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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

When I first read about the app Little Dead Riding Hood, I assumed that it was a novelty platformer with zombie elements, as these types of apps can easily be found in iTunes, typically devoid of any educational value.

I am so very happy that I gave this app a closer look because my assumptions were totally wrong, as Little Dead Riding Hood is an interactive storybook app with both English and Spanish translations included as well as the highest of production values – a refreshing tale on this classic story of Little Red Riding Hood. Although I highly recommend this app, this recommendation is a qualified one, and here is why.

There is a lot of the macabre in Little Dead Riding Hood, and as I was enjoying this app, I did say to myself a few times with a smile, “Well, they went for it” in ways that will please or displease families depending on their sensibilities.

This is the re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood, who has died many years ago, along with her parents, who from the grave want to kill Grandma and steal her inheritance. To do so, they come up with a plan to poison Grandma by sending the corpse of Little Red to Grandma complete with utterly poisoned food and drink. Grandma does get poisoned, dying a gruesome death, after first having defended herself from Little Red, living up to her old nick-name “Ramba” using any and all fire weapons in a scene that is glorious with presumed cartoon violence that also made me smile.

Styled with equal parts Tim Burton, Eddie the Mummy and Seth McFarlane, this app, with wonderful, top-notch black and white illustrations and bold pops of color, is an acquired taste that will offend some families a great deal. Others will really appreciate the humor and biting wit that this irreverent app offers.

The included narration is perfection, as is the included music and I appreciate how the book of this app is lengthy, with a page of text found on pages complete with beautifully hand-crafted and sepia-toned drawings, lovingly distressed in keeping with the style of this app. Do also tap these characters to read speech bubbles that add to the richness and fun of this rather odd application.

This is a highly cinematic app, so it is a real treat that this app also includes the original sketches and productions while still showing the making of this app – quite interesting indeed. Also appreciated is the menu of pages, always helpful to readers.

Make no mistake, this app included a rather dead and decaying Little Red, the graphically poisoning of a family member, guns and other military-inspired weapons which get pointed and shot at Little Red, a vividly farting wolf who later gets attacked by snakes, maimed in a metal animal trap and stepping on a bomb which explodes and launches the animal into the air, plus other details I am sure I have overlooked – all at the height of storytelling.

This is an app that I have chosen not to show to my five year old son, as he is a sensitive soul who would not enjoy this adaptation at this time, and I can understand parents of toddlers and the preschool set not having much interest in downloading this app as well, but for grade school and older children through adulthood who have acquired a taste for gruesome humor and parody, this is a perfectly realized application in every way possible.

Even though this app is one that many families will disregard as maybe they should, I would like to recommend this app for older grade school if not middle and high school students, especially those in media study, as great thought was put into the developing of this app as is seen in the included sketches, and adults can talk a lot about the choices made in this app, from modernizing a classic story to the satire as well as the dramatic structure – well-crafted in every way.

This app demonstrates to older children that the envelope can be pushed while maintaining a level of quality that cannot be denied, even if certain subject matter may not be for everyone.

Families will need to make up their own minds about whether or not this app is for their family, but I can say that I personally enjoyed Little Dead Riding Hood immensely, and I welcome other tales like this from an incredibly talented group of developers.

Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, High School +, Just For Fun, Middle School, Primary School, Reading, Reviews, Stories

I am quite pleased to let readers know about Fairytale Maze 123, the third in a series of Maze apps by GiggleUp.

My son and I are huge fans of these mazes, as they are the ones chosen by my son to work with over and over again. He was tickled pink to explore Fairytale Maze 123, as this app weaves wonderful fairytale elements within, including oftentimes iconic characters as well as other details my son simply adores.

It made me smile how my son knew instantly the majority of these themes, twenty puzzles in all, including scenes from Hansel and Gretel, The Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast.

Each of these puzzles is unique and utterly charming to interact with. This app opens to a fairy who with the drag of a finger is helped down a path which has a series of tangents one can choose consisting of different storybook characters.

