Every week can be Shark Week when exploring Discovery Kids Sharks. This very content-rich app for iPad packs in a plethora of information about these aquatic creatures.

Six nicely interactive sections are included that teach kids about where sharks live, the types of sharks that exist, shark features, feeding and family life, as well as a sticker section that one can explore, adding sticker packs that one collects as the discovery challenges are successfully completed.

The question of where sharks live is nicely answered with a world map that is marked with shark hotspots. A tap in the correct space delivers a shark trading card of sorts that can be flipped over to read such details as the habitat in which these sharks live, the food they eat, info about the speed in which they swim, and the size they grow to. They also include a Top Fact about every fish, making each unique. These cards can also be shared by email if one chooses.

Once these sharks are found across the globe, one can partake in a discovery challenge to win a sticker pack. This challenge tests the info absorbed during this section, with element of fun as well.

Here, one must match the shark in question to its corresponding cutout, also answering the question about each specific shark. I appreciate the included puzzle aspect being incorporated, as this allows one to match the outline of each shark, making it possible for children to succeed here even if they do not remember all the answers correctly.

The types of sharks are explored as one goes on an underwater photo expedition, lining up sharks in the sight of one’s underwater camera. These photos are transformed into info cards full of interesting shark facts, the completion of this task leading to a discover challenge where one must match the color, markings and other details that make up shark features and match these skin swatches to a corresponding shark outline.

Shark feeding is accomplished with a fun game: after scrolling though possible choices, choose a shark with a tap and and check out what it likes to eat as well as other facts found within its included info card, tilt the iPad to move the shark around looking for prey, tapping a side button to eat the smaller creature.

The family life of sharks is introduced with a fun peek-a-boo game of sorts as one scrolls through the bottom of the ocean looking for movement or air bubbles coming from behind an obstruction which hides baby sharks. Here one is challenged by matching the shark to the facts offered and to the corresponding head of each shark, allowing kids to use the outline as a further clue. Questions including whether the pup sharks are born alive or if an egg is released are also included.

After each discovery challenge is complete, children will receive five new stickers per stocker pack to add to their underwater scene that one can decorate.

I like how here, one can scroll side to side, creating a lot of space one can decorate and adults will enjoy how these stickers are offered to the players in a small Mylar bag, reminiscent of how trading cards from my childhood were packaged.

There is really a lot of information offered within this app, making it a great educational tool. We enjoy shark week as well, but I worry that sometimes content may be intense for my sensitive son.

This is not a concern here, making it a great choice for shark lovers of all ages, but be aware that this app does not contain narration, making this a good choice for later grade school or younger children provided an adult or older child is willing to read the text out loud.

The look of the sharks and various other illustrations is terrific – very realistic and with the bold colors one would expect from marine life.

Each of these sections has an included video that plays as an intro to the subject matter. These videos look wonderful as well, sometimes including interesting electronic music that really adds to the experience. Other times, the music has a decidedly different tone more reminiscent of that from a horror film or akin to the theme from Jaws.

This choice may be appropriate for the feeding section, although no graphic footage is shown, creating a theme for this section that may be appropriate from the view of the creatures these sharks eat, as to them – these sharks are indeed very scary.

I don’t, however, understand the scary music choices for the videos chosen for the shark features or family life sections, as here the dark tone created by this kind of music does not add to the topic at hand and to me seems like a judgment call of some sort, negative to sharks in general.

The tone created with this negative, slasher-movie-appropriate music, although a very short sample and video, is in great contrast especially in the family video, as here a lovely scene of pups swimming in unison under their momma’s belly are introduced with the use of aggressive music that does not at all illustrate the footage of family love.

The interesting electronic music used in the first two sections makes these video clips wondrous and even a little surreal – fantastic choices to go along with the videos in this app. The other, horror-like music, actually may make these videos less child-friendly to the most sensitive of children, which is the only flaw I found within this application.

I do enjoy everything else this app has to offer. The use of the trading cards that one can refer to later is a great way of organizing the vast amount of information offered within this app, which can also be emailed to a friend if one chooses. Each interactive section is intuitive and fun, as are the challenges.

I did, however, have some problems with the feeding section as sometimes the food listed was not recognized as a correct answer, now leaving the player to use trial and error to find the correct oceanic animal to eat – an issue I hope can be looked into.

