The Traditional Storyteller – Anancie and the Drum of Common Sense is a lovely new universal app – part of a series of apps that brings traditional stories from around the world to life with the aid of wonderful storytellers.

I feel privileged to have been introduced to this series and been given the chance to review this specific app, Anancie and the Drum of Common Sense. This tale of the same name is a classic West African story about Anancie, a half-man, half-spider character who collects common sense from children in the end distributing common sense to all the land in a way most satisfying.

The delivery of this story is brilliant in its simplicity. This video recording is of Tuup, a master storyteller, who tells this story looking directly into the camera as he talks. There is no music, sound effects or interactions in this main part of this application, allowing my son to focus on the tale at hand, who was captivated with this man’s wonderful performance.

Storytelling is an art form, and for those gifted in this skill, the delivery can be quite mesmerizing. From the first few words of this story, I don’t think my four year old son, very cranky at the time, took his eyes off my iPhone.

My boy really enjoys the idea of a half-man, half-spider and the imagery of this creature trying to climb a tree – an important detail of this story. As a parent, I really liked the simple lessons taught as Tuup explains the common sense children express as he puts these rules into a drum that he tries to carry up this tree. There is also a moment in this story where Anancie gets frustrated by his own children, not realizing they were trying to help – moments both parents and children alike can relate to.

The length of this story is about 10 minutes, a great length of time for my son to be asked to sit and listen to a story from start to finish, and this expert storyteller does a great job of keeping the energy high throughout this tale.

There are a few other sections of this app with related materials.

Map Game is a very nice section that includes a series of tiles that combine illustrations and audio from moments of this story that need to be re-arranged from start to finish, testing children on the memory, comprehension and understanding of story structure.

Listen and Repeat allows children to listen to moments from this story and repeat what they can remember in their own words as they make their own recording.

Tell Your Story Game lets kids and adults record their own story and email to friends and family.

Bets Bits are short excerpts highlighting favorite moments from this story, a nice section to view when families don’t have 10 minutes for the whole story.

There are so many highly stimulating, interactive applications available that I always find it nice to share wonderful apps that simply contain great stories that kids and their adults can sit back and listen to. Anancie and the Drum of Common Sense, as well as the other apps from this series, would be excellent titles for families who love traditional storytelling.

I also think this app would be great for special needs kids who may need to practice being comfortable around others who make direct eye contact.

This app would also be great in a school setting as it demonstrates not only an excellent delivery of this thoughtful, classic story with important messages, but would make a terrific choice for teaching comprehension and dramatic structure as well as diversity. This traditional West African tale would be a very nice selection for classrooms that may be looking for more multicultural activities.

I have become very excited about this series of apps as I am a fan of traditional storytelling in general, and I love seeing this ancient tradition kept alive with the use of such modern devices.

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

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

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

Noodle Words – Active Game Set 1 is a charming educational app for iPad that is sure to put a smile on the face of users no matter the age, as well as teach the meaning of action works in ways most delightful.

Noodle Words is a very simple app to understand as a box of words is introduced as well as two adorable bugs, Stretch and Squish.

Tap the box for an action word to appear on the screen, which is also narrated.

Now tap this word for a demonstration, as the text itself acts out these verbs such as sprouting veins and ultimately pretty yellow flowers for the word “grow,” or spin around to illustrate the word “spin.”

Do tap the friendly bugs in the bottom left corner as well to further see the word in question demonstrated and do drag these words around the screen as well for fun.

As an adult, I was instantly intrigued and was eager to see how words offered like “Laugh” or “Blow” would be animated, and I have universally been quite pleased with what creative animations this app comes up with.

The animations included contain such whimsy that these words make me smile even after repeated use, such as the letters in the word “eat” eating themselves, turning into the word “ate.”

I think the use of Stretch and Squish is wonderful as well, as these bugs are also seen eating food, making this word less abstract as is the intriguing animation for this word.

Eighteen words are included within this first game set, with presumably more sets to come, something that excited me as I have really enjoyed watching these animated words come to life. The narration here is cute and very clear sounding – something important for a language app such as this.

