Pip and Posy: Fun and Games is a universal app that brings the characters Pip, Posy and friends to life as the illustrations from this series, created by the highly regarded children’s illustrator and author, Axel Scheffler, are used within a collection of delightful children’s games and activities.

A collection of spot-the-difference is included where one must locate the different objects that are either missing or different on two similar illustrations. I enjoy how children can tap either side of these drawings to mark a difference and how this section contains a nice level of difficulty that preschool children and up will appreciate. Younger children will enjoy the wonderful illustrations of expressive animal characters, possibly needing some help from an adult or older sibling to complete these puzzles.

I really enjoy this section, as I do the upbeat children’s encouragement found throughout this app in general, much like the narration of Nosy Crows storybook applications that makes this “spot the difference” and the other areas of this app charming. It would be nice, however, if a “hint” button were included for those children who could use some extra help.

A coloring book area is included, containing seven pictures to color in and one blank page to draw freehand. Here, children color in these pages with a “paintbrush” style of painting as one uses a finger to paint with the drag of a finger, as well as emulating the use of a pencil point and crayon tip, not only affecting the line size but also texture as the pencil point draws a crisp thin and sharp line, while the paint brush creates a slightly more airbrushed, feathered edge to this line which is slightly thicker than of the pencil. I also like how the crayon tip produces a thicker, less opaque shade with a light touch, blending nicely with other colors the same way or creating a denser color if one colors over the same area. Six bright color choices are included, as is an eraser.

I appreciate how the progress in painting of these images is saved as the images to be colored contain a lovely amount of details to be filled in, and I can imagine children wanting to come back to their work after visiting other sections or at a later time. It would be nice, especially within the iPhone application, if a way of zooming in to color details were possible.

Matching Pairs is nice “memory” style game where players flip over cards in order to create pairs. Three levels are offered with the number of cards in play varying from eight to eighteen. It is nice to play this game without any type of time or score being kept, and the images found when players flip these cards over are cute and fun as well.

Jigsaw Jam is a lovely collection of jigsaw puzzles children can work on. These puzzles range from six to eight pieces that need to be dragged and dropped into their correct spots within their puzzle. I like how a reference picture is offered that is separate from the background one is working on, creating a very realistic puzzle experience, as does the subtle yet satisfying “click” of these pieces when they are correctly placed within the puzzle, also including a sense of “grab” as the pieces are slightly drawn to their correct spot if brought close – a detail that may not be missed until one works with a puzzle application without this element and then understands how important this element really is.

Users with a device containing a forward-facing camera will also enjoy the Make a Face area of this application as players get to create a face within a mirror that corresponds to the expression of a character expressing emotion, be it surprise, happiness, or a fun monster face.

This is a great section as I often admire the look of the expressive characters found in Scheffler’s illustrations in such books as The Gruffalo, and it is great fun to mimic these terrific characters from within this app. Recently, after re-downloading this app I was successful at getting the included photo saving function to work for me, a nice inclusion I am glad to have access to.

Rest assured that families not familiar with Axel Scheffler will be equally fond of this application. These illustrations may encourage one to check out Scheffler’s work, as his style of illustration is simply wonderful. I also have enjoyed the music found within this app, utterly Nosy Crow, making me curious as to when another one of their interactive storybooks will be released.

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

All Aboard the Dinosaur Train! is a fun game for iPad based on the hit PBS show of the same name.

The concept of this game is simple, as one fills the different passenger cars up with different sized and shaped dinosaurs that are running around in the foreground of this application.

One fun element of this app is how players need to first catch the dinosaurs as they run randomly across the page, then dragging and dropping them to the train car that they will fit best in.

Five levels are included, each with its own conductor-themed reward that one collects such as a whistle, flag or conductor’s hat. When these levels are complete, one will be further rewarded with a link to pbskids.org to download and print out a special prize as well.