Having said this, it is nice that this section not only allows one to tilt the iPad, but one can also tap the fish one is looking to eat as well, or drag a finger for the shark to follow – helpful for those not skilled at tilt games, such as myself.

This would make a great app for families or in an educational setting as the included games go a long way in introducing shark data in a way that stays engaging. I like that these challenges are in no way timed, and one can make wrong answers without any sort of penalty.

The theme music found on the main menu page is fun, upbeat and with a rock influence older kids and adults will enjoy, but I do take some issue with some of the other music used. Even with this issue, this is a very worthwhile app, especially to families that have a young shark lover.

Animals, Art, By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, Geography, Health, Just For Fun, Nature, Preschool, Primary School, Reading, Reviews, Science, Social

WeirdButTrue is a very fun and interesting National Geographic app that brings intriguing facts and an interactive design for both iPad and iPhone.

Very easy to use, the app is a random fact generator filled with interesting tidbits that kids and adults will enjoy. Each page has its own weird but true information, with bright colors and many vivid photos of related images used to illustrate what is being explained, and I also appreciate the creative use of fonts and design in general to fit the text onto the page in most interesting ways possible. These facts can be about animals, the human body, toys and other topics as the app has a plethora of information and it is great fun how varied sound effects are used per each page that in some way relate to the fact being presented.

Although this app is not narrated, I can’t imagine adults not enjoying these interesting facts on their own as they read these pages to their children. Nicely interactive, children will enjoy turning the page as a very satisfying flip sound is heard, as well have the ability for a variety of animals to singularly pop onto the screen saying “That’s Weird,” when a button is tapped from the menu bar to the right of the screen. One can also mark a fact as a favorite, and it is fun that the information is saved within this app with the tap of a heart icon, making the heart bounce around the screen like a ball in a pinball machine – a nice interactive touch. One can also email friends facts if one wishes, and there is a Weird-o-Meter included as well which allows readers to give feedback to National Geographic about how weird one thinks specific facts are. This information is then compiled in the “Top Weird-O-Meter Facts,” letting app users see what others think is the oddest information.

I really enjoy this app. I have always been a fan of this type of information, as I have very fond memories of shows like “In Search Of” and later “Ripley’s Believe it or Not” as a child, and I am happy that this app brings this strange but true information so conveniently to devices.

I also enjoy the facts that National Geographic has chosen to share here, as there is a very nice balance between weird and child-friendly. This app may be an acquired taste of sorts, but I have not found any facts that I think would be inappropriate or too scary for children, except for maybe the most timid of children who are obviously not a good fit for this application.

There are a lot of memorable facts used here, most of which adults will enjoy as much as children will, like how koalas and humans have similar fingerprints, how male ostriches can roar like lions, or that there are 29 different shades of red from Crayola. I enjoy how pithy the text is per page, allowing one to scroll a good number of these pages in a short amount of time – a great distraction for young and old alike. Younger kids will really enjoy having these fun facts read to them as well as interacting with this app.

I also think app would be especially nice for reluctant readers as well, because each of these sentences is short but packs a punch in terms of interest and oddness that will have kids turning each page eager to see what is next, as did I, feeling mildly addicted to this app and spending longer than necessary in reading these facts for review purposes.

It is also nice that one can easily Google for more information about any of these topics, oftentimes with the further details of these stories adding to the strangeness. An example is “Mike the Chicken,” who survived 18 months without a head, something I promptly googled to get the complete story. Used this way, this would be a great resource for teaching grade schoolers how to search online in order to research subjects of interest – a vital skill to learn for today’s students.

It is nice that a “Fact Finder” is included within this app, being a glossary of sorts for organizing the information offered here from A to Z, but I think it would also be nice if in the future, one could search by subject as well. This may make this app less random in general, but this may be a good thing for my son who is sometimes animal-obsessed and other times more interested in fun food facts.

I do hope that in the future this app can be updated. Currently, there are over 300 facts included, making this content-rich and a lot of fun, but I can see heavy users of this app desiring more content in the future. All-in-all, a great choice of educational app for kids of varied ages as well as adults.

