrush point, allowing for some details and a paint bucket method of filling in sections of one’s artwork – my choice tool for filling in areas with color. I had a few unresponsive moments testing out this function of creating one’s own drawings, but for the most part I think that this drawing section works well and is a valuable inclusion within this app. It is especially nice that narrated prompts can be turned on throughout this app, allowing non-readers to create their own cartoons as well.

I am impressed with the well known music selections available, making this app very educational in terms of music appreciation, allowing children to become familiar with well known musical pieces such as “Rhapsody in Blue,” Pachelbel’s “Canon in D,” and other familiar scores such as the theme to the movie 2001, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, or Ride of the Valkyries – recognizable to many by the famous Bugs Bunny episode “What’s Opera, Doc” otherwise known as “Kill the Rabbit.”

Do listen to all the music selections available to find the piece that will truly work within a specific scene. I sometimes had a difference of opinion as to what music fit what emotion, an interesting aspect that can create some nice open-ended conversations about how music can be used to create emotion – just as important a lesson to learn as the dramatic structure itself.

I really wish, however, that all these famous pieces of music were given proper credit, for me this is a real bummer that this information is not included.

Toontastic is a great app for both school as well as home settings and can be enjoyed by a wide range of ages and abilities, and it is nice that completed cartoons can be saved to the iPad or shared online for others to enjoy as well. I am happy to see a thoughtfully written section for parents and educators fully explaining how to get the most out of the app.

This app does have some limitations, as I was not able to fully move my characters off the screen to have them leave a scene, and I do wish that more objects were available for these characters to interact with. This is less of an issue if one has the ability to draw the added items one may be looking to use, and in app purchases of more motifs are available, complete with both background and included characters, but I wish more was offered per each additional purchase.

Having said this, Toontasic is an important app that both parents and educators should be aware of. This is an app I have recommended to friends – both parents as well as teachers – to use in their classrooms. This app teaches invaluable lessons about storytelling to kids who are never too young about this, and who will benefit greatly from being exposed to in this manner.

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

Paul Bunyan, told by Jonathan Winters, is a fun new Read-Play-and-Record Along Rabbit Ears interactive storybook that delightfully re-tells the great American folklore of Paul Bunyan with wonderful narration and fun illustrations. Like the other apps from this series, this app is universal and can be watched like a video or read like a book, and one can make one’s own recording as well.

For those who do not know, Paul Bunyan is one of the most famous characters from North American folklore. Bunyan was said to be larger than life both in stature as well as in his logging abilities as a lumberjack. Here, with the aid of his animal companion, Babe, the blue ox, Bunyan tackles President Teddy Roosevelt’s request to clear the trees of the Dakotas for settlers to make new homes.

It is a wonderful choice to have Jonathan Winters narrate this tall tale, doing a terrific job, especially as this story is played for the most part, for laughs and includes some fun moments of action and adventure, more so than many of the other applications from this series that may have a melancholy tone. The music accompanying these apps have always been uniformly perfect, as is the case here with the music from acoustic guitarist, Leo Kottke.

True to the style of these Rabbit Ears interactive storybooks, the illustrations found within the storybook section are used throughout the video, as this artwork is panned and zoomed in to show details and other effects. Images from the storybook also fade into each other, creating a montage effect, moving along the video in what would be from one page to the next. Different from the other apps in this library that very literally use the same images found within the storybook section, many of the images here are more adaptations as they may vary from what is found within the storybook.

The illustrations found in the book section have a fun and charming look to them that is in contrast with the earnestly beautiful watercolors found other Rabbit Ears titles – here, oftentimes cartoony implied movement are included as some slapstick humor is incorporated nicely to complement the over-the-top antics which Paul Bunyan and the other loggers demonstrate.

In the video, mild but effective animations are simply used to make these movements more realized and less implied, and other simple animated moments are included as well, such as snow or rain falling, or Babe’s eyes opening as Bunyan warms this poor frozen creature back to life. Images found in the video do not always correspond to the illustrations found page by page within the book, making both watching the video and reading the storybook different experiences.

It is worth noting that here, a more modern ending has been included that some may call politically correct, giving Bunyan remorse for clearing all the forests of their trees in an ending that makes me think of Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax.