As one explores these areas, the quality of these mazes will become quite evident as they include wonderfully bright illustrations and novel ways of approaching mazes, such as a flowing green vine for Jack and the Beanstalk, golden hair of Rapunsel, or my personal favorite – a maze taking place within the intestines of the whale that ate Pinocchio and Geppetto, making for some very fun and delightful mazes to be sure.

Also of note is how oftentimes one must first collect specific details or visit specific areas of these mazes to be able to complete these puzzles, such as the Three Little Pigs, visiting the first two houses of hay and wood before the conclusion of this puzzle at the house of bricks, collecting mice along the way to solving the Pied Piper theme, and even gathering up each of seven dwarfs during the Snow White section – wonderful details I really appreciate.

I have equally enjoyed the included music in each maze, each charmingly relating to the puzzle at hand, as medieval and Middle Eastern elements can be heard during Robin Hood and Aladdin alike, even with the theme to “Peter and the Wolf” within the area of the same name. Do tap around these different pages to trigger simple yet effective sounds and animations that add to the richness of these mazes.

The difficulty level of these mazes, which is varied, is perfect for my five year old son, who really takes his time collecting what he needs before solving each of these fun, colorful and engaging puzzles. Although a star is given for finishing each section, I am happy to say that no score is given for solving these mazes quickly, allowing children to work at their own pace.

Parents will love the variety of titles included here, from classic fairy tales to also including moments from longer books such as Peter Pan, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, or Alice in Wonderland – a fun survey of classic children’s tales.

I highly recommend Fairytale Maze 123 as I do the others in this series, Toddler Maze 123 and Preschool Maze 123 – wonderful apps for problem-solving as well as just having a lot of fun.

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

Round The Block is a very unique app that teaches children how to draw in three dimensions, creating shapes that will save the life of Igor, the main character of this app, who is being chased by robots.

This is a rather oddball, quirky app that I appreciate a great deal. Other drawing apps ask users to trace over templates to a varied degree of success, which can be said of this app as well, but here, the drawing of these shapes has a fun context with a lot of action – great for children who may not typically gravitate towards art applicationss.

There are a few elements I really enjoy within this app, set in a distressed urban environment. Not a lot of information is given as to why Igor is being sought after by robots, other than that he is, thereby creating a rather bizarre chase scenario that reminds me of old school Warner Brothers cartoons where the wishing for a parachute while falling off a cliff could produce the parachute from mid-air, save one’s life.

Here, Igor may draw a bridge to cross over, avoiding electrocution by these robots, stairs to climb, evading contact or ramps with large rock spheres to roll over and take out these killer robots.

I enjoy how this setup creates a sense of urgency as well as requires accuracy when tracing, as every line must be drawn to create these structures, and being chased will get children to learn really fast how to identify the areas of these large objects not properly drawn to create the 3D perspective.

I have been drawn into the fantasy of Round the Block, as complete cars may be created to get away in, or ornate, multi-story buildings drawn to hide out in, really capturing one’s imagination as one learns to draw these shapes – interesting choices, as I can to some degree draw in 3D this way although I consider myself without drawing talent or ability.

This app may indeed appeal to those who have felt other drawing apps involving animals to be too precious, with no middle ground between them which is condescending or too professional for non-drawers.

Round The Block has a styled look to it, with bold pops of color and a character more odd than quite human-looking – an inquired taste with an indie feel that will be of interest to some readers, I am sure.

I do wish one could pause the action to take in the 3D drawings as they are created and come to life, as the need to keep moving prevents users from taking the time to really study what is being drawn, but even with this note, this is an original app that I found quite appealing. I also like being able to go back and choose favorite scenes to replay, eleven in total, a nice touch.

Round the Block reminds me of a modern, charmingly grim Harold and the Purple Crayon, if Harold were giving chase to avoid death from killer robots – an intriguing concept to say they least, definitely worth checking out.