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Food Heroes is an application for iPad consisting of activities focused on teaching nutritious food choices with the nice use of colorful and fun illustrations.

A simple matching game is included where the player turns over cards looking for pairs – here with a healthy food theme.

A coloring page is also offered where children can fill in these drawings as well as food themes, with the tap of a color and the drag of a finger. An eraser is offered here. Players also have the ability to control the size of the line used when filling in these pages, and one can save his work as well – always nice options to have.

For me, the best section of this app is the included word puzzle. A list of eight words is included to the right of the screen, and the player must find these words within the grid of letters center screen. This is such a classic kids activity that I am surprised that I do not come across more of these types of word games in applications. The best feature of all is that as one finds these hidden words, very nice children’s narration offers fun facts about each food word discovered, making this nicely educational.

This app is a nice choice for early grade schoolers once they are able to manage the word puzzles. I really enjoy the fun facts used here, as the information offered here is interesting to adults and children alike, and it is great that different words are used each time this word puzzle is played – excellent for re-play value – but I have found a few glitches where words do not offer the fun sentence I have learned to expect here, something I hope that can be worked out in a future update.

Parents will also appreciate the fact that each activity includes music with its own fun and upbeat sound, be it a mild country theme, jazzy, or with a slight Hawaiian flair.

All-in-all, a nice experience, with the word puzzles and info offered, making this app a nice educational experience.

By Age Range, By App Feature, Health, Just For Fun, Matching, Nature, Preschool, Primary School, Puzzle, Reviews, Science

StoryBox is a very nice digital magazine for kids based on the award winning children’s magazine of the same name and based in the UK.

My son and I have enjoyed all that this app has to offer, as this digital magazine is compiled of six sections to enjoy, including a lovely story about a cow who won’t moo, two non-fiction sections, one that explore why airplanes leave trails in the sky and a section on humpback whales. There are some nice kite-themed activities, a fun comic book section and a charming story styled with separate panels but with no text – just creative illustrations to follow, complete with lovely music to listen to.

It is nice that one can either move from story to story within this app or return home to the contents page to make the next story choice.

I do have a few favorite parts that I would like to share. My son and I especially enjoy the Story Time section – How About A Moo – about a calf who wakes up one morning without making her typical moo sounds. Everyone on the farm tries to cajole this poor animal to making this sound until the gentleness shown by her mom makes everything right again. As a mother, I really enjoy the ending of this book as it has a tender message that parents will especially appreciate. There are some nice, subtle movements throughout this story with nice effect. Adorned with beautiful illustrations and few moving details as well, no interactions are offered here, nor do I think that they are needed as this story is quite charming just the way it is.

I have enjoyed the science and animal world sections as well, about airplanes and the trails they leave, as well as all about humpback whales. The airplane is interactive, giving the readers a chance to tap speech bubbles and text found that explain this phenomenon. The illustrations used within the humpback whales article are especially impressive and great information is provided about how these creatures trap and eat sardines without being overly graphic, yet full of interesting details that will engage readers of any age.

I like that one can zoom in and out to see the details of the comic area, and that one can watch a video of SamSam on You tube as well. There are kite-themed games and activities also included, mostly well translated from the traditional paper magazine that I imagine this app is based on and it is good that one can save the drawing one has colored, as a coloring book page is also included here. However, there are no instructions as to how to figure out the activity concerned which child is flying a specific kite in one of this app’s sections. I was able to figure out how to maneuver this game after a few minutes, but I don’t know if kids would easily understand what to do, and a hint at gameplay would be a nice inclusion.

Polo is the last section of this app, interesting as this tale that is told in a series of panels much like a comic book and is expressed without words. Here, a dog falls asleep to then be awakened by a yellow, glowing object climbing into his window from a rope. Intrigued, this dog climbs out of his window on this rope which ultimately leads him into space.

The piano music accompanying this section is wonderful, sleepy and even a bit melancholy. I do have mixed emotions about the ending of this tale, however, as it is “to be continued” later. I understand that serial comics and other stories have a long tradition and not uncommon in magazines, and I would be less bothered by this if I had bought a full subscription to a traditional magazine as this would insure that my son would receive the next installment of this story. However, I am not a huge fan of needing to buy additional add-ons or apps to continue reading. I do enjoy this wordless narrative very much though, because combined with the music, it creates an experience very creative and even a little moving, I simply wanted more.

