“Little Red Riding Hood” is an ebook app based on the classic folk tale. It’s the story of a little girl who finds herself in peril when she encounters a big, bad wolf on her way to visit her grandmother. This application made a strong impression on me for a few different reasons. First, I was shocked to experience this tale again as an adult. I found this “children’s story” as fitting a bedtime story as an R-rated movie: the girl and grandmother are tricked and eaten by a wolf, the huntsman saves them by cutting open then shooting the wolf; later, another wolf tries to eat them, so they set a trap and drown him. Sheesh… maybe I’m in denial, or perhaps I’m still suffering from PTSD after hearing this story as a kid, but I don’t remember it being so graphic and violent. Okay, so enough of my rant… on to my review. There are few positives and a few negatives. The introduction and directions for the app are clearly stated and make navigation easy. The illustrations are beautifully done with a soft and fluid quality, and each page is well-proportioned to the iPhone screen. Unfortunately, the English translation and narration of this story are poorly done. The text and narration are fraught with poor grammar and phrasing – undesirable qualities when teaching kids to read. I did notice that some iTunes user reviews gave high marks to the Chinese translation, so I wonder if the Chinese version is superior.

By App Feature, Preschool, Primary School, Reading, Reviews, Toddlers

The newly released picture book – “1 Little Boy” – takes a refreshing and innovative approach to interactive children’s applications. It is the original story of a little boy who goes on a fantastical journey and along the way is joined by a variety of animal characters from cherished classic tales. The app was carefully contemplated and executed with tremendous attention to detail. The text has a delightful sing-song rhyme and rhythm, the illustrations are remarkably attractive, and the narration is clearly and distinctly enunciated. You can interact with the story in several ways; you can touch each character to hear different sounds and expressions, touch the screen to have characters appear, and record your own voice to narrate the story. It’s a great educational resource, too. Kids are learning on several levels; they can read along with they narrator, they have the opportunity to count and recite numbers, and they can indentify different animals and their sounds. I’m HUGE fan of this application…”1 Little Boy” is a picture-perfect addition to our virtual bookshelf, and it’s an imaginative, refreshing, and amusing way to teach my son.

Animals, By Age Range, By App Feature, Counting, Preschool, Primary School, Reading, Reviews, Sounds, Toddlers

This unique application targets young kids who are acquiring basic vocabulary and early language skills. “Learn to Talk” facilitates lessons with 160 interactive audio flashcards developed by a speech pathologist and is thoughtfully designed to progress based on how toddlers typically learn patterns of speech and language. My son and I are currently working on the first lesson which is “high impact words”; these are comfort words and the first building blocks toward further language progression. Next, the application moves through label/object words, one word actions, and finally, to two word actions. The user should carefully read the directions to fully utilize the multitude of features offered as it extends the use of these cards and challenges children to master new skills. My son is developing language skills at a typical rate, but I can see how this would be an invaluable tool for caregivers working with kids who are developmentally-delayed or impaired, or with children in multilingual households. Overall, I’m a fan of this app but I must admit that I found it a bit challenging to navigate the interface settings and features. A young child might get confused and frustrated without the assistance of an adult helping them.

By Age Range, By App Feature, Language, Phonics, Preschool, Reading, Reviews, Spelling, Toddlers

“The Tortoise and the Hare” is the classic tale where the slow and perseverant Tortoise wins the race against the jaunty and overconfident Hare. It is the third animated storybook by the talented maker of “The Little Red Hen” and “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” and lives up to its predecessors. This series of storybook apps truly sets the bar for children’s ebooks for the following reasons: the illustrations that are rich, inviting and beautifully executed, the narrator has a sweet, melodic voice, and the stories are beyond entertaining – they also impart valuable ethical lessons to our little ones. My son and I love how the books are interactive allowing us to click on the characters as we read with the illustrations coming to life with whimsical expressions and sounds. The only limitation is the language option. While other Kidztory storybooks have multiple language options, “The Tortoise and the Hare” is currently offered in English only.