My son loves dinosaurs, my son loves trains, and my son also enjoys watching the show Dinosaur Train. It is nice to see him enjoy this app as well, as he has a lot of fun trying to chase the dinosaurs, grabbing with a tap and dragging them to waiting trains.

My four year old also really enjoys matching the dinosaurs to the correct size train. On more advanced levels that include a few dinosaurs, this game has a nice level of challenge for him as it may be easy to spot a dino that is too big, but creatures too small will not work either. I also enjoy seeing him line up the dinosaurs to find that a head or tail is sticking out the train or too much space is left behind, he drops one dinosaur for another.

My boy has also taken to playing the two player game by himself as this doubles the dinosaur train cars one needs to complete the train, adding more to do in each round.

I also appreciate that while playing, the total amount of dinosaurs that ultimately fit within this train as a whole changes, creating a fun, be it chaotic scene with dinosaurs running amuck all over the page styled like a train platform.

After playing a few rounds, my son has developed a strategy for this game as he checks the board for the smallest and largest dinosaurs, leaving them for when the corresponding train cars are needed to be filled, also developing an understanding about which of the middle-sized dinosaurs are actually bigger or smaller, aiding in his ability to fill these train cars with ease.

I am also a fan of how the conductor sometimes gives hints to the correct dinosaur one is looking for, such as smaller or bigger. I wish these clues were given after each wrong answer as sometimes a less helpful “try again” or “not this time” is spoken instead.

As an adult, I do wish this app had more variety, both in game play as well as in appearance, wishing each level had a different train station setting or different-looking dinosaurs for an increased visual interest instead of simply adding more cars to the mix.

It would also be nice to hear dinosaur information such as their names or size when entering the train, and a few more levels and longer trains would make this app more content-rich as well – not a huge concern of my son’s as he is happy to start from the beginning when each level has been completed.

Even with my included notes, I can say that my son finds this application fun and engaging. Time will tell if my son continues to be as enamored with this app as he is now, seeking this specific app out when getting his hands on our iPad, but I do think toddlers or those in preschool who like dinosaurs, trains, or the PBS show of the same name will enjoy this application.

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

Coloring Smart is a lovely new coloring book app, bright and colorful, which includes a nice choice of pages to work on using the “paint bucket” style of tapping sections of the included images to fill these spaces in with color – my personal favorite method of coloring apps.

I really enjoy how this app reinforces the knowledge of numbers and shapes as well, using them as a guide for making correct color choices.

This app includes six subjects such as animals, vehicles or flowers. Each of these sections contains three modes to choose from in terms of filling in these coloring pages – specifically two pages each of matching shapes, numbers or simple addition questions each with their correct answers found at the top of the screen, arranged within the color choices of paints – much akin to “paint by numbers.”

I really like how shapes are included in two of the sections that also contain less intricate details and larger spaces to be filled in. Players must look closely at the picture they are coloring, as faint gray shapes can be seen in the background of the different areas that make up this page. Although this is a beginner page with fewer details, I enjoy the use of shapes as it is a little different than other apps like this which commonly sticks to letter or number recognition.

It is also nice that the levels dedicated to numbers and simple math are nicely detailed, including a few that are hard to determine what the final image will look like until completely filled in – something that I enjoy.

I appreciate that this app is universal, but before downloading to my iPhone, I was concerned that the images and individual spaces to be filled in would be too small to comfortably work on with the smaller screen of the iPhone. I am happy to say that this app looks and plays equally well on the iPhone as it does on the iPad.

Intuitive to use, I think children will have a lot of fun with Coloring Smart as do I. Pleasant background music is also included as are congratulatory sounds when pages become complete as well as a few sound effects when selecting and filling spaces with color. It would be nice to mute any of these sounds – specifically the cheering after completing a page to make this app a charming, quiet app as well.

Having said this, Coloring Smart is a very nice coloring book choice. I do hope more pages are included in the future.