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

I am happy to let readers know about the Monster series of educational apps by Wombi, as each of these apps stars a delightfully stylized monster who would like help in eating letters, numbers, shapes or colorful fruits to aid children in early recognition skills.

The first of this series is an app, Color Monster, previously released, in which a friendly monster asks to be fed fruits of different colors, also seen as this monster takes on the hue in question.

It is quite fun and charming to drag and drop the correct fruit into this creature’s mouth, but be aware that this monster is not a fan of being fed the wrong food and can get surly with comments that I genuinely enjoy as I have always appreciated flawed characters from my childhood such as Oscar the Grouch.

Other titles have recently been released with this same concept. From an octopus sea-captain monster who is fond of letters, a demanding if not high-strung pink monster in need of a lab assistant looking for the correct numbers, to a monster who is a messy chef in need of being fed foods crafted in different geometric shapes, each of these monsters lets it be known in his own special way both with positive re-enforcement as when being fed incorrectly, bringing a tremendous amount of wit and whimsy to these apps.

I appreciate this approach as many parents will turn to the iTunes store to find apps that will teach the basics of color, numbers, letter and shape recognition, and for their sake, it is important for adults to have fun with these apps as well as their children.

It is also worth noting that these apps are great for older children as well who are learning English and the many other languages in which these apps are offered, as one can remove visual hints seen within each app, making players rely on the spoken words – great for learning these concepts in other languages and making these apps easy or more difficult as seen in the settings of these apps.

Although the negative comments by these monsters are what I have touched upon here as they make these apps utterly unique, rest assured that positive feedback is also included when correct answers are given. My husband and I have had a lot of fun angering these monsters with incorrect foods for some good laughs, and I really enjoy the English-speaking voice actor chosen to deliver these lines, as these monsters are quirky as they are easily frustrated but never mean-spirited or over-the-top.

I am open to the possibility that the youngest, most sensitive children may not enjoy being corrected in this manner by these monster creatures, and that these apps may not be a proper match for all families, but for those looking for yearly education apps that are irreverent, witty and cool, do check out the Monster series of apps by Wombi. Please also note that Shape Monsters is a free app, allowing families to check out what these apps have to offer.

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

Dr. Panda’s Beauty Salon is a charming new app in a series of delightful role-playing applications for children that let them explore different characters such as a doctor, chef in a restaurant, farmer and now a worker at a beauty salon for animals.

Fans of these Dr. Panda apps as well as those new to this genre will delight in all that this salon has to offer their animal clients, many of whom have starred in previous applications, as well as a few new faces.

To start, greet a customer at the door who will then take a seat and wait for their turn. When one is ready for them, tap the animal and they will tell the player via image in a speech bubble the service one is looking for and then will choose a seat in one of two client rooms. There is a first floor area where one can adjust lights and drapes to create a relaxing mood as well as vibrating chairs to give the animal relaxing massages or an upper level with an Asian theme which includes a decorative screen and a plant that can sprout cherry blossoms as well as candles to create ambience as well as the ability to change the chairs into personal hot tubs.

There are more than eleven mini-games and other details that one can explore. It will always be a surprise what each animal is looking for in terms of being pampered, and I appreciate how the same animal may come back for various treatments such as a hippo in need of a facial, a polar bear needing his nose hairs plucked, a pig looking for lipstick, a sheep looking for a little powder blush application, perfume and accessories such as hat, glasses, hairpiece or earrings for a night out, or an animal asking one to design a special necklace to take home.

There is an interesting mix of charmingly realistic tasks to accomplish such as giving an animal a shave or having his fur washed, as well as more creative, open-ended activities such as face painting and nail art that can be accessed at any time without the need to wait for a specific request for these treatments. Likewise, feel free to arrange the shoes of the clients being treated any time – a cute matching puzzle game that kids will enjoy.

I am happy to say that both male and female animal characters are included as well as both beauty and personal grooming needs that boys and girls alike will have a lot of fun exploring.

My family loves it when a new Dr. Panda role-playing app is released. I enjoy watching my manly husband paint animal toe tails with my son as well as other cute, colorful activities in this application.