I really enjoy StoryBox as I appreciate the content offered. Other apps like this may be more interactive, but I think the balance between the classic and simple storytelling, both narrative as well as documentary style, along with interactive games, activities, and other areas is nicely done.

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

Trees are Best FACT is a lovely, educational and nicely interactive storybook app for iPad. This storybook a first-person account from the mouth of eight year old Oliver T. Baker, who is a great tree enthusiast. I think that it is super cute that this book is told from Oliver’s point-of-view and opens up to the mild rantings of this child, as he is in conflict with another student who does not share his interest in trees. The rest of this book includes the varied reasons why Oliver is so taken with trees, teaching children about the wonders of nature. The look of this app is quite nice and I love the many different colors, textures and styles used throughout these pages. The images themselves are wonderfully drawn and interesting to look at, and I enjoy that some photographs and other mediums are also included within the pages of this application.

The interactions are great as well and combine many styles, creating a multi-media experience as one page consists of picture frames hanging from a tree. I enjoy tapping these frames as they become brightly colored images of trees when tapped and one of these frames takes one to a page where the reader can draw his own tree, saving it within this frame as well. I love how another frame enlarges with a touch, revealing a video of the changing leaves in fall, a very nice moment in this multi media application. Some interesting uses of fonts are also found here, and I like the basic design of this book very much.

I really appreciate how a question mark at the top left of the page can be tapped to show hints involving the interactive hot spots, very helpful in uncovering interactions that may go unnoticed without these clues. I am always happy to see some kind of help offered during interactive experiences, and I am glad that this is offered within this app.

It is also very nice that one page is dedicated to the area of tree climbing, with lots of tidbits to read and enjoy by oneself – a fun inclusion that I used when my son asked if he could climb the trees in our yard, explaining to him why our trees are not ideal. There are also added bits of whimsy relating to the benefits of “spring shoes” in aiding one’s climbing ability as well as the faint images reminiscent of architectural drawing used, which add some interesting details to these lovely illustrations. I also like the page dedicated to the “loads of cool things about trees” as this page gives some nice information about the changes that leaves go through during fall and winter as well as the different bark found on specific species of trees, explained nicely with simple interactions and included photographs.

It is darling how this book ends with Oliver acting as a tree in the school play – a really fun image that kids as well as parents will enjoy because a child playing the equivalent of a tree is certainly a universal experience.

My only note for this app is that I would like to be able to do these interactions indefinitely instead of once per page, like the blowing out of candles as the narrator explains how the age of a tree by counting its rings, without toggling back and forth between pages. Other examples exist as well, and making these interactions able to be performed more than once would add to an already fun and educational experience. Having said this, I recommend this book as it has great visual style, creative interactions with hints and fun, thoughtful content.

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

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

Ansel & Clair’s Adventures in Africa is a highly impressive educational interactive with large variety of information about Africa provided.

I feel fortunate to have been given the chance to review many educational apps and after experiencing many interactive games aimed at teaching children, I must say that I am very impressed with the quality, subject matter and overall immersive experience created by Ansel & Clair’s Adventures in Africa.

Meet Ansel, a travel photographer from planet Virtoos, and Clair, the Virtoosian robot who accompanies Ansel on his journey to Africa. Help Ansel take photos of animals, plants, and other important places and objects in three different locales in Africa, specifically the Nile Valley, Sahara Desert and the Serengeti Plains, learning a vast amount of knowledge along
the way. While flying to these areas, their space ship, the Marley Peterson, loses parts needed to fly back to the home planet. Help Ansel and Clair find these parts that have fallen from Marley, looking for them as the player goes about taking photos and learning about Africa. After the photos are taken, be sure to help Ansel match these photos to the correct areas in his travel log. It is especially nice how actual photographs of these objects are incorporated, showing the player real images of what they are photographing, a very nice touch that I greatly enjoy.

I think using intergalactic travelers to teach about Africa is a wonderful choice, as the use of Ansel, a true outsider, allows the players to explore the varied objects found in Africa in very fun and educational ways and creates situations for interesting comparisons to be made involving information young players may already know, such as Ansel thinking that humans keep all cats as pets – even lions or how Ansel is mistaken when he assumes humans eat all plants, not just some. I really appreciate the use of Clair, being a robot with a plethora of information she doles out at each opportunity.

