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

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

Numberleys is the new interactive universal storybook by the developers at Moonbot Studios, creators of The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, one of my son’s all-time favorite applications.

The visual style of the Numberleys is quite stunning, greatly reminiscent of Fritz Lang’s 1926 German Expressionism film, Metropolis, with a use of black and white imagery that will stay with my son for a long time. In cinematic terms that don’t quite correspond to an animated film, the look of low-key lighting is most striking, as is the masterful positioning of what would be the camera and the use of graphic, industrial cutaways in addition to the perfect use of a musical score in this thoughtful, atmospheric sci-fi storybook.

This story takes place in a bleak, colorless land of only numbers. An orderly world devoid of whimsy or joy, a group of numbers looking to better their society take it upon themselves to create letters out of already existing number shapes to bring beauty to their world.

It may have been a mistake to tell my son that this was a new app from the same developers of The Fantastic Flying Books, as I think my son was expecting highly interactive moments peppered throughout this story, which is not really the case here, as this is primarily a video to watch until one comes across the section of mini-game-like activities in which these new letters are crafted.

It did not take long, however, for my son to get used to simply watching this interesting origin of the alphabet, and I really enjoyed looking at his eyes are they grew wide in response to the use of the images of impressive architectural structures and industrial machines also found in Metropolis and touched upon here with wondrous effect. The mood within this tale may be dark, but not scary or to intense for my sensitive son.

I greatly appreciate the included narration, complete with German accent, which made me smile but surely went over the head of my 4 year old. I admire the choice to have a decidedly quirky tone to this narration as a more drab style would have made this story too heavy and completely change the tone of this tale to something else very different.

There are a few moments where one can tap red lights found in this app, mainly as part of a machine one gets to momentary interact with, exploring further the industrial elements of this application, but these moments are few and far between – only an issue if one has a preconceived notion of what to expect from this interactive app.

There are times, however, that after tapping an interactive area of this app, it is unclear when to turn the page as the interactive can be infinite – usually something that I like in an interaction, but here, which can cause confusion.

I have also noticed that when the video is intercut with narration and a title card of written text, although a lovely nod to silent films, can seem jarring, especially when it comes to the soundtrack being used.

As this story progresses, readers will reach the section of this app that will allow them to help these number characters to alter numbers into letters.

It is impressive how varied these interactions are, with a creative use of industrial machines, as well as the witty use of words that introduces the letters such as “Form would follow function, they would make the future fun.”

Letters are spun to stretch numbers into letter shapes, trampolines are used to jump onto numbers, squashing or separating them into letters, even deflecting numbers to hit fragile gears that fill form letters when broken.

Many of these interactions work well, but others are more at a level of a challenging mini-game in terms of difficulty, and it can be hard to understand what is being asked of the player or simply too difficult to accomplish – much to the frustration of my son, who wanted to interact with this this story, only to feel at some points overly challenged.

It can also be difficult to know when to turn the page here, as a few times the best way to complete the letter in question is to tap the paging turn arrow which triggers the conclusion of this interaction, as to not prolong some of these mini-games for what seems like indefinitely as players try to trouble-shoot what is going wrong.

Unfortunately, narration is not included as players must read the directions offered for these letter interactions to themselves, as the visual clues are often not enough to explain game play on their own, making this a difficult app to fully enjoy for non-readers. I would love to see narration of these directions also included as an option in the future.

After these letters are created, fully-colored elements are seen for the first time, evoking moments of Technicolor that become quite moving.

Because some of these letters can be too time-consuming to complete, my son thought this app in general was too long – something that may not surprise developers as they include an intermission that can one can sit through or bypass with a page turn.

I would love to see in the future a separate section being a simple video only, allowing one to watch these letters being born with a shortened overall time to complete each letter.

All in all, I can recommend this app based on its amazing sense of style. Metropolis is a favorite movie of mine, and this is a wonderful tribute to a perfectly realized film. I am happy to expose my son to this style of cinematic experience unlike anything else he has seen to date.

I do believe that some of the skill- or luck-based letter mini-games could be made simpler, as this story about the birth of letters will appeal to young children who will not be capable of some of these interactions – issues I hope that can be worked out in the future. Although of interest to children, even story-loving adults who are familiar with German Expressionism will find this application of interest.