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

A Jazzy Day is a lovely universal interactive educational storybook that teaches children about the instruments used to play jazz music. Narration is included as well as the ability to read this book by oneself.

Children will enjoy how this app opens up one morning as a daddy cat wakes up his two kitten children early to spend the day learning about jazz, taking a trip to hear Big Band music, meeting musicians and learning about their instruments. The illustrations are cute and include watercolor details that are always appealing. Mild interactive hotspots are also included that will trigger banter and subtle movements from these characters with the tap of a finger.

Soon, the jazz instruments are introduced. I really like the different sections and instruments found here such as the Rhythm or the Bass Section which are articulated with both words, illustrations and animated moments when instruments are tapped, allowing children to see and hear these instruments being played.

I enjoy how animals are used as the musicians such as trumpet-playing dogs, trombone-playing mice or saxophone-playing goats. Really cute details are also included, such as head-nodding or toe-tapping and tail-wagging as the animals perform, really getting into the playing of their music, as well as individual fingers strumming the bass, pressing the keys of a flute or trombone with the chest moving in and out the way one would expect, as well as other charmingly accurate details within these illustrations.

There is a nice interactivity found within this section as children can trigger these animal musicians to play their instruments, but I especially like being able to tap to play the vibraphone – a favorite instrument of mine.

I enjoy how these animals are styled to be very cool as the cat dad wears his red beret to the jazz hall. The other animals wear hip hats or sunglasses or the like, making them look jazzy themselves.

The included instrument sounds are great as well and have been recorded by professional musicians – a nice touch.

Some other sections are included, allowing players to tap to hear the sounds of the instruments as well as to move them around the page and stretch them with their fingers to enlarge them to see details.

I also enjoy the two games: “Find the instruments” where one is asked to find the instrument in question from a page of instruments as well as “Which instrument sounds like this?” where an instrument sound is played that one needs to match to the correct picture. I found these sections nicely done, but I wish it were easier to choose either game because as of now, a tap will bring players to either game rather randomly.

There is also a section that reinforces the names of letters found in these instruments, such as “p” for “piano or “c” for clarinet.

I really appreciate that this app has chosen to focus on jazz music as the other music apps I have seen through iTunes tend to be focused on classical music appreciation instead. For this reason and more, I can easily recommend Jazzy Day for toddlers and the preschool set.

Animals, By Age Range, By App Feature, Just For Fun, Matching, Music, Preschool, Primary School, Reading, Reviews, Sounds, Toddlers

Who Stole the Moon is a lovely, sleepy tale for iPad, perfect for bedtime about a boy who is worried that the moon has been stolen when he can’t see it out his bedroom’s skylight one evening before bed.

Concerned, he leaves his home to go ask the nocturnal animals if they had stolen the moon to no avail, but is led in the right direction to Owl, who has the correct answer and is able to calm this young boy.

This is a charming story, nicely written in a style reminiscent of traditional folktales that adults will enjoy as much as children will. I also really like how this app offers a little educational material along with this sweet, simple story, explaining about nocturnal animals and about how the moon can hide behind clouds. The illustrations are nicely crafted as well with a good use of color, especially the sapphire blue chosen to represent the sky that looks especially nice against the back-lit iPad.

This book also contains an impressive number of languages to choose from, each including its own language specific narration and text, also allowing for narration or included sounds to be turned off individually as well – always a nice touch.

I have enjoyed meeting each animal introduced within this story, including cute details children enjoy such as a fox playing with her cubs, badgers eating cat food, or a mole shopping for worms to make tea. Each animal also has its own theme song that can be accessed within the story section itself or in a separate dedicated section.

This app includes some fun interactive elements as well as four activities that are included, and although they are pretty typical of extras found among children’s apps, I admire their quality in terms of illustrations used and very nice music included within.

There is a memory game section involving the turning over of tiles in order to create pairs. Nice varieties of this type of game are included, each with its own distinct style of cards that need to be flipped, such as one shape per card, a specific number of shapes per tile creating a nice nod towards subsidizing as well as charming insect drawings, each game including 12 cards to flip over.

