100 Butterflies is a very nice universal application which focuses on number recognition from 1 to 100 with a lovely butterfly theme.

I enjoy the very simple premise that this app has to offer, as this app opens up to a tree filled with sleeping caterpillars who each awake with a tap, becoming a beautiful butterfly and flying away, having first been labeled with a specific number that is also narrated. The tree is arranged with five butterflies per side, and after every ten butterflies are tapped, one travels up the tree until the goal of 100 is reached.

Two modes are included here – a “Free Play” section and “Quest Mode.” In free play, any cocoon can be tapped to see and hear the number being counted throughout this series of numbers, whereas in Quest Mode, each caterpillar is numbered, and one needs to find the correct sequence of these numbers from 1 to 100.

I really like this fun, simple app. I have used a lot of apps that deal with number recognition both for my son and for review purposes, and have noticed that they commonly go up to the number 10. My son can easily count to the mid 40’s on his own before he becomes distracted and moves on to something else, so I really like the recognition of higher numbers being
re-enforced within this app.

Of note about this app is how pretty it is, with soft pastels filling the page and charming caterpillars which transform into beautiful butterflies that take off and fly away. I also like how the background used throughout slowly changes as the numbers progress between daytime and night, with nice details found in the sky as well, making this a very attractive app to look
at. I appreciate how this app opens with a fun fact about butterflies – something I would love to hear more of, but I can see how additional narration could distract from the counting.

This app will be enjoyed by children up through preschool or any age where children are still learning how to count to 100, but I think that this would make an especially nice first app for the youngest players as well who are just learning how to tap a touch screen. For these players, the free play mode would be a perfect way to immerse themselves in number learning, and it is nice that children can grow into the use of “Quest Mode” as well.

I really like the fact that many developers these days are making their apps universal. It is worth pointing out that here I have noticed that the numbers on the chests of these butterflies look a little small when on the iPhone, but I have not heard any complaints from my son, who enjoyed this app.

All-in-all, a very nice counting experience from 100 Butterflies. I am glad to see an application that takes on the teaching of numbers past 10.

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

Zachy the Robot – Episode 1: The Leaning Tower of Robocity is an excellent universal interactive educational app that combines very well-done cartoon sections with interactive areas that nicely explain basic engineering concepts to children 3-7 years.

This wonderful app takes place in Robocity where boy robot, Zachy, his sister Nikki, and their friends have the task of fixing things that break in the city around them. The app expertly infuses S.T.E.M concepts (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) into this interactive cartoon, here specifically engineering – fixing things as they break, such as a lamppost
that is tipping to one side or a building that is also leaning, giving the player choices on what supports are needed to steady these structures.

I really appreciate how varied the support choices are, such as a triangle or circular support, as well as other choices that are too small or just right. The best part about these interactive sections is that the wrong choices are able to be played out and to see how these choices would effect the structure using the appropriate gravity and physics. The wrong answers
are explained very thoughtfully in a way that kids will comprehend – a very important feature as many times a person learns more from his mistakes than from correct answers, which are also nicely explained. I am very impressed by the ability of this app to explain these engineering concepts in such an articulate fashion.

It is also good how the tasks at hand are also varied in term of problems to solve. Later, after the small job of fixing a lamp pole is complete, the gang must tackle a larger problem of a building on the verge of collapse, and photos of real landmarks like the pyramids or the Eiffel Tower are used to learn some other basic engineering concepts about building structures, like how the bottom of the structure is wider at the base than at the top. There is also a great lesson to be learned when a robot stretches himself high in order to support the building in question and he himself needs some supports as stretching makes him prone to toppling over as well.

Not only is this app educational, but the cartoon section is excellent as well, reminding me of the best programming PBS has to offer – high praise to be sure. The animation is excellent and colors used are very bright and engaging, as are the narration and music that are used. Of note is the use of five fingers per hand on these robots – something not commonly seen in animation, a detail that stands out, adding to the richness that make these robots seem utterly human and relatable.

I really like how the interactive sections and the photos used of real structures have a subtle windowpane pattern, reminiscent of grid paper used in drafting which can be faintly seen, all the better to see which end of a building is wider, or the tipping of a structure – a very nice touch.

If you ask an engineer what toys they had growing up that had encouraged an interest in science later in life, a typical answer may be erector set or a working gears toy. I think this application can be added to the list of activities that can create an invaluable appreciation in science and engineering. I am very excited to share this app with my son, and I can’t want for the other chapters of Zachy the Robot to come out as well, focusing on other S.T.E.M subjects.