I have been very impressed with the look and storytelling and other cinematic elements found within both of Moonbot Studios epic storybook applications. I look forward to seeing what else they may develop.

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

Shape-O ABC’s is a delightful tangram puzzle app that kids will really enjoy as will adults. A version of this app is now available for both iPad as well as iPhone.

My son and I really enjoy this application. Here, players are given a variety of puzzles to choose from that are each made up of various shapes, tangram-style, that need to be dragged and dropped in the appropriate cut-out spaces that make up each of these images. This app also thoughtfully includes simple, related word puzzles naming each puzzle subject.

Although there are other apps like it, this Shape-O ABC’s has a lovely sense of style and content, making it really stand out among other puzzle apps available in the iTunes store.

Adults will also be impressed with the large selection of subject choices available that can also be limited in terms of puzzle piece size and shape, ultimately including puzzles that contain more than 30 pieces, and a nice choice of simple puzzles with fewer, larger pieces is also included. This is an intuitive app that toddlers and the preschool set will easily be able to manipulate.

Also nice is the use of letters and words used within these puzzles, as these letters are also found mixed in the geographic shapes that are needed to fill in letter boxes that make up the word associated with the puzzle in use – be it “Forest,” “Burger,” or “City.”

I greatly enjoy the use of color within, as these puzzles include a lush and rich palette of both bright as well as muted shades used within the backgrounds of these puzzles, reminding me of a water color painting or a perfectly imperfect batiked piece of cloth with a marbled quality that I greatly appreciate.

I also adore the chance to tap the rainbow button top of the screen that allows players to select a new main color to be prominently displayed in the background of the puzzle at hand, also changing the colors of the pieces at hand in complimenting, corresponding colors.

It is especially nice how these puzzles use shadows, shading and subtle grain details to create the look of a traditional wood puzzle, with a use of empty cut-out hints showing the image one is looking to create.

Each piece casts its own shadow on the puzzle being filled in which disappears as the piece becomes recessed correctly, further creating a sense of working with traditional wood shapes, and I like the subtle textures found within these shape pieces as well – a nice tactile touch.

Very enjoyable music with an array of fun instruments is also included which is very nice to listen to but which can also be easily turned off.

I like that a “how to play” section is included, thoughtfully detailing how this app works, including how to make adjustments in this app’s “settings” for a variety of abilities, such as including letter hints that one can copy from to solve the simple word puzzle or challenge children with no hints at all. Using this the word as a simple label, removing the puzzle aspect completely is also an option.

The “Settings” section is laid out nicely and includes the ability to turn on or off the different sounds including the sound effects, voice-over and background music independently – always nice options to have, as well as including the choice of lower or upper case letters.

Another interesting element is an “eye” button that will float a piece to its correct space within the puzzle – something that my son enjoys watching happen, especially as he gets tired while playing this relaxing app before bed – a function that can also be removed if parents wish to do so.

Although not an especially unique application, this app brings a great level of quality to every aspect of this app in a way that will delight even seasoned children’s puzzle app enthusiasts.

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

Shape Up! – Busythings is a wonderfully dynamic and engaging interactive universal app, soon to be a favorite application of many toddlers, as well as kids and adults of all ages.

This app is delightfully intuitive as it opens up to a main page that offers 20 different creatures that one can bring to life. Simply tap to choose and then either trace the objects offered – Paint Brush style – or fill them in with a tap in Paint Bucket mode.

After one has completed these simple shapes, animation and upbeat music is introduced, ultimately with these shapes de-constructing back into pieces and falling away in a style that is unique and full of whimsy.

I love that both Paint Brush as well as Paint Bucket styles are offered here, and I think the spray paint sound and other noises made when these shapes are filled are creative, cheeky details adults will enjoy as much as their kids will.

Toddlers will get a kick out of filling these objects with a simple tap, being greatly rewarded with the animation offered. I especially appreciate how preschoolers and up can give their fine motor skills a workout by tracing these shapes, something my son, nearly four, needs to work on.

My boy routinely builds structures out of blocks that impress his teachers as being well beyond his years, but has shown no interest in holding a pencil the correct way or writing letters – something he has mastered in terms of phonic knowledge, already sounding out words on his own.