I also like the fact that this app does not shy away from dangers one may find in Africa, such as possibly getting lost in a pyramid or coming across a potentially dangerous or poisonous animal. This info can be cautionary in nature but is never scary or over the top. I appreciate this info as very refreshing as we have many apps that are pure warm and fuzzy when involving animals and it is time my three year old is aware that some animals are not always friendly, especially since we live in an area where there are wild and potentially dangerous animals are rarely found in city limits, as well as the possibility of venomous snakes, spiders, or scorpions we need to be aware of.

The details of all the objects in this app are wonderful, realistic, beautiful and highly detailed. The animals all move slightly as they breathe, the trees sway in the wind and the Nile’s currents move slightly as boats also sway back and forth. Each area of this app has a lot to explore, not only in the animal, plant and other objects to photograph and learn about, but one can also experience the Serengeti in both the dry and wet seasons, learning about migration as well as watching snow fall on Mt. Kilimanjaro. One can explore both day and night time in the Sahara and learning about nocturnal animals, something I especially enjoyed.

Five mini-games are spread throughout this app that involves the pyramids, the lifecycle of frogs, a maze involving the reunification of mom and baby animals, matching the fur or skin to the correct animal and also a clock puzzle. Each of these games has three levels of difficulty, a nice touch. There is also a interactive 3D globe used to help the space ship find Africa in the beginning of this game. Do take the time to explore this globe, tapping the other continents as well to hear their names narrated. Personally, I really enjoyed looking through Ansel’s travel lot, arranging them where they need to by matching the photo’s taken with simple drawing of these same objects.

The content this app involving geography and life science is certainly impressive. I really like how extensive the info is about Egypt, with an abundance of history information. Some objects included have additional light bulbs one can tap for “Clairvision,” learning more in depth about a certain subject, such as mummies or migration.

It is very worthwhile to check out the info section of this app as it explains in great detail how the interface works. I greatly appreciate the explanation of what each interaction in each section has to offer and how it can be found. This master key is wonderful, very helpful when looking for a specific interaction that one may have missed on his own or when looking for a specific mini-game requested by one’s child. The intro to this app is equally as helpful to a first time player, but it would be nice if one could skip this and continue on with the game if they so choose.

This is an app highly recommended for both grade school classrooms as well as home use, and I suspect older kids and adults will sneak off and to play this game themselves there is so much to offer at any age group.

I hope to see Ansel and Clair visit other continents as well. This app’s approach to learning is fantastic, creative, and very immersive. I am very excited to see such apps be developed, I wish learning tools such as this were available when I was a child.

Animals, By Age Range, By App Feature, Creativity, Geography, Just For Fun, Middle School, Nature, Preschool, Primary School, Reviews, Science

Backyard at Twilight: A Stella and Sam Adventure is a lovely storybook app from the developers at Zinc Roe which also includes three mini-games that work perfectly to let children interact directly within this wonderful story. Based on the Stella and Sam series of books and television show, this interactive app is watched much like a video, also giving the user a chance to be engaged with these activities. A pulldown menu includes the breakdown of this story into both chapters and games, allow for quick access to a specific point in this app, a nice touch.

This is the second Stella and Sam app I have had the pleasure of reviewing, and I must say that my son has become a huge Stella and Sam fan very quickly. This application, like the others in this series of apps, focuses on the relationship of sister and brother duo, Stella and Sam and their adventures engaging in classic activities and exploring the great outdoors.

Here, Stella and Sam are camping out in their backyard. I love Stella’s take on the world around her, as she tells her little brother that “The Night Giant” is coming, this app taking place during dusk as the sun is rapidly going down and the moon is becoming more visible. Her answers to Sam’s myriad of questions is equally charming, explaining such things as how fireflies are not on fire but carry very tiny night lights. I have come to really appreciate banter between these two children – so very imaginative – not just the questions that younger Sam is always asking, but in the answers older sister Stella comes up with.

The children who lend their voices for these characters do great jobs, with the voices bringing a richness to this story that I really enjoy. I find the social aspect of how Stella takes care of Sam quite charming, loving the stylized choice of excluding adults within these stories.