Although the text remains the same, the imagery used to tell the ending of this story in the video and storybook sections are different, as in the storybook, these lines of text displayed are on pages full of empty, blighted land with a peek of forests, either snow caped or only as tree tops used as end pages for this book.

On the other hand, the video has these last moments taking place in a lush, thick forest now inhabited by Bunyan as he has since quit logging and is now planting trees. Here, this moment also includes a nice visual effect in which this forest has a surprising three-dimensional look that I found very effective, also found in the beginning of this video, further creating two different experiences within this one app.

Although I understand that this ending is not a part of the mythology of Paul Bunyan, I appreciate this resolution as it changes the tone in an interesting way – from light-hearted and fun to somber and thoughtful.

However, I can also imagine parents uncomfortable with this ending if one is simply looking for a fun, feel-good story about Paul Bunyan. I can also imagine this ending may even be off-putting to some who believe the ecology theme included in some ways minimizes the hard work put forth by loggers of days past.

Some parents may also give pause at the idea of this classic character being simply changed, as fans of this application will be familiar with a Paul Bunyan different that the classic folklore, while others may appreciate this new environmentally friendly ending.

My son and I have enjoyed this tall tale turned application. I truly hope to see more Rabbit Ears interactive storybooks in the future. Although I am grateful that one’s page is held because these books tend to be lengthy, it would be nice to add a menu of pages as well to aid parents in finding specific moments that kids may especially enjoy – just a thought.

Please also note that today is the last day of the sale price of $1.99 for all Ruckus Media Group apps, and more importantly, that all the proceeds of the sales of these apps will be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. If you have not already done so, you may want to check out what apps Ruckus Media Group has in iTunes to purchase for this worthy cause.

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

Thumbelina, told by Kelly McGillis, is a wonderful adaptation of this classic Hans Christian Andersen tale, developed by Ruckus Mobile Media. This version of this classic story is also part of the library of tales created by Rabbit Ears Entertainment, known for incorporating award-winning stories, amazing celebrity narrations and phenomenal music and art. These applications are universal apps and can be watched like a video or read like a book, and one can make one’s own recording as well.

Thumbelina is a tale about a girl born to a childless couple with the aid of magic who grows only to be the size of one’s thumb and the adventures she experiences as she is unwillingly taken from her home to be married off to various creatures who find that her size and beauty make her good marriage material.

This classic tale, written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1835, is a true favorite story of mine as I love the imagery of a young woman so small that she can sleep in a walnut shell as well as the interesting anthropomorphic animals she meets along the way that are so very human, although oftentimes in ways most unflattering.

Being a lengthy children’s tale, many characters are introduced within this story, and I have noticed that other apps as well as children’s books and other media based on the original tend to touch upon the plot points found within but can remain rather disjointed as a complete narrative. I am happy to say that the thorough re-telling of this classic will satisfy children of all ages as well as adult Andersen fans, although I do wish that a new name were given to Thumbelina when she becomes queen of the fairy people as is traditionally found within this story, as the name Thumbelina is in fact a slightly pejorative reference to her height in comparison to a human thumb, an issue no longer relevant once married to the fairy king, and the re-naming of Thumbelina to Maia symbolizes a new beginning.

The look of the included video is simply captivating, hand-drawn and lovingly painted in water color. Some close-ups show the texture of the paper as well, adding to the richness of this lushly illustrated story. Narrator Kelly McGillis does a wonderful job of narrating this story, with a soothing, almost sleepy tone, skillfully re-told as this video is both relaxing as it is captivating. The music of Mark Isham is also perfectly realized, working wonderfully alongside the other elements to fully create a world in which this story takes place.

I appreciate greatly how pretty both the world around her and Thumbelina herself are with these simple, tender illustrations, with a great contrast to the gruesome creatures also introduced such as frogs, june bugs, and a most unpleasant mole, with great voices created to further develop these antagonistic characters.

I also enjoy how the artwork used within the storybook sections of this app are also transformed into moving images for the video with the use of the “Ken Burns Effect” as these water color paintings found within this app have been panned and zoomed into, directing the reader where to look and creating a sense of drama within this story. Although the video section is watched like a movie, the effect here is unlike something commonly seen on television and will impress even those who are not keen on kids spending time with kids videos as this is in fact an alternative way of exploring artwork.