We do work with some other apps that allow him to trace letters, and he has fun doing so, but as a singular exercise, these apps do seem like work to him although not in a bad way, as he is happy to be engaged with these letter exercises, but sometimes he would rather spend his time doing other things with the iPad that are more unique and just for fun.

I love that this has such a light, gentle quality that will never seem like work to a child while still valuable educational tool.

Even better, although somewhat forgiving for children new to tracing, the app will not allow one to “cheat” with any random scribble to move to the next sequence, a pet peeve of mine when this issue comes up with other letter tracing apps. Here, if one ventures too far off the template, these markings simply don’t register and one has a chance to try again.

Another nice feature is Zoom, where the shapes to be filled in are made bigger and brought center screen, making the tracing easier for little hands to trace as well as delivering an alternate view of these pieces as when this blown-up version is in use, the compete creature can’t be fully seen until scaled back down as the animation begins.

Cynics may say that this is a more passive game than other interactive apps, as simple tapping or tracing can fill these sections in quickly, but I would love to see the look on a toddler the first time he explores this app as these shapes become animated creatures, as I find it captivating even as an adult.

Players can easily go back to the main page to choose a creation, but it is also nice that one can keep going from one to another without leaving the page that is being worked on as well.

Although quick and simple to fill in, the 20 choices available do create a content-rich experience that will suit the needs of toddlers as well as older children and adults.

I also enjoy that because many of these shapes used within are traditional, such as triangles, rectangles, and squares, these images often reminding me of tangrams, with some other shapes mixed in or added later as fun, stylized details within the animation section.

The imagery created as these creations fall apart with interesting sound effects added really fun and captivating moments that I look forward to with each creature I draw or simply fill in, also giving children some ideas on how to draw creatures based on these simple shapes and tangram-like pictures.

I am thrilled to be able to introduce this app to readers. One may buy this for their toddler or preschooler, but expect other children and adults to sneak some time with this app as well.

This game is based on an online subscription-based series of games by the UK based Busythings – educational games that although having been around for the last ten years, are something not on my radar until now. I am tremendously impressed with how intuitive and fun this app is for all ages. I greatly look forward to more of these educational games to be turned into apps as the quality here is wonderful as well as quite affordable – especially for a universal application.

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

A Duck in New York City is a delightful animated storybook that children of all ages, as well as adults will enjoy and includes a video interpretation and great song that can be listened to or sung along.

This story, based on a book of the same name, is about a little duck with big dreams of dancing on Broadway. Unfortunately, his duck friends are not very encouraging, but this duck has a great, “yes, you can” attitude that parents will hope will rub off on their children as this duck makes his way to New York City with the aid of a trucker, Big Betty, a terrific, supportive character that also subtly tackles gender issues as a woman trucker is not what many children would think of first when it comes to truck drivers. This is an inspirational story with a great, positive theme children will benefit from being introduced to.

I also appreciate that this duck does not only have a dream of dancing on Broadway, but we see his hard work as he dances his way to the city, making a name for himself, as the jaded side of me often silently scoffs at other well-meaning stories about lofty goals that leave out the hard work one needs to make these dreams possible.

It is also a nice moment when Big Betty and duck go their separate ways – duck now relying on himself to make the last leg of this trip. Although short, this is a great title that is sure to become a family favorite for all.

This book can be enjoyed as a storybook including narration or not. The included narration is superb and a real pleasure to listen to. It is also nice that the words spoken are underlined in yellow when read – a style I enjoy, possibly more that the standard highlighting of the words themselves.

While the narrated book includes a thoughtful use of sound effects and music, the book while read to oneself remains silent except for the sounds of the pages being turned, making this experience much like reading a traditional printed book, and included the thoughtful inclusion of a magnifying glass feature, enlarging the text and changing the font to make the words easier to read, is a very nice touch that I appreciate.

A video of this story is also included, with some lovely animated effects. This video will appeal to all, but it is especially nice how the images here have have articulated elements – moving pictures lovingly stylized but not fully animated in the conventional sense, something that may be especially appealing to some parents who may avoid some book videos as they can be to reminiscent of simply watching TV.