By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, Just For Fun, Math, Preschool, Primary School, Reading, Reviews, Science, Social, Special Needs, Stories

Tangram Puzzles is a wonderfully creative and fun educational iPad app. This is a nice companion to the related app by the same developers, MosaicHD. Instead of creating patterns with the use of small colored pegs like in MosaicHD, here the player uses different shapes together to create larger images.

Based on the classic Chinese puzzle game of Tangram, this app uses basic geometrical shapes together to create interesting images, The original Tangram puzzle consisted of seven shapes that together could be fitted side-by-side to create such shapes as a square, triangle, rectangle, as well as objects like a house, boat, or bird. I like that this app contains not only the various triangles, small squares, and parallelogram that were included in the original seven shapes but also includes circles and half-circles.

The interface is very easy to use here, with options including choosing a template, looking at completed work in the gallery, or creating one’s own design free-hand. The templates consist of 18 images that can be copied, ranging from simple to complex. I appreciate the selection offered a great deal as there is a lot to choose from with some very interesting images included such as Clown or Bear in Snowy Forest, as well as some abstract choices like the very ornate Ornament2, giving the player some nice ideas to create their own patterns.

Once the template is chosen, you will have the option to turn on “Help,” creating an outline over the template where the pieces fit. It is nice that this option is included, as my son needs this help here as well as in MosaicHD to be successful, but older children and adults may want to tackle these patterns solely by looking at the small reference picture included. The right side of the screen consists of a vertical scroll bar of the shapes to be used in this pattern; tap and drag the chosen piece to where it belongs in the larger image.

It is nice that each shape has a number showing how many pieces of this specific shape are needed to be filled in, counting each piece as it is used being very helpful, especially when the “Help” is off. Like MosaicHD, the templates are based on a grid and while using the Help, the transparent shapes to be filled in do not fully cover up the grid below, allowing the player to see how the various squares of the grid fit into these various shapes to be used, conveying the geometry taught by Tangrams nicely.

The Gallery contains both past finished work as well as the chance to add personal patterns to a public gallery for other app users to peruse, and I really enjoyed looking at other people’s work. One can also share personal patterns by email or Facebook as well.

Freehand gives the player the option of creating his very own patterns. The vertical scroll bar to the right of the screen is filled with every shape found among these templates, and because flipping or rotating these shapes is not possible here, each shape is presented in every possible rotated or mirrored configuration. Ten color choices are available as well, creating complete personalization of any image one can create with the shapes that are offered.

MosaicHD is a favorite app of my son, as he is captivated by creating pictures based on the templates, as well as creating his own images free-hand. Tangrams is equally creative and fun. The music used here is very well done, hypnotic, and relaxing and very pleasant to listen to as one creates an involved pattern. I like that the music volume levels can be changed independently of the other sound effects, specifically the cheering one hears when a template is filled in, as this may be distracting or encouraging – depending on the player.

The use of tangrams with children has long been thought of as a great way to teach geography and math. Younger children will enjoy exploring shapes and colors as they can easily fill in the templates with the “help” feature, encouraging the use of fine motor skills and imagination along the way. I love the creative template choices available, but it would be nice if the classic seven piece tangrams which create the basic square, triangle, or other shapes were also included to help teach the fundamentals of this classic puzzle.

My son owns a few tangram sets himself, and not all of them work well. Many times the pieces slide around the cards he is working from – very frustrating. Other times, pieces are added to the cutouts of a wood puzzle template. This works well, but the images tend to be simplistic. I really like the ease of use and different levels of details involved in this application. It is always an added bonus to have no pieces to lose or to store when game play is over.

I think both Tangram Puzzles as well as Mosaic HD are good choices for families, as children of all ages as well as adults will also enjoy these apps a great deal.

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

Yoku-Gami is a game that represents, to me as a parent, everything that is right in the app store, in relation to games for kids. It’s a puzzle game that looks and plays like a standard match-3 game but is, in reality, anything but.

It is designed by the great mind of Reiner Knizia, a German board game designer heralded for his simple designs that lead for complex gameplay. Being a fan of his, I jumped on Yoku Gami and it’s been a game my daughters and I have enjoyed immensely, and I feel happy in knowing that they’re not just playing a mindless game, but instead are really working their brains as they play.