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

PICME Moviebook – You are the Star is a very nicely conceived storybook that includes a personal photograph used to create a main character in this children’s app.

I have enjoyed this storybook, which includes a photo of my son, a fun detail I have really enjoyed.

I have seen books such as this in the past. Here, however, the child who is created with the included image becomes more alive and is really more a part of the story than in other apps such as this.

In PICME, my son’s likeness is used to create a boy character who delivers a piano to a friendly lion named Juno, who claims to be able to play, yet in reality needs to practice a great deal to be able to make true music with this instrument.

There is much that I really appreciate in this interactive storybook. First, two distinct versions of this tale are included – a movie as well as a storybook, and although the plot of this story remains the same, I especially appreciate how the video is not just a straight animated version of the book. It is also a different yet related experience which adds more characters and nuances that work perfectly in this movie. The book, however, is a little more simplistic, making a nice, tight narrative that I equally appreciate.

I am smitten by how my son’s character moves around the page, moving the piano, clapping politely as well as other pantomimes. I am not sure if it is the super-cute expression in the photo that I have used, but this character almost seems to wink at me, truly coming to life as his body moves with grace. Although this boy does not speak in the story, I feel as though he makes a great mime, including hand gestures and other ways he shows communication – wonderful details often not found in apps where a photo is used to create a character.

Other interactive hotspots are also included, sometimes propelling the story, as well as other areas to tap that include brief movements that tend not to take away from this charming application that includes a piano section as the new created character knows how to play, helping Juno learn. There is also a brief primer on other musical instruments as well as an interactive counting section.

Narration is included, which I really enjoy, as I do the voices for Juno and the other animal friends, creating an app that is more sophisticated and appealing to adults than I expected.

The same can be said for the video section of this application. I enjoy how this area starts out with a scene taking place moments before the included storybook. The video is also a little witty and biting while being utterly child-appropriate, with a message about practicing and perseverance as this lion, at first not being able to play the piano well, works hard to achieve his goals.

To add a children’s photo, this app includes a camera and allows users access to the camera roll from the iPad to choose a picture from. Once an image is selected, adults are able to rotate and re-size the photo to fit an included template that can then be further adjusted to give users a better way of customizing the chosen mage, such as allowing my son’s crazy hair in the frame, originally cut off by the template yet restored by me as I make additional tweaks.

A choice of a pink as well as darker tan skin tone is included to match closer the skin tone of the photo with the body the photo becomes a part of, but I would love to see a few more skin tone choices such as a paler, more realistic yellow-tone as well as other colors to represent other ethnicities such as Spanish or Asian.

Even with this minor note, I am glad that the cropped photo is included in this app as a future choice, allowing one to bypass the photo trimming. Four separate photos can be saved at once, including these characters’ names and personalizing this app as well as including the character’s gender in a way charming and seamless.

I had no expectations when first checking out this title, and I can say that I am pleasantly surprised with the quality of this delightful app.

I would love to see more of these interactive stories developed in the future. The use of an included photo is highly effective and sure to please the children who will feel as if they are truly starring in this movie and storybook app.

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

More Trucks – By Duck Duck Moose is a fun sequel to the hit app, Trucks, also developed by Duck Duck Moose.

My son and I loved this first app – a children’s interactive application allowing one to explore five different truck and car-themed activities, as seen here in the review of this app.

More Trucks includes four new scenes that children will also have fun with. Nice children’s narration will explain how these sections work, and parents and children alike will enjoy the familiar nursery rhyme-themed classical music that Duck Duck Moose is known for. These sections are uniformly bright and colorful, including the same stylized looks that fans have come to expect from these applications.

Here, children get a chance to ride along on a fire truck, putting out fires with the tap and drag of a finger. Controls include driving forward and back through an urban landscape looking for fires that one puts out with the use of a fire hose that players can control by tapping the hose or truck as well as a button found at the bottom of the page. Sounding the fire horn is also an option.