I think this is a terrific application for language building and overall educational entertainment. This app is geared toward 4-7 year olds, and I think this age group will have a blast with this app, but I think this app would be great for those new to language as well, such as those one or two years old. Even as babies’ first app, the interactions are fun and engaging for parents as well as children.

This app would also be perfect for anyone who is learning English as a second language, or for special needs children who need some help learning about language as well. It is also nice that a thoughtfully written section for parents is included, as is a tutorial for children – a very nice touch for this already intuitive children’s app.

I am eager to see what new Game Sets have to offer, as I found this app filled with dynamic interactions, nice to look at and simply a lot of fun.

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

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

Memory Train is a delightful universal app that helps sharpen children’s memory skills as they help Spacey, a charming yet forgetful elephant, remember the various details he sees outside the window of the the train he is riding to the circus.

Game play is simple to understand but difficult to master as this app opens up to a map of train tracks Spacey will follow to get to the circus. Along the way, peanuts can be found that mark different points within this game when the difficulty increases.

After tapping these peanuts in sequence, one by one, the train ride begins, with Spacey looking out the window and becoming perplexed at remembering the details he sees while on his trip to the circus. At first, simple shapes can be seen, and a moment later without fail, this lovely elephant with a poor short-term memory will ask, at first simply what was the color of the shape just seen.

Things progress, and more is asked of the player in terms of focus, as multiple elements need to be focused on, such as remembering both the shape as well as color. Sometimes quirky characters are introduced, mixing things up as one may need to remember the hat, shirt or shoe color worn, and a player never knows what he will be quizzed on, making this game require the player’s complete attention to these small details.

Ultimately, a player needs to remember a row of three colored shapes, letters, numbers or the like in their correct order..

I really appreciate how this game self-adjusts the level of difficulty, as this train gains momentum with correct answers and slows down with mistakes made, giving players more time to remember details and select answers. Because of this, this app which can become difficult, even for adults, never becomes too hard or frustrating.

It is also nice that if a mistake is made, the answers to choose from dwindle from three, to two and even to a single choice, allowing players to keep playing and not feel frustrated and stuck.

Motivation is also provided as Spacey becomes happy, grateful and energetic with correct answers while also letting players know when he is mildly disappointed, expressing emotion in a way that is language-neutral as true words are never spoken, making this app great for children who speak different languages.

Players are able to earn stars, badges and trophy peanuts for working hard as well, and there is a cute celebration within the circus when one completes this game. Spacey the elephant is simply adorable throughout this game, and it is nice to see him so happy.

Families will appreciate that the game in progress can be kept separate for up to four players, and it is fun that players get to choose from nine avatars, some being familiar from Pi’ikea St’s popular app Interactive Alphabet as well.

I do think it would be nice, however, if one could add a name to each avatar, making it easier for children to remember which avatar represents their account.

My son really enjoys this app, and I really like how much attention it commands of its players to be able to answer these questions correctly.

We have a few go-to apps that my son gravitates towards when we are out and about, but I find this an especially effective tool to keep my son calm and out of trouble when he is bored in public and on the verge of being most difficult.

I was surprised with how focused this game makes my son, and for the first time, I truly had a hard time getting my phone back, as typically my son is very gracious about returning the iPhone when I need it, or allowing me to help or simply watch him play. Here not so much, but I do not consider this a flaw or an issue with this app as much as a mark for how engaging this memory game really is. This is also the first time my boy has shown any interest in earning stars for his accomplishments, saying proudly, “I did it all myself, and I get all the stars” as he finished the first couple of rounds.

Pleasant music is included that combine both a train and circus themes while maintaining a quiet game vibe that adults will not mind being in ear shot of, but sounds can also be muted if this is necessary.

My sole issue is that I noticed that the background of these train rides to the circus maintains the same landscapes for each of the ten levels of difficulty. It may be nice to change the scenery, but this game becomes challenging enough so that most players won’t have much time to simply gaze at these backdrops, making this issue a minor one.

I am sure many parents have noticed the abundance of memory game apps within iTunes, commonly in the form of flipping over cards in the interest of making pairs. It is especially nice that focus and concentration can be explored in such a charming unique game such as this, as children will have a lot of fun helping Spacey the elephant along his trip to the circus.

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

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