The entire goal of the game is similar to match games, clear the tiles. But how Yoku-Gami works is this: “If the greatest number in the group equals the total of all the other numbers in the group, you have a successful turn”. So if you select a 3, 2 and a 5, your 3 and 2 equal 5 and you remove those tiles and get a score. That score is based on how many numbers are in the group and if you create groups of 5 or more numbers, you then get a bonus.

There are 3 different modes. Endless is just that, it continues until you can go no further. In Arcade, your goal is to clear a whole role or column of numbers, the game also ends when you can go no further. In Level Mode you try to clear as many numbers in each grid. You start with 24 levels, and at the end of each level when there are no more turns, you lose as many lives as there are numbers left. You gain lives when you create groups of 4 or more. As long as you have lives, you continue progressing in the game.

I was incredibly surprised with how far my 6 year olds got in the game, but for some reason, they were able to go quite far for their age and math skills. I know they are a bit young for it, and it isn’t a game they can play for hours, as the difficulty does continue to ramp up, but they have enjoyed what we do play together quite a bit. As well, a nice touch to make it kid-friendly, is that good old “Yoki” is always there to tap on and get a hint from when needed.

If you have a child that might be struggling with math, or one that loves math and just wants a fun way to put his/her skill to the test, I honestly believe Yoku-Gami is a stellar choice. I’d never want to leave a child in front of any gaming system for hours, but this really is an honest-to-goodness learn-while-playing gaming that does exactly what it sets out to do, and I do not doubt that it will certainly be a help to those kids who struggle with math.

I’d also like to make it clear that it is equally great for parents. As silly as it might sound, I’ve seen an honest increase in my math skills through playing it, and honestly that’s worth the price of entry right there. All-in-all, Yoku-Gami is a hidden gem that I wish more people knew about, and I hope you enjoy it as much as we have.

By Age Range, By App Feature, Counting, For Parents, High School +, Math, Middle School, Puzzle, Reviews

PBS KIDS Videos for iPad is full of fun and a highly educational collection of segments from favorite PBS Kids television shows.

These video clips are all nicely arranged with a simple interface that I am sure kids will have no problems navigating. To the right of the screen is a vertical scroll bar containing many of kids’ and parents’ favorite PBS kids shows. Tap to select, and one can slide out a menu as well giving the child a choice of many video clips from this TV show. The bottom left hand corner contains parents’ information about the specific show and clip being watched as well as other info. The rest of the center screen is where these videos will play; tapping will fill the iPad with a larger letter-boxed version of these clips, removing the other menus.

Kids have the option of selecting many varied choices in video clips, but it also nice that they can relax and watch all the selections from a specific show as they play in order from the menu; the choice is theirs.

I am very pleased with the wonderful shows offered in this app, including our family’s favorite show, Sesame Street, as well as other shows my son is familiar with such as Martha Speaks and Super Why, plus many others new to us. I appreciate that there is something for every age of grade school child, including the health- based show Fizzy’s Lunch Lab whose target age range is 6-10, geared to children older than the preschool set whom I commonly think of when PBS kid shows come to mind, primarily, no doubt, because this is my son’s age. Having watched many of these clips, I am sure that older kids will enjoy this app as well, and it can certainly be shared between different-aged children.

There will always be people who think TV is bad for children, and I am sure that the idea of handing your child a portable television per the iPad seems like an even worse idea to some. As a parent, I find that these shows from PBS are undeniably educational, smart, age-appropriate and very socially aware, so I have no issues with my son watching small amounts of his favorite show Sesame Street, unlike unspecific cartoons from a random cable channel, something I would not allow.

This is a wonderful resource for parents, especially when traveling and wanting to keep their children distracted in places like an airport or the airplane itself is of the utmost importance. For at-home use, I do prefer my son to spend his screen time working on puzzles, playing games, creating artwork or listening to a story, much of this time being spend with a parent who is equally involved with the app at hand.

This time with our son is precious family time, but when traveling, I don’t really want to have to entertain my child with “together time” the entire length of the trip, and I think this app would honestly keep him quiet and distracted, keeping my boy happy and not bothering others with the banter that comes along with many of his favorite apps.

We have not traveled a lot as a family yet, one reason being not knowing how good a traveler my sometimes wild child would be, but I think this video player may just be the trick to keep my boy as well as the other passengers sane over a long flight or delay at the airport, as long as I don’t forget to purchase a set of kid-friendly headsets.

Having an older model iPad, I do not know how these videos play on 3G. For us, the use of this app is only in areas that offer WiFi, but I am happy to report that these video clips play effortlessly, which is nice because I do have problems loading clips from other apps that take the viewer directly to youtube.