The illustrations found throughout this story, in both storybook and video sections, are at top form for any printed or digital storybook, with a lush color palette of warm, rich colors that make this app stand out among the sea of other story apps available on iTunes.

From what I understand, this published book is sold with an included cd of corresponding songs, one of which is included here, allowing children to listen or sing along. This song is cute and charming for parents as well as children, with certain details are included for the enjoyment of adults pertaining to New York City that made me smile. Other music can purchased from iTunes as well, details included within this application.

Until now, I was unaware of this book or the other stories from The Secret Garden, and I am thrilled that this book has been turned into an iPad application. This is the first of a series of apps to be released, and after taking a look at The Secret Garden’s web site, I am impressed by the selection of books available to buy with included CD or as an MP3. From what I have seen, each of these titles looks amazing with fantastic cover art utterly unique to themselves. I hope more of these stories found within this site are developers in to applications as well.

The intro to this book for the Secret Garden was impressive as well, involving a lush, tropical garden and including an impressive sense of depth, enviable 3D effect and wonderful, greatly effective music. This short intro really put The Secret Garden on the map for me, and I will be watching closely, waiting for new apps to be released. My only note would be to consider making these apps universal applications to reach a wider audience of both iPhone and iPad users.

A Duck in New York City should be on the radar of any family who enjoys a well-done story. This app contains no interactions, which my son did not miss as he enjoyed this story very much, as do I. It has been my pleasure to introduce readers to this storybook and soon-to-be series of apps. It is also worth noting that this story is written by a Canadian folk singer/song writer, Connie Kaldor who also narrated this story, and her narration is perfectly realized in every way. I hope to read and hear more of her stories in the future.

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

Let’s Learn How to Draw is an interesting universal drawing app – a little different from other apps out there like this.

Here, one can choose to draw a series of trains or monsters – interesting choices that may appeal to adults and children looking to broaden their drawing choices past the simplistic cat or dog selections typical of apps like this that lead themselves invariably to images that may seem “babyish” to some.

What makes this app unique is that after drawing over the template that one traces piece by piece used to ultimately form the complete image, the tracings that a player creates are not actually used, as a prefab, corrected image takes the place of the drawing one has just completed.

This may not seem like fun to some, but as a non-drawer, I actually appreciate this approach. For whatever reason, my drawing abilities are so lacking that even after tracing over a template, my image never looks like what I have tried to create and even as an adult, this frustrates me, leaving me with nothing I would bother coloring in beyond doing so for review purposes.

Because of this, I like how in this app, the focus is on the process of drawing these elements, with less emphasis on the finished product that was truly drawn by the user.

I enjoy how although I am severely lacking in the ability to draw realistically even the most basic of children’s drawings, I had fun and success at adding the details to these finished images – be it train details or monster expressions, more so than I have had in other drawing apps where my completed image is delivered to me at end.

This Assist Mode can be turned off as well to allow one to copy freehand the chosen image, and a blank “Scratch Pad” page is also included, and one can save one’s work to an iPad. Players can choose to just color in these images as well, bypassing the drawing section altogether, using this app more like a coloring book.

Five choices for both trains and monsters exist, increasing in difficulty. I like how the purpose of each train is introduced, such as the freight train being the workhorse of the train, capable of carrying almost anything, while the tankers carry liquids or the cargo train being able to carry oddly shaped cargo that does not easily fit into the other cars. The monster’s personalities are also introduced and include a wonderful sense of fantasy and whimsy.

Without narration, these fun notes will be lost on kids who can’t read and enjoy this app on their own, and being entirely without sound, this app’s silence, although making this application a nice quiet app, is disconcerting. I do wish that music, sound effects of some sort, or narration can at some point be included.

Although these images can only be colored in using “paint brush mode,” using one’s finger to color in the area of the drawing and lacking the paint bucket mode (my favorite way to color), a variety of point sizes in both brush and eraser tips are available.

It is impressive how the colors can be laid down overlapping each other with a nice translucence that allows combined colors to show through, as well as having the option to make these colors opaque as well – more akin to really painting and something not commonly seen in these types of applications

I do wish the brush strokes themselves could be a little smoother, as drawing curvy lines or circles can amount to a line with many micro corners akin to creating a curve or circle on an etch-a-sketch, something that caught my attention as an adult, but would probably not be noticed by children while enjoying this creative app.