Sixteen smaller cards can also be included within a game, here involving animals or fun monster and space themes, allowing children to play memory in a way that is a little more challenging.

The final section includes 36 cards to look under to try to match three cards this time instead of two. This change increases the difficulty level nicely, including the insect motif as well as simple sketches all in the color red, really adding to the amount of detail one must look at in these tiles when flipped over to differentiate each other. Some simple solid color tiles are included as well that contain a lovely marbled water-color look, also seen throughout this app as are perfectly imperfect textures found within this well-done application.

An arcade-style is included where one lights up randomly flying fireflies with a tap. This game is nicely challenging yet avoids over stimulation with the included gentle lullaby-type music. It is a nice touch that the background changes with a selection of earthy green backdrops – great for replay value.

In another area of this app, sixteen puzzles are included, each broken into 25 or 64 pieces which perform like classic jigsaw puzzles, each including a lot of game play. I like the audible click heard when the pieces are fitted together, but I think these lengthy puzzles should make available the reference image seen when choosing a puzzle for children who need a little help because no other hints are offered.

A finger-painting section is available which includes 16 blank sketches than need to be filled in with color. A variety of brush strokes are offered, creating interesting designs with either a tap or a drag of a finger. There is a rainbow of colors to choose from, including four different shades of each color – all really nice choices that combined with the unique brushes, create an effect closer to a painting experience, possibly with an airbrush, than simply scribbling.

Although it is interesting that the paint brush point varies with every tap, it would be nice to select the point size as well as to create details more precise if one so wishes. It would also be nice to have an “undo” button, but the eraser can help fix small mistakes that children feel they may have made coloring in these pictures. I would also like to see a solid line be able to be drawn. As of now, only series of dots is allowed.

A section also exists of the animal songs found within the pages of this story. I like that a separate section exists as these songs, nicely done, are also a little lengthy and takes me out of the story a bit to play them while reading the book. Each song can be listened to or sung with the aid of lyrics that appear sentence-by-sentence in time to the music. This prompt may be enough for older children to sing along but new readers may need more help from an adult as this method is less than true karaoke-style in which each word is highlighted when it is time to be sung.

I do like, however, how each song contains the text that is sung as well as illustrated with simple drawings that correspond to each tune. Parents may need to explain the vintage phonograph used to play these songs, complete with horn, record spinning and the crackling that can be heard when switching between songs – other nice details of this section.

I have enjoyed Who Stole the Moon and recommend this app as a very nice bedtime story choice for toddlers and preschool age children. I look forward to the new apps that WindyPress will develop in the future.

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

Kids Fun for iPad is a charming interactive app that boasts over 70 short activities for children. I am excited by this app as it is not only content-rich, but the mini-games and activities are of a very high quality that really impresses me. An iPhone version of this app is also available.

This app is nicely intuitive as one begins on a main page that contains ten sections that one can chose from. Simply tap to choose. From here, one can choose from another menu of related choices, nicely organizing the abundant selections to choose from.

Children will appreciate how these sections are animal-centric and include an area dedicated to matching, such as an animal to its food, babies and their adults, animals with their homes and an interesting way to teach shapes – both geometric as well as animal silhouettes.

Users can play peek-a-boo with various animals while viewing different habitats such as those found in the ocean, Arctic, jungle, countryside or forest.

A sticker section is also included, allowing children to decorate different habitat landscapes with the animals found in these areas, sometimes including animal sounds or movements – nice touches that I wish were incorporated in all sticker choices.

A well-done spot-the-differences mini-game is included, allowing children to find the missing or different objects between two similar images. I like how this app keeps count of the five differences one is looking for as well as how one can tap either image to mark the differences found within – a helpful element to be sure.

Ten coloring pages are included as well. Here, one fills in the spaces of these cute animal drawings with the paint-bucket method of coloring and includes a good selection of color choices with the mailing of completed work made possible – also a nice choice.