In all honesty, this is an application that I have not asked my son to test for me, because if I did, I would never hear the end of his asking for this app and I really want his iPad experience to be as varied as possible. We went through this when we first go the “Netflix” app which I had to finally bury in a file, telling my son it stopped working. I know this app would be an even huger hit, which is wonderful in some ways and problematic in others.

I really appreciate the info provided in the parents’ section. Here, the name of the show and specific clip are listed, as well as a basic premise of the show, its goals, and age range. If you like a specific clip, you can email yourself a link or post it to Facebook or Twitter. Options for buying the video associated with specific shows as well as info and links to their PBS Kids Apps are included. I am not a fan of in app purchases, but nicely tucked away in a parent’s info section is acceptable to me, as well as something many parents may find helpful. You can “favorite’ a show, bringing them higher on the list of shows available, but it would be nice to have a section on the app of previously watched and chosen clips as well. I would also love to see all the names of celebrity guests from Sesame Street as part of the info given about these clips, as not all of them have this information. I know most of these faces but when I can’t place one, I would really like to be able to reference the clip’s info to see who it is. I also like that one can look up local listings for favorite shows as well, very helpful to those staying in hotels away from home.

In the end, it will be the parents’ decision regarding when and how much access their children will have to this app. Having said this, this free app is a simply wonderful collection of very special video clips from children’s shows. I think that this would be my son’s new favorite app, something I will keep in mind when I am looking for the ultimate distraction.

Animals, By Age Range, By App Feature, Counting, Creativity, Just For Fun, Language, Math, Music, Nature, Phonics, Preschool, Primary School, Reading, Reviews, Science, Shapes, Social, Special Needs, Spelling, Stories, Toddlers

The controversy whether or not to rely heavily on results of the Scholastic Aptitude Test for college applications continues, and increasing numbers of schools are either not requiring SAT results or are giving greater weight to other criteria. That being said, SAT scores are still important for many colleges and universities. This is why there are so many SAT iPhone and iPod apps. Some of them focus on mathematics or vocabulary, others have a more general approach. Mark Anestis, a tutor for the last 13 years at a test preparation company and author of several test prep books, has jumped into the app market with the SATLadder.

Recognizing that many teenagers are not into the standard SAT computer learning programs because they are too much like schoolwork, Anestis decided to make an app that would turn the learning into a game. It was also important for the students to determine and enhance their strengths and identify and work on their weaknesses through practice and review. “I wanted to produce a test preparation product that capitalizes on the fact that teenagers like to compete and at the same time help them accomplish their goals.”

Users can play the solo mode and participate in five-round matches against the SATLadder app. Each of these rounds consists of questions in mixed areas of math, reading and writing, and all questions are automatically kept on the student’s profile page at www.SATLadder.com for later review. Students are told when they answer incorrectly and which answer is right. They are also see the length of time it took them to answer each question.

Students can also play in the head-to-head mode and have either friendly or SATLadder matches against specific or randomly chosen competitors and then be ranked on the SATLadder on performance level. The students can work toward making their way up the ladder to get up to the #1 spot. The SATLadder app includes more than 2,000 questions with answer explanations and definitions to over 1,000 high-frequency SAT words.

Admittedly, when I was reviewing the app, I kept on saying, “I’ll stop after the next set of questions…” and found myself wanting to see if I would get the next and then the next series right or wrong. Although I always had high grades in school, I never was a good test taker. I wouldn’t have minded having an iPhone game that I could play off and on during the school day to prep me a little. I don’t know if my score would have greatly increased, but every new thing learned would have been in my favor.

By Age Range, By App Feature, High School +, Language, Math, Reading, Reviews

Splash Math – Comprehensive 3rd grade math workbook is a very nice interactive math app which re-enforces the math lessons typically taught to 3rd graders in the U.S. Parents have the option of being emailed their children’s progress through these questions if they choose.

This app is pleasant to look at with a nice aquatic theme and a lovely view of blue sea and ocean bottom used as the backdrop for these math questions. A friendly origami crab congratulates players after each correct question answered. Kids will enjoy answering math questions in this interactive fashion, many times choosing answers at the bottom of the screen, as well as dragging and dropping shapes, popping balloons, or moving the hands of a clock in the “Time” section, my personal favorite.