There have also been some issues using the erase function, as a series of dots is often delivered instead of a smooth erasing line, making it sometimes hard to erase sections, as a drag of a finger may create a dotted line of erasing – a nice effect, maybe, and useful in spot correcting, but not what most have in mind when they are looking for an erase function, especially while using the smaller erasing points where these dots are most obvious.

Even with these limitations, I do enjoy what this app has to offer, especially look of this application. The color palette of black, white, and gray along with some interesting textures and distressed elements create an indie feel that I have not yet seen among drawing apps.

Although I will never begrudge an application designed for young children to include the most basic drawing to copy, with a very unrefined, slightly better than a stick figure-like quality as a common outcome, the sophistication and the basic look of this app as well as the interesting drawing choices make this app very appealing to me, as I do not feel condescended to when engaged with these drawings.

For this reason, I think some adults interested in drawing apps may choose this application over others like it, and it may fit the special needs of older children or adults who may have fine motor difficulties but want something less beginner to draw.

Ultimately, I have enjoyed this application very much, but it would be nice if in the future, more content can be added. I do enjoy their trains and monsters, and I would love to see what else developers could think up next.

I am happy to announce that recently, a section of dogs has been added to this application. This makes me happy as these dogs are more sophisticated and interesting to look at than the dogs found in other drawing apps as is the style of Let’s Learn How to Draw. I hope these developers continue to add more choices in the future.

Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, Just For Fun, Preschool, Primary School, Reviews, Special Needs

Buildo Rescue Sticker Book is a fun creative universal app that certain kids will enjoy.

In the past, I have come across many a sticker app consisting of a princess or dress-up theme. I enjoy these apps and have no issues sharing these applications with my son, even though they may seem “girly” to some by their nature.

Because of this, it is a nice change to be reviewing this app as it contains rescue-related stickers, some with a lot of implied action, because in preschool my son always passes over the fairy dress-up area at school for the construction and fireman dress-up gear every time, and this app offers something different among sticker apps.

This application consists of four scenes: fire and water rescue, as well as police and medical motifs each including a lot of fun characters, rescue vehicles and other nice details that add to the richness of each section.

These sticker choices are cartoony in nature and a lot of fun to look at. I like how some stickers are created to make characters seem like they are hanging from windows in a burning building or boats sinking into the ocean, and each scene has an abundance of choices to choose from, giving players many options to fill their screens with.

Intuitive to use, simply drag stickers from the top scroll bar, adding them to the scene’s background. Do note that one can scroll the backdrop as well, giving players a lot of space to create elaborate scenes.

It is especially nice that one can drag these stickers around the screen with a moving effect that is rather smooth, and it is wonderful that multiple fingers can be moving objects or characters at once, allowing children to really interact with the scenes they create, making this a nice choice for multiple players without any little pieces to loose as would be the case with a couple of kids playing this action figures.

Double clicking on these stickers will flip them, creating the mirror image of these stickers to work with, and one can re-size by pinching or spreading fingers. Rotating these stickers is also an option. These stickers can be used an infinite number of times – good for making an army out of a single character sticker or a fleet of sail boats if one wishes.

For many, the best part about this app is the sounds used throughout, from the ambient sounds used in the backgrounds, such as the beeping of medical machinery and distant talking found in hospital settings, to the waves and wind or city street sounds found throughout the sea, fire, and police rescue sections.

Each of these stickers has individual sounds of their own as well that can be heard each time one drags a selection and again with every tap. This includes all the vehicles found within as well as the tools used, such as walkie-talkies, fire extinguishers, bull horns and even the medical equipment found in the hospital setting.

Even small, yet important details are also included, such as the crackling of flames that one can add to burning buildings or boats on fire – an element my husband especially enjoyed.

It is also fun and interesting how each character found within this app “talks” as this app is language neutral, allowing children who speak any language to understand what is being uttered in an emotional sense, much like the way the Swedish Chef communicates on the Muppet Show.

Unfortunately, my son finds many of these sirens, loud vehicle noises and other sounds overwhelming and did not enjoy this application as much as my husband does because of how loud this app can get.