A fun slider activity is included as children can tap their way through different animal heads, torsos and leg choices, creating both unique as well as complete animals. Animal sounds are also incorporated within.

Children will also enjoy the five animal puzzles found within this app. These puzzles include nine pieces each with a faint view of a reference picture showing one where the pieces belong as well as the use of a magnetic-like pull of the pieces guiding them into their correct spaces. This creates a satisfying experience as well as a nice level of hint without making these puzzles too easy.

Animal sounds are taught, nicely grouping creatures in their like habitats such as jungle, ocean, or forest.

I have also enjoyed the connect-the-dots section of this app as here one just needs to tap the number in sequence – easier for toddlers and young preschoolers who are still working on their fine motor skills.

Traditional “memory” games are also represented as one needs to turn tiles over in order to make pairs.

The look of these activities is uniformly wonderful, with bright stylized illustrations as well as the use of the circle found in the layouts throughout this app. As the menu pages, areas to color, puzzles spot-the differences sections and others are all found within circles for a vaguely vintage feel possibly reminiscent of decorative plates or needlepoint seen through an embroidery hoop, elements that I appreciate.

Children will also be smitten by the animals popping up or scurrying across the page that they may be working on as well as the lovely use of chime sounds when page selections are made as well as the random animal complete with included sounds found on the main menu page, and thoughtful use of ambient animal noises.

This is a really nice choice of application for young children as hours of game play are included. Being educational as well as charming and a lot of fun, parents will feel good about their kids spending time with this application.

I am impressed with the simple, sweet and stylized look this app has, making me interested in seeing what other apps the developers at toomanyscreens may come up with in the future.

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

Safari Party, developed by PIXOWL, Inc., is a universal puzzle/arcade app featuring cartoon animals and people drawn by a well-known French cartoonist and blogger, Laurel. To clear each level, players must move the animal icons around the screen to make groups of four. Once groups of four are formed, players may tap the groups to make them break up and disappear (think Bejewled Blitz). A certain number of animal groups must be cleared in the time allotted to pass each level, getting more difficult as players progress. There are several modes of gameplay: Arcade, Speed, Expert, Zen, and Multiplayer (recently added).

Despite the cute, cartoonish animals and their colorful habitats, the gameplay of Safari Party is actually quite challenging. My son (age seven) had no problem clearing the first five or so levels, but it took multiple attempts for him to go any higher. Because each level is timed, this app is fast-paced and exciting but may be a little stressful for some, too. Players can keep track of how many animal groups they have collected by looking at the tally at the top right of the screen and can also watch the timer scroll as it is visible along the bottom of the screen. Animals start to shake when the time is close to running out, however, as long as new groups of four are still being formed, extra time will be added to the clock. It is also possible to earn special achievements and “cheats,” which will help players to clear each level. Players can also shake their devices to scramble the order of the animals on the screen, so that more matches can be located in time.

Safari Party is one of the few apps that not only attracted the attention of my two kids and myself, but also caught the interest of my husband, who finds the app to be quite addictive. As both of us are former fans of Bejewled Blitz on Facebook, it is no surprise that we also like Safari Party. My husband and I take turns playing, competing with one another to progress to a higher level. I also play the app in a cooperative way with my son, as we help each other identify and group the animals. He particularly likes the look of the animals and their habitats.

The only criticism that I have of Safari Party is that when each level is cleared, a cartoon of a woman shows up on the screen to congratulate players, and I find them to be somewhat stereotypical in appearance. These women are wearing outfits meant to go along with each animal habitat, ie: Jungle-wear, Mermaid-wear, etc, and while each of them is pretty and appealing, one is drawn with cleavage showing, which I feel could have been avoided, as this is a children’s game. All in all, Safari Party is a charming and challenging app for ages 6 and up.

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

Line Up is a wonderful interactive educational app that teaches about patterns in ways children and their adults will be smitten by.