There are 16 chapters to choose from, with subjects like addition, fractions, and decimals. A parent decides which of these subjects are added to the Play mode, which will quiz the player on the knowledge of these math concepts. At first, only the easy questions will be available, but medium and hard questions will be unlocked through the app as well. I appreciate the varied questions offered and that the parent has options about how broad or narrow the focus of this play section is.

Maybe times have changed, but I was a bit surprised to see topics such as geometry or data and probability included as I remember that these were subjects for older kids, but parents can easily pick and choose which subjects are right for their students. Kids earn points from correct answers they can later redeem in their personal aquarium. I do wish that when a question is wrongly answered, the player could have a chance to try again instead of continuing to the next question.

After gaining some points from correct answers one can visit the aquarium, but I am a little confused here as to how to use these points. One does not use these credits to decorate the aquarium but to interact with the two crabs who live in the aquarium. Points can be used to see them dance to music, as well as hiting one with an anvil – something I was not able to figure out how to do. Later in the app one can obtain other fish as well, and points can be used to buy angel fish food once an angel fish becomes part of the aquarium. I wish that one could use the points to beautify the aquarium, enabling one to look back with pride at accomplishments turned into tangible objects decorating the space instead of spending credits on momentary interactions that should, in my opinion, simply be part of the aquarium experience keeping this math game light and fun.

My favorite part of this app is the Practice Mode where the players themselves can choose subjects to study, and it is really nice that these subjects are broken down into specific areas of interest, focusing on a specific skill such as “properties of addition” and later working up to “four digit addition” as well as a section on “mixed review” questions. In Practice Mode, the player gets to try again if he answers a question wrong, but it would be nice if info were given to explain why one answer is correct over another.

This app is very educational and has a vast amount of content. It would be a nice app for those studying 3rd grade math. I also think it would be an excellent app used over summer break for those who have completed 3rd grade, as students typically lose more than 2 months of knowledge over this extended holiday. This app could also be used over the summer by kids entering the 3rd grade, possibly giving them a chance to practice the lessons they will learn in the coming school year. Parents of other grade school students, do keep these developers in mind as they will be adding grades 1 – 5 apps in the future. I would make these apps available to my son when the time is right for him in the years to come, but I do this app is on the pricey side.

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

123 Pop is a fun and interesting space-themed math game for children as well as adults. Players tap a first number, then a second as these numbers float through space. Adding these two numbers together, tap on a third which corresponds to the sum of the first two. For instance, if one taps “1” and then “3,” the third number tapped is “4.” This seems easy, but these numbers can move quickly, and the third number you are looking for may or may not be visible when you need it to be.

I enjoy this game more than I expected, but I do look at this as a strategy or educational action game, not one that is good to help teach basic addition. Kids who are new to adding will not get very far in this game and may feel either rushed or frustrated, as you need to be fast and a lot needs to get done before your time runs out.

I do think, however, that this is a really fun game for grade-schoolers who have a solid foundation in addition to adults as I find myself using my mind and doing a lot of plotting about what numbers added up to a third that was in easy reach to tap, coming up with with strategies that I will keep to myself and not spoil the fun. There are also special objects to tap to gain points such as rockets and magical stars, and numbers can get sucked into vortexes sometimes as well. Included are three difficulties, but I never felt comfortable past “easy” as the numbers in “normal’ and ‘hard” moved too fast and simply were not fun for me, but “easy” was just right.

The music which accompanies this game is very good here, beautiful, relaxing and maybe even a little melancholy. I enjoyed listening to it very much and was encouraged to keep playing long after I needed to for the sake of review purposes. This game got my mind working more than I thought it would, and I appreciate this a great deal.

I recommend this app for those grade school and up who enjoy number puzzle games and math in general, but not for those who are new to addition as this game is simply too hard and too fast for them to succeed at, but a good game for older kids that they enjoy. I think this will be a hit with adults as well, especially regarding the music which is, by far, my favorite part of this application.

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

World of Safari 123 is an educational app that encourages math practice as one earns the ability to add animals to a safari landscape, customizing it further with objects such as flowers, rocks or a jeep. There are 15 animals to ultimately add, and it is fun to be able to change the color of these aniamls.

It is interesting how this app is designed to keeps track of the time of day that one is playing with this game, the color of the sky corresponding in turn. One can also shake the device or tap a button to changes the sky background, going from darkness at night and a full moon to a bright day with the sun in the sky as well as a few sunset choices, each nice to look at. These skies, combined with the ability to also change the color and texture of the safari’s grass from green to yellow, including choices in between create many varied possibilities for your personal safari.