The visual look of this app is as delightful as the story itself, containing wonderful, colorful illustrations and watercolor skies which I love to look at. I appreciate the choice to set this story at twilight, allowing the sky in one of the mini-games involving the tapping of fireflies to make shapes, to be a sunset with an effect both subtle and grand at the same time. It is also very nice that as one taps these fireflies, they make lovely chime sounds – very relaxing to listen to. I also like that it is mildly challenging to tap these moving fireflies, perfect for preschoolers, as are the geometric shapes they create when all creatures have been tapped.

Other mini-games include helping the kids look for bugs caught in their tent with a flashlight, a favorite activity of my son. One is also able to tap stars, which will then connect to each other creating constellations, which also includes soothing chimes as each star is tapped. It is very nice that each activity can be played over again if one chooses, with each new game different from the last. Parents can also use this app as a platform to discuss constellations further if they so choose, as well as additional info about fireflies and the other bugs found in the earlier game, adding to the educational value of this app. This being a new favorite app of my son, my boy has now become very interested in bugs, looking for these imaginary insects all over our house and asking for a flashlight to aid in his searches.

I find this app perfect before bedtime, and I love how the sky in this app gets subtly darker as the story progresses and how the story ends with Stella and Sam heading off to sleep. These stories are so engaging, bringing the viewer into this world, that when Stella tells Sam they are off to bed now, my son follows along and does not fight me when I announce that he too is going to sleep.

My son and I have enjoyed the two Stella and Sam apps, Into the Snow, and Rainy Says very much as well, and I recommend each of them for being of very high quality in every aspect. We are eagerly waiting for the fourth Stella and Sam app, my son asking me often when this is due to be released.

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

Rainy Days: A Stella and Sam Adventure is an iPad app, part of the Stella and Sam series of apps by the developers at zinc Roe, which is a charming and wonderful storybook app which also contains three mini-games, each working seamlessly within this delightful story. A pull-down menu is included allowing one to find specific chapters of this book or a specific mini-game if one chooses, a nice touch.

This app, which is viewed much like a video, is based on the Stella and Sam series of books by Canadian author Marie-Louise Gay. Here, sister and brother friends, Stella and Sam, spend a rainy afternoon together exploring the wonders of the outside. I love how these characters come across like real children, and I am smitten by how Stella answers Sam’s various inquisitive questions, as well as her take on rainy days in general as she speaks with authority, the way a nine year old who fancies herself older would as she takes care of her younger brother. We as adults can see that Stella really views the world the way only a child would, something I found super-cute and endearing.

The characters of Sam and Stella are utterly relatable to kids, with distinct personalities that nicely differ from each other, as Stella is happy it is raining – Sam not so much. I see a lot of my son in Sam as this app opens up with Sam lying on the floor of the living room, using paints and is unprepared for the mess their dog Fred makes as he walks through this art project. Sam, at a loss for how to deal with Fred’s messy paws, asks Stella for help and she takes both Sam and Fred outside to clean Fred’s paws and romp around a bit in the rain.

Their relationship is so very tender and sweet, and I appreciate how no adults take part in this story, reminding me of The Peanuts, but in many ways kinder and gentler as Stella is always nice to her younger brother, if not a wee bit bossy. It is also nice to see these kids use classic activities to entertain themselves, first with a set of paints and then by exploring things found in nature, like a pile of leaves and a pine cone floating in a puddle.

The mini-games included are based on these activities, including the ability to paint with both both dog footprints and kids’ handprints in many colors across the screen as well as digging through a pile of leaves to see what treasures one may find, and helping the pine cone from the story navigate sticks and rocks as it moves across a small body of water. It is a lot of fun seeing these kids get their hands dirty, especially when it is not practical for my son to get down and dirty himself, whether it be on days where it is too cold to realistically go outside, right before bed or a few minutes before dinner time when I don’t want to deal with a large cleanup.

My boy simply loves searching the pile of leaves looking for a frog that jumps around when found. I appreciate how seamlessly these fit into the story with the same quality animation as is the rest of this app, also including cute voice-over prompts from these kids explaining what to do during these mini-games, really making my son feel as if he were taking part in what is going on. Stella and Sam are definitely kids that I would want my son to be friends with, and this app creates such an immersive experience that I am sure my son feels very much a part of this story as he watches it and plays these games.