These illustrations are also found within the storybook sections as well, but they are slightly concealed in some areas of the screen by a window that is includes text within a white background all its own, semi obscuring the painting beneath. This does make the text easy to read, especially helpful when recording a personal narrated tract, but I can’t help wonder if a simple band on the bottom of the screen would have distracted less from the very special artwork.

I have used this video section to calm my son mid melt-down with great success because from the first few moments of listening to this opening score, earnest and beautiful, combined with the impressive water colors. This is a very engaging, yet relaxing experience for my son, who quickly settles down to listen to this story, forgetting what was causing him concern.

This app is an impressive length of almost half and hour and 73 pages found in the storybook, making this a lovely choice of application to share with children of all ages on long trips, keeping kids occupied with a great experience in both art and literature that parents can feel good about. Sometimes I enjoy simply listening to these Ruckus storybook apps as this alone is a lovely experience, making the video mode something everyone on a long car ride can enjoy, even if not directly looking at the images.

Please also be aware that through Black Friday and Cyber Monday, all the proceeds of the sales from Ruckus Media Groups Read-Play-and-Record Along Rabbit Ears interactive storybooks, along with their other apps, will be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. I feel privileged to have been able to review the majority of Ruckus Media Group apps, so I know from personal experience how terrific they all are. This, combined with the wonderful charity they are now connected with, and the fact that during this time each are on sale for $1.99 makes these apps wonderful digital stocking stuffers and Chanukah gifts, with different apps available for every age range, including adults.

Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, For Parents, High School +, Just For Fun, Language, Middle School, Preschool, Primary School, Reading, Reviews, Sounds, Stories, Toddlers

Mr. Cloud, developed by Ownage Studios, is another app for iPhone/iPod touch/iPad that looks to be for younger children, but is really not. The description reads, “Wow! Wee! Uhh! Cheerful and friendly Mr. Cloud is flying in the sky while making colourful rainbows and happy faces. He knows how to cheer you up when you are down, and make you giggle when you are happy. Try it and you will see!”

Using your finger to control the cloud’s movements, the object is to avoid obstacles like vines, rain clouds and castles as long as possible. If you run into any of these things, it’s game over, and you have to start back at the beginning. If you can manage to stay alive long enough, you will begin to collect the colors of the rainbow, one at a time, until you have created a full rainbow. So far, no one on my team has been able to achieve the full rainbow (my team being myself, and my app testers/kids, ages 9 and 6). My 9-year-old daughter and I have collected two colors, and my son has collected three colors.

The graphics are absolutely adorable, and I would agree that this is a cheerful and colorful app. That being said, there is just one problem…this game is hard! I mean super hard! There are so many obstacles getting in the way of your forward momentum, that you might be able to clear one thing, only to be brought down by the next. In this way, I think the developer overdid it. The other thing that I don’t like is, if you fail a level, you have to start over at the beginning. I think the game would be much easier and more satisfying if you could keep all the colors you have collected even after you fail a level. My kids and I found it to be incredibly frustrating to collect several colors only to have to start all over at the beginning again with none.

So, here’s my take-away. Cute graphics and addictive game play? Yes, definitely, but this app is not designed for preschoolers, as the name and description might suggest. Because of the level of skill needed to actually beat it, I would rate this game appropriate for ages 8 and up (and for those who have high tolerance for frustration!).

By Age Range, By App Feature, For Parents, Just For Fun, Middle School, Primary School, Reviews

Eggs Away is the latest iPhone/iPod touch/iPad app created by developer, Mike Hempfling at Crave Creative. The goal is to launch a shiny, green egg back into its nest, using varying degrees of power and the correct angles to do so. Sounds easy, right? Well, not exactly. Each level gets progressively trickier as new obstacles, such as pieces of wood, beach balls and even bombs are introduced.

While rated appropriate for ages 4+, my nine-year-old has only been able to clear the first two levels and stated that she thought the game was appropriate for older kids who are, “good at geometry.” My six-year-old gamer/son was able to clear the first three levels after multiple attempts and then declared that the game was, “hard, but fun.” I have to confess that after many tries, I have only mastered levels one through three. Yikes, what does that say about me?