Another activity of interest is a junkyard, where children are able to move cars over to an area that includes a magnet, allowing children to raise and stack each of these cars, ultimately including a cute and fun surprise that crushes these cars in a way most satisfying.

A construction section is also included, giving children the chance to use a crane to move and stack boxes that a wrecking ball can then knock down.

Monster Trucks may bechildren’s first experience with a platformer game as they have a chance to drive a variety of charmingly styled monster trucks over different fun and colorful backdrops, collecting coins along the way. Functions include driving forward, reverse and jumping the car into the air to avoid objects or collect stars in the sky as well as honking the horn.

Trucks in this game must be unlocked in order to play, and it is not clear to me if all stars must be collected to continue on to other vehicles. I am honestly not a fan of locked content in an app geared towards toddlers and preschool aged children, as I can see parents who sometimes use apps to distract children as they try to prepare meals or the like spending too much time helping their children succeed at unlocking levels.

Likewise, I was not a huge fan of the fact that the car can sometimes flip over onto its back, getting stuck as an adult patiently needs to try to flip the car over to resume play – a detail that young children partial to.

By far, my favorite areas of this app are the dumpsite and construction area as they are truly intuitive and open-ended. These sections alone will be able to hold children’s attention for a nice amount of time.

While I do find elements of the monster-truck’s arcade game play to be problematic for the youngest of app users who gravitate toward Duck Duck Moose apps, I do think that adults and children will find other areas of this app quite fun and entertaining for their families.

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

Most adults remember playing “memory” – also known as “concentration” – as children, where cards or tiles are laid out in pairs face down and players have to take turns turning over two cards looking for mates, remembering where the other cards are in order to create matches.

This style of game is also a very popular one in an application form, be it the app’s main focus or an additional section found in a storybook so it is very nice to see a “memory” style game that really stands out from the pack in terms of game play and overall quality.

Here, Gro Memo is such an app – a dedicated “memory” game app, typical in its intuitiveness as children are asked to turn over tiles to look for pairs. Yet this app is special in how quickly the game can be played if one chooses, as these tiles turn back over with great speed – an issue I have with many other apps of this nature as the card-turning can seem tedious, which can often make these “memory” style apps a chore to share with a child.

Gro Memo has a lovely ecology theme that allows children to help clean up either a forest or ocean scene, with a lovely illustrated opening page showing the nature scene in disarray and the sad animals who need one’s help.

This app is bright and colorful but also includes a slightly edgy style that I greatly appreciate as one taps these sad animals who all demand change in their own way shown through modest yet effective animation. Also seen is a modest 3D layered effect that adds richness to this nicely realized app.

For each scene, three levels of varying degrees of difficulty are included, and I really appreciate how the tiles include simple animated moments with sound effects instead of stagnant images, adding elements not possible when playing this game with a deck of cards. Another interesting detail is how tiles to avoid are also included, showing things like a polluting factory or a boat with an oil leak, adding another layer of interest to this delightful ecology-themed app.

As a tester of these “memory” styled apps, I am also very happy to report that although the score is kept for every correct pair as well as pollution tile turned over complete with witty animation, the upper levels are locked until a certain score is achieved, there is no timer included with this app. Also, simple wrong matches are not counted against the player, so children can turn cards over as often as they like to look for matches and what to avoid without feeling rushed – really nice touches.

I have enjoyed Gro Memo a great deal. The message about preserving nature is charming, as are the animated tiles – something I have not seen in other apps like this. Because the cards are so very responsive to turning over, I have found that this app can keep up with my adult high speed game play, making this a fun game for all ages – even for the adults in the house. This makes for an app that I can easily recommend.

I would also like to point out this this is another app from Gro Play, the developer for The Adventure of Sophie the Sweater, a unique storybook with a recycling theme that I also greatly enjoy. I look forward to more apps developed by Gro Play, who have developed two highly effective apps.

Animals, By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, Just For Fun, Matching, Preschool, Reviews, Social, Toddlers