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

The Queen Bee storybook app is adapted from the classic Grimm’s fairy tale. It’s the story of three brothers who go in search of adventure and face difficult challenges to win the heart of the princess. In the end, it’s the slow, “simpleton” brother who prevails by showing kindness and goodwill toward others. The application interface is intuitive, the text is easy to read, and the narration is nicely paced. I appreciate the moralistic lesson and positive message this story exemplifies for children. It’s formatted like an actual book with two pages of illustrated scenes represented on the screen at once. In fact, it looks much like a scanned book rather than original illustrations and it doesn’t scale well. I can’t help but think the book could be enhanced by representing just one scene per page. Regardless of the formatting, the Queen Bee by Storychimes is a welcome addition to the realm of storybook apps.

By Age Range, By App Feature, Preschool, Primary School, Reading, Reviews, Toddlers

Dictionary.com is a reference application that includes a dictionary, thesaurus, and word-of-the-day option, and also keeps a log of the most recent word searches. Reference words are quickly and easily accessed directly from the app, which can potentially save the user time and frustration from dealing with an unreliable internet connection. The best feature of all – and what helps make this app superior to traditional book versions – is the audio pronunciation. Now, not only do I understand what I’m reading and writing, but I can impress my peers with profound, polysyllabic words without fear of butchering the pronunciation. One might argue this application is the best-of-its-kind, but there’s absolutely no doubt that Dictionary.com is a “must-have” for students and curious minds of all ages.

By Age Range, By App Feature, For Parents, High School +, Middle School, Phonics, Primary School, Reading, Reviews

The children’s application Bumblebee Touchbook offers two main features. The first is “read and book” and the other is “watch a movie.” The book section is interactive and educational, while the movie portion is a 3-D animated short featuring adorable bumbling bees. When my son and I first played this application, I expected a passive book reading experience; we soon learned it was much more of a teaching tool with learning activities focusing on word recognition and counting. The lessons are concise and simple, but exquisitely done with graphics that have Pixar-like quality and charm. We especially enjoy the bumblebee movie, set to Tchaikovsky’s classical tune “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies”, which is reminiscent of my favorite Disney films “Fantasia”.

By Age Range, By App Feature, Counting, Music, Preschool, Reading, Reviews, Toddlers

In the Rescue of Ginger, our protagonists Madera the monkey and Figaro the frog go on a quest to find Mrs. Applebottom’s cat. There’s much to offer with this engaging application. The straightforward introduction gives verbal instead of written instructions – fitting since the target population for this game is kids just learning to read – and the characters (especially the mice) are endearing, playful, and full of cunning humor. There are over 100 interactive elements and this application engages the audience in active participation to solve problems along the way (think Dora the Explorer). From an educational perspective, this application encourages critical thinking and learning opportunities for color, shape, size, and number identification. The makers Lyn and Line are on to something very special and I’m eagerly waiting to join in the next adventure of Madera and Figaro.

Animals, By App Feature, Counting, Language, Matching, Preschool, Reading, Reviews, Shapes, Toddlers

Mr. Crab is hungry! Help him collect the numbers to trace the letters and make a word, then tilt the iPhone so the letters get gobbled up by the spinning wheel. Once a word is complete, you hear the word pronounced and see a child-like drawing of the word. It’s time for a new word when the spinning wheel eats all the letters. You can choose to write uppercase or lowercase letters, or numbers. I cannot say enough good things about this app! It’s awesome for preschoolers who are just learning to write. It provides three opportunities for a child to learn through writing the letters, visualizing the word and the picture, and hearing the word. The app goes even further by saying “good job” or “excellent” before moving on. This one is definitely worth the money, but if you want to save a buck, you can buy cheaper versions that offer only upper or lowercase letters.

Animals, Counting, Preschool, Reading, Reviews

Cucumber Soup is the story of a group of garden insects who try to move a cucumber that has fallen onto an anthill. They learn that in small groups or alone they aren’t able to move the cucumber but by working collectively they accomplish their goal. The insects then rejoice by sharing a feast of cucumber soup. There are three qualities of this storybook app that are especially appealing. First, the story conveys a valuable moral lesson that united together great feats can be realized that couldn’t be accomplished alone. Further, the design promotes counting, word recognition and comprehension by highlighting text and narration simultaneously thereby contributing to both auditory and visual learning. Finally, the app goes beyond storytelling to give a brief description of the ten different insects featured in the garden and provides a recipe for cucumber soup.

Animals, By Age Range, Counting, Preschool, Primary School, Reading, Reviews, Stories, Toddlers