The bottom line: Eggs Away is a cute app with simple, yet cheerful graphics. While it is rewarding to finally get the egg back into its nest and see it hatch into a little bird, I found Eggs Away to be much more difficult than the mother-of-all-bird-games, Angry Birds. While the content of the game is mild enough for young players, Eggs Away does require higher-level problem solving and spatial relations skills. For this reason, I think the app is best suited for kids 9 and up. That being said, some younger kids (especially those who are strong in math and games invloving strategy) may be able to master it through trial and error. Although the game is mentally challenging, I do wonder whether it is varied enough to keep older kids interested for long periods of time. As we never progressed past level 3, it’s possible that new challenges in the higher levels may be enough to keep older kids engaged.

Animals, By Age Range, By App Feature, Middle School, Primary School, Puzzle, Reviews

What was I Scared of? – Dr. Seuss is a wonderful classic tale, perfect for the Halloween season as well as any time of year one is in the mood for a good, spooky story with the added benefit of a moral here as well.

What was I Scared of? is a tale told in the first person from the point-of-view of the main character as he becomes most disturbed by seeing an eerie, empty pale green pair of pants walking around town with nobody in them. As this boy continues on his daily activities, he keeps running into this empty pair of pants which this boy finds most unsettling, leading up to a close encounter with these empty pants that compels this boy to shriek for help, causing these pants to cry. The empty pant’s reaction makes this boy quickly develop empathetic feelings for the empty pants, calming them down and becoming friends.

This is a very special story for our family as this tale is my husband’s favorite story of all time, originally published as a short story, as part of a compilation of Seuss tales in The Sneetches and other Stories.

As a child, my husband called this story “The pants with nobody inside them,” but when I first downloaded this book for my son, I instantly knew that this was the tale that shaped his childhood.

Like the other Dr. Seuss apps brought to devices by Oceanhouse Media, this ebook allows one to listen to narration or not, as well as the option of Auto-Play where the page turning is automatic – a nice choice for young readers, even allowing one to put the device down and simply listen to these stories. An interactive element is also used here where one can tap objects found on the screen to see and hear these words displayed prominently, although the narration of these words never talks over the reading of these stories, a nice touch as is the highlighting of the text if this app is enjoyed in “Read To Me” or “Auto Play” mode.

The look of this app is very faithful to the original art found in this story, as the images from each page in the tale can be found within. Here, the “Ken Burns Effect” is used, with the panning and zooming of these illustrations to correspond with lines of text, guiding readers where to look for great effect.

What was I Afraid of? is a more monochromatic tale than other Dr. Seuss stories, taking place at night and using a wonderful dark turquoise with black detailing that fills most of these scenes, the backlit screen of the iPad and iPhone really makes this color pop, as it does the pale yellow and green used in bringing these characters to life.

For me, what has made this app a favorite of mine is the included music which elevated this book into masterpiece territory. This music used so eloquently translates the characters’ hesitation, trepidation and fear, with poetic use of a xylophone and the deep, somber tone of the bassoon in ways that very much moved me.

I admit that when asked, my husband says that as a kid having the story read to him by his mother, this tale was more wonderfully strange and odd to him, not scary at all, but the tone this music brings to this story is decidedly suspenseful and creepy, adding an editorial spin within this classic – a decision that works for me wonderfully, but I can imagine that very sensitive children might be upset by the mood created here.

Narration is included that is well-done in its own way, but my husband would have preferred to dig Boris Karloff up from the grave to narrate this story. This not being possible, I know he would have preferred someone with a deeper, more resonating voice than the option offered of a woman who pleasantly narrates this app.

Having said this, this is a note that does not greatly affect my enjoyment of this application, and a different voice combined with the included music may have made this scarier than what most children could apprecaite. Parents also have the option of reading this book to their children as well if they so desire, and it is especially nice that the musical score can still be heard when the narration is turned off.

I am glad to report that my son enjoys this story very much as well, listening to it long past last year’s Halloween season when we first purchased this app. This story also contains an important lesson about judging others on first appearances and tolerance told in a way that is most memorable and affecting.

If one has not already added this storybook to their library of apps, I highly recommend them to do so, not only for this Halloween season, but for a long time to come as well.

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