I really enjoy this app – a great application to be aware of because parents have their choice of apps dedicated to pattern awareness within iTunes. I have enjoyed a few of these apps with my son, but a favorite of mine is definitely Line Up, from the developers at Busythings, a company that should not be overlooked.

Here, players need to first focus their attention on the line of men at the bottom of what appears to be a cross between a fire station and some sort of assembly line, consisting of ultimately two platforms dedicated to changing the color and size of a cartoony man-like creature to be added to the end of the sequence. Options will include adding color to these characters that start out as basic white, ultimately giving size options as well.

To style this character with a specific color or size, first tap the correct paint canister, leading the man to a paint shower where he is painted. Medium and hard levels will include the need to transform the height or girth of this man as well. To do so, choose the appropriate squashing or stretching machine that will re-reshape the man to the desired size and shape.

There are so many whimsical details that make me smile, such as the use of the painting machine, where the man closes a shower curtain for modesty, raising one arm up and then another to bathe himself in the correct color, as well as the fireman’s pole that the character slides down to the next platform to be sized, traveling this way to find his place on line and in sequence.

I also appreciate the details included in the sizing machines, with devices included that will connect and stretch the man larger, squash him shorter, or include side panels that will squish from the sides, making this character slimmer as well. Fun, irreverent sound effects are heard when these size changes are being made.

When the line is complete, if correct, the men will dance together with music in ways most endearing, really compelling players to keep working with this app to see the next little dance that could be performed – almost as a piece of mini performance art.

It is also fun to watch what happens if a mistake is made, with the other men covering their eyes in disappointment, the character leaving the sequence with his head hanging in a way that is full of whimsy without making the player feel bad about mistakes made.

I love the language-neutral aspect of this app, as these characters mumble in ways players will find amusing without speaking in a specific language, making this app understandable for children of all backgrounds. There is also an impressive list of languages that are supported as well, presumably for this app’s instructions.

This app does a great job of teaching patterns and sequencing in ways that will be quite unique for the players. There are many quirky animations and details, keeping kids’ attention as they play one of three levels of difficulty individually or play through each level from the easiest situations of only changing the man’s color to the additional size element added, with more than one man to be added in the sequence and three size machines to navigate in the most difficult level.

I have quickly become a huge fan of Busythings apps in general as their library is quite diverse with an impressive visual style and high quality seen throughout. I encourage readers to look into these educational applications as they tend to be universal and very affordable. Busythings is a developer that I will be keeping a close eye on, and I look forward to reviewing more of these wonderful, creative applications.

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

Play & Match Kids Logic Game is a fun and educational game for preschoolers and older kids that enables children to match corresponding images of familiar subjects in this inventive logic game.

Intuitive to use, this app opens up to four large boxes filling up the screen in quarters as well as four smaller boxes lining the bottom of the page. Tap correlating small and large images to make matches that cover topics such as animal habitats, related objects such as pen to note pad or remote to TV, sports equipment to their matching play surface, be it hockey rink, table tennis or boxing ring. Basics such as counting, colors, time and transportation are also covered, as well as other topics.

Thirty of these mini-games are included, and it is nice that one can scroll through, looking or trying out screens that one has not yet worked up to in sequence – nice for adults looking for a specific area of interest such as animals for their children. I appreciate the lack of any sort of timer or score-keeping as well, allowing kids to focus, concentrate and take their time with these thoughtfully designed logic games.

The look of this app is very nice, with a good use of bright colors and lovely illustrations that convey very well the concept one is trying to get across without any clutter or ambiguity.

Because of this, I find the lack of direction offered within this app actually refreshing, as most children of the target age of preschool and up could be handed this app and start making matches using their own brain power to figure out how to play as well as asking for help from an adult if needed.

I did find some mild biases, such as a grandmother figure being matched to sewing needles and yarn while the grandfather is matched to a newspaper. Because no wrong answer truly exists here, men and women could equally enjoy both hobbies, although adults will have a clue regarding what this app is looking for.