The opening music is rather overwhelming at times as well, incorporating these emergency vehicle sounds for effect – something that did turn off my son who had to be coaxed into exploring this app the first time. My boy did have a lot of fun watching daddy enjoy this app but still complains about the aggressive sounds when I have this app opened up for review purposes.

I do not find the loud, highly stimulating sounds that my son did not enjoy to be a flaw in this application, as I can imagine other children will really enjoy these bells and whistles a great deal. For the right child, this app could be a great, creative choice that may aid children in storytelling or role-playing.

The simple choice would be to mute the volume on our iPad for my son so he could enjoy these stickers without feeling uncomfortable or overwhelmed. Although this would solve the problem, my son enjoys the fun sounds of the characters and the quitter, ambient sounds used throughout, so muting is not the perfect solution.

Included is a parent’s section thoughtfully written about how to help children get the most out of this app. It would be wonderful if one could control the volume of each sticker as well, giving parents the choice to silence some sounds or allow them to play at only half volume without interfering with other noises.

As of now, this is an app that our son is a little weary of. For what it is worth, my husband got a real kick out of this application. My son does not like to play with loud toys either, so this is a purely personal preference on his part. I am sure that the right child will really appreciate this application just the way it is and will greatly enjoy all the loud sounds this app has to offer.

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

Elly Book 10, as the name may imply, is the 10th book in the wonderful series of interactive storybooks starring Elly, a most endearing and relatable reindeer – now a good friend of my son’s as well.

Like the other titles in this series by UK author and illustrator, Jon Higham, this story consists of Elly and gang helping a new friend who needs to find his way back home.

One has the option of listening to included narration or reading this book by oneself. Both options here are delightful, as the narration by Rose Higham is lovely as usual, including the creation of different voices used for each of these characters, each cute and charming.

Although the included narration will be a favorite element to other children, reading these books out loud to my son has long been my family’s favorite way to spend app time that we really enjoy. These simple books flow really well, are easy to read and will make lovely first readers when my son is ready.

Here, a new character to this series is introduced, Lumi, a lost polar bear who is in need of help in finding his way back to the North Pole. Elly is at a loss as to what to do, so she asks her friends to lend a hand, helping Lumi make his way home, as well as gathering food and building shelter until he is able to make this trip.

Typically, adult humans are not found among these stories that revolve around Elly the reindeer, her animal friends, and her human friend Aapo. I think that it is a nice to include Aapo’s uncle, an explorer who is able to help Lumi go back home, as sometimes adults need to help children with problems that they may face. I am also very fond of how cooperation in general is a theme among these titles as Elly often needs to ask for help from her friends – great lessons for children to learn.

My son loves this story, as he does the other Elly apps. The mild drama of a lost creature in need of a helping hand is very captivating to my son, as his favorite game at the park is saving me – his “baby” – from alligators or hot lava, and now I am sure he will create a game where he needs to help me – as an animal that needs to find its way back home too.

The details from the airplane with skies to the building of an igloo to keep Lumi cool and comfortable were of great interest to my son, but what really fascinated him was the talk of the “magic lights” – a moment especially well narrated as well.

Like the other Elly books, hotspots are found in the corners of these pages, nicely marking where to tap, making it easy for the youngest children to explore these included sound effects. Although my son has access to the most interactive apps available, these lovely storybooks are still quite dear to his heart, also loving these simple additional sounds found throughout, tapping each one as I read these pages.

For the first time, an animated element has also been included, bringing the Northern Lights to this story as they magically appear in the sky for Elly and friends to see as they bid their new friend Lumi good night a long way away in the North Pole, and my son had a real moment watching the aurora borealis flicker across the last page of this story, making this a perfect bedtime story that gently introduces the idea the the world is bigger than one’s backyard.

My son’s face beamed throughout as I read this story to him. At the end, he asked my to read it again – high praise as he typically requests a variety of apps instead of a repeat performance the way he does with this darling polar bear story.

I am really happy that this series of Elly apps has included so many titles, allowing my son to get to know these creatures as they demonstrate true kindness and friendship. As a parent, I would be happy for my son to emulate these relationships. I hope more Elly books are to come.

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