There will always be critics of children’s use of iPads for stories, especially books that are turned into videos that one can watch like a TV show, but the quality of this app is so remarkable that it will win over the greatest skeptics. I love the voices used for the children, bringing more life to this story than I could if I were just reading this book to my son and the rainy sounds and other subtle sound effects bring a lot of life to this charming app. The illustrations are to be marveled at, with beautiful color choices and lovely details, especially the rainbow that these kids see at the end of this story. My son loves the mini-games a great deal, they engage him nicely and they are wonderful additions to this story.

These Stella and Sam apps are based not only on the series of books, but also on a cable TV show of the same name. We have not been able to see any of these shows yet, but I will keep my eyes open for them as I am happy for my son to watch small amounts of quality programming.

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The Strange and Wonderful World of Ants is a marvelous app for iPad that brings a lot information about ants in a way that is beautifully crafted.

My son and I enjoy this science app very much, as it is loaded with very interesting ant information that I was very impressed with, as I have never spent much time thinking abut ants except for how to avoid any possible infestation. This app taught us about many different types of ants and how they serve the larger goals of the group, be it feeding, protection, or sleeping. I can say that although I would still not a fan of ants if I ever found them in my house, I have a new-found respect for them as a hard working group of creatures that work for the common good. I am very happy for my son to learn this information as it is both fascinating and educational. Non-fiction science apps are not commonplace in the iTunes store; this is a lovely change of pace from our usual storybook apps.

I am impressed with the inclusion of 3 reading levels that will be appropriate for a large range of age groups, as the vocabulary and number of words increase in these sections, making this appropriate for preschool and up to adulthood. The intermediate and advanced sections go into more specifics, which is something older kids and adults will enjoy, but I also admire the quality of writing in the beginner section for its simple prose and almost poetic style of writing.

Narration is included in the beginner section, which is excellent. I really enjoy the narrator’s voice which has a sincere quality and is very well recorded. Music plays throughout this app, which is equally well-done, relaxing and transcends simple background music to something I truly enjoy listening to.

It is nice that one can change the reading level during the use of this app without having to start over from the beginning, an interesting touch that is fun to experiment with while reading this book. The lack of narration in the two more detailed sections encourages older children to read more difficult sections by themselves, but I think narration would be a nice option as well, especially since children may benefit from hearing the more advanced vocabulary like “bivouac” spoken.

What I appreciate the most about this app for my son is how it explains in great detail how wonderfully ants get along and work with each other, a great example in cooperation and socialization that my son, a soon-to-be preschooler can learn from.

The illustrations of this app are simply wonderful, black and white drawings that lush with tremendous detail. I really like how these pages are also filled with a lovely palette of colors like mustard yellows and earthy greens that create large graphic shapes that move and envelope these pages when the pages turn, adding to the beauty of this app.

An interactive feature is also added where one can tap an extremely realistic black ant as he crawls across each page. Here, one gets to read first-person commentary from this ant named E.O. hearing his point of view on what is being covered in each page. I like how even E.O.’s comments are specific to the reading level, I am very happy to read the speech bubbles of E.O. for my son, as I think my reading these short sentences nicely complemented the narration in the beginner section. It would be nice however, if EO’s words were also narrated, they would be understood by pre-readers when they listen to this section alone.

The one thing I don’t understand is why this book states early on that “Ants aren’t very strong. Ant’s are not very very smart” when they, as it is my understanding, are very strong for their size, routinely being able to pick up or move objects that are larger and heaver than their own bodies. To call ants “not very smart” may send the wrong message as this app goes into detail about how sophisticated they are in many ways. In further pages, E.O. also says that ants are smart, leading to more confusion for myself, but not my child who is unfazed by these issues.

Except for the line of the book which gives me momentary pause, I think this is a very special science app. The narration, drawings, and other elements are top-notch in terms of quality. I really appreciate the added glossary and thoughtful questions that parents or teachers can use to lead discussions about lessons learned from this application. Other resources about ants are also included, something very nice for both home and classroom settings. I would love to see more apps from this developer as I would love to hear more about science from their point-of-view.

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