Another mini-game focuses on occupations where the only woman is a teacher in contrast to the men who have other more varied jobs such as astronaut, sailor or chef. Other times, children may not have the life experience to know all the objects or situations found, like boxing gloves and a boxing ring, but the process of illumination can also be used when needed, and adults can help fill in any holes children may have with their knowledge or understanding of the subject matter.

The simple style of this app is very appealing as is the lack of a lot of sounds made from within this quiet app. Here, matches will trigger only subtle twinkle sounds – first with the individual large and small box matches being transformed to a happy yellow star with a blue background. Ultimately this image will become a full-screen page between individual matching puzzles. If a mistake is made, an orange screen with a sad face appears momentarily. A noise is also triggered to let children know that their last match-up was a mistake, allowing children to make these mistakes, yet to keep playing until they get the answers right.

I highly recommend this app for preschoolers. This app would be a great quiet game, and I can see it being a useful application in home, school or special needs setting for older children with the help of an adult who may help by talking through the cognitive reasoning needed to make correct pairs.

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

KidsMag Issue 03 is the third app in a series of interactive, educational apps for iPad, reminiscent of the children’s magazine Highlights.

KidsMag Issue 03 has a lot to offer toddlers, preschoolers and older kids as well. Consisting of 32 pages and over 50 activities, this app provides a nice amount of content that will keep children occupied for a long time.

My four year old son really enjoys this app, as such topics like pirates, the sea and trains are included – subjects that he has much interest in.

Structured like a magazine, one can tap on a cover story that is of interest as well as digitally flip through these pages. An interactive table of contents also allows one to view all the sections at once and then select a page with the tap of a finger.

Nice narration is included, allowing non-readers to enjoy the puzzles, stories, matching sections, pattern completing as well as other activities.

Do note the question mark also found top left of the screen available to explain how to interact with these areas.

I appreciate how many of these games include multiple pages one can gain access to with the shake of the iPad, greatly increasing the content beyond that found in a printed magazine which does not contain extensions of the same activity – be it a hidden object puzzle or sticker scene with a collection of different backgrounds to choose from.

Fans of the other apps in the series will be happy to see that the characters of Teo and Bianca are back. Here they visit the beach with their family. Parents will enjoy how this story is first told within a series of illustrations akin to a simple storyboard with no text or words, allowing children to use their imagination to tell their own story based on what they see. Children can also tap on an image to hear and see this story with included text and narration. Interactive elements such as helping Teo and Bianca pack their bags or tapping areas of a page dedicated to sea life are also included.

Letters and their sounds are also taught, as children are presented with objects found in the sea and are asked to find the item that corresponds to a letter in question – a section my son really enjoyed.

The topic of trains is nicely explored. Children will find a lot to tap on as they learn all about what one would expect to find at a train station and the differences between modern and old-fashioned trains. A highly interactive train dashboard is included, allowing children to tap, press or turn buttons, switches, levers and dials as they look out onto train tracks from the point-of-view of the conductor.

Numbers and shapes are also re-enforced with fun activities, and it is nice to see basic Spanish words introduced, both as nouns found in places like a farm, but also tackling adjectives in a matching game that teaches not only Spanish words, but opposites as well. This app also includes a glossary of Spanish words used in this issue of this magazine.

It is also a nice touch that links to sites about subjects like trains or pirates are also available in case kids want to learn more about these topics. Do shake the iPad to see a full list.

Kids Mag apps contain an abundance of interesting information that can really engage children for quite some time. My son loves these apps, and it is nice to see the same high quality from the first app to the third. I hope KidsMag apps continue to be developed in the future as they are wonderful choices for one’s iPad library.

Animals, By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, Just For Fun, Language, Matching, Nature, Preschool, Primary School, Puzzle, Reading, Reviews, Stories, Toddlers