Tilt the device or scroll with a finger left or right, making the landscape move in either direction as you look for your animals, and do tap an animal to see what happens. One also has the option of taking photos of the decorated landscapes. Continued math activities earns more animals and objects to personalize the space. All of these choices are thought out nicely and add something to this app’s gameplay in general.

There are five levels involving counting, adding and subtracting as this app which is geared to preschool and kindergarten children, and it is nice that my my three year old is able to answer the earlier sections. I really enjoy the African beat that this app’s music has, but it would be nice to have control over the congratulatory sound effects one hears after answers these questions, as their encouraging cheers can be loud and may be distracting for some.

I like the choice of math questions used here, and I appreciate that a hint button is available for when a child feels stuck, a nice touch. I think the acquisition of these animals is a good way to encourage children to practice their math skills, but my only issue is that the animals and other details seem small-looking on the screen, at least on the iPhone version of this game, as it is available for both iPhone as well as iPad. This may be a concern for only those in middle age, but I get the sensation of needing to put on my glasses when looking at this app, even when I am wearing my glasses. However, I have heard no complaints about the size of things from my son.

I understand that the smallness of these details in the landscape is in part done to create a lot of space as one can add up to 15 animals roaming around the screen at once, plus many decorative choices as well, but for me, it is very hard to see the details in each animal – something that I typically enjoy from animal apps, but this is probably less of an issue in the iPad version.

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

Bob Books #1 – Reading Magic brings the Bob Books series to life as a fun, engaging and very educational interactive application that helps pre-readers become early readers as they practice letter recognition, phonic sounds and beginner spelling. As with other Learning Touch apps, do check out the options as many thoughtful choices are included, personalizing the experience. Versions for both iPhone and iPad are available.

I really enjoy using this application with my three year old son. In a creative and fun way, this app uses short and simple words as well as sight words that make up easy sentences which become animated scenes acting out what is being described, such as “Mat sat” or “Sam has a cat.”

The various objects or persons used in these sentences also become the focus of a very nice word game where one matches up the letters that make up the spelling of the word in question, dragging and dropping these letters to their rightful places in letter boxes that together make up this specific word.

I think it is especially nice how the illustrations used in these word games are black and white but turn to color when the word puzzle is solved, and I appreciate how an animated scene which follows the puzzle completion also turns from black and white to color, as this scene nicely follows through on what has been learned.

This delivery would make this app not only a nice learning letters-and-phonics exercise, but also an exercise for learning basic vocabulary, object as well as verb comprehension, and as a useful as a tool for kids learning English as a second language, as well as for kids with special needs as it teaches not only the principles of reading and spelling, but also the basics of how to communicate with words.

I am happy that one gets to choose either letters or phonics to be used during these word games, as either the letter names or phonic sounds are spoken when a letter is tapped during these exercises and again when the game is complete to emphasize what has been learned. These options make this app appropriate for kids new to letter recognition as well as for early readers familiar with phonics, and it is great that this app will grow with a child taking them through many levels of literacy development. This app is content-rich, with 12 scenes and 32 words – just the right length for my son who showed signs of not being 100 percent focused only as the last scene was finishing up. Until then, he was very engaged and eager to play this game.

This app includes four levels of difficulty, ranging from being able to copy the letters as one drags and drops letters to their rightful places, as one it able to match the spelling seen in the letter boxes. Later, one can still copy the spelling, but the words must be completed from left to right in correct spelling order. The difficulty progresses to where one cannot copy the spelling, and finally, one must choose the correct letters as well as extra letters that are mixed in, adding difficulty to these puzzles. I also really like that these last two levels use other words from these sentences as puzzle words as well, including the use of sight words. These levels can change automatically, or one can choose a specific level for all 12 scenes, adding many options for game play and much newness each time this app is used.

It is also very nice to see that even when this app was closed, it re-opened to the scene last played, and one can also scroll through a section of this app to choose a specific scene to start from as well.

I am very impressed with this creative learning app, and I am very impressed with Bob Books in general after playing with this application. I will be on the lookout for a set of Bob Books for my son, as I want him to experience these types of educational activities as apps, but in their classic form as well. For more information, please look at bobbooks.com, and iTunes for more info about this app, as well as the other very good learning apps from Learning Touch.

By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, Just For Fun, Language, Matching, Math, Phonics, Preschool, Primary School, Reading, Reviews, Special Needs, Stories, Toddlers