Price: $2.99


Download on iTunes

Wee Alphas Review

Our Review

Wee Alphas is a very nice alphabet app for young children which hides each letter in a larger animal image, complete with whimsical rhyme, fun upbeat music and mild interaction.

This will be a delightful first app to share with babies or toddlers new to letters. Adults may need to help young users find each hidden letter, and they may need to explain some of the fun rhymes included, such as “Finnegan the Fox writes flippant film critiques,” keeping this app enjoyable for adults who will be spending a lot of time on letter apps such as this.

Part seek-and-find, young children will enjoy how the discovered letter lights up when found tucked with animal images – each bright, colorful and highly stylized with sound effects and animated moments, yet minimal as to not be distracting.

Another nice element is how when each letter is tapped and transforms as the focal point of the page in bold orange, the corresponding letter found in the included text also turns from black to orange – further highlighting the use of these letters within sentences.

The music included is upbeat and enjoyable, as are the interactions provided, often mild movements, but also including some witty interactions adults will smile at, such as moving iPad around to help Ingrid the Impala imagine deep sea diving, to tapping Jose the Jellyfish to see him glow in different colors and hear soothing chimes.

I also like how later in this app, multiple letter animals relate to one another, sometimes sharing the page, allowing “K,” “l,” and “M” to join together to become a singing trio as well as the other musical elements included, such as a break-dancing panda or a yodeling yeti.

Parents will notice that each of these descriptive sentences per each letter does not stand alone, but also rhythms within the larger context of this app as a whole.

Because of this, some of the wit which could be deemed odd for a kids’ app, such as a teasing turtle, a raccoon with fat ears, or vulture with “good hair,” is worth noting, although I don’t think this is a major flaw within this app.

A section allowing children to choose a favorite letter to trace, as is included an end page full of the interactive animals found throughout, allowing children to explore these creatures again and again.

It is also nice that one has the choice of listening to included narration or not, as well as silencing the charming, sometimes circus-like and always upbeat music and other included sound effects.

I did have a serious crash on my iPad while enjoying this app, re-installing seems to have done the trick in rectifying this problem, but I hope this issue can be smoothed out soon.

All in all, this is a nice letters app that parents will enjoy spending time with alongside their children.

dataOctober 4th, 2012 by Amy Solomon Share

Application Detail

Wee Alphas

Wee Alphas


Download on iTunesDeveloper: Wee Society LLC
Released: 2012-08-06 00:00:00
Price: $2.99

Description from the Developer

A Cool Mom Tech "Pick of the Year 2012," Wee Alphas from Wee Society is an interactive book and game app designed for preschoolers and their parents to play together.

★★★★★ (highest rating) "The coolest thing about WEE ALPHAS is that it takes the approach that just because kids need to learn the basics like ABCs, doesn't mean they have to be bored. In fact, this app is quirky enough to entertain the parents playing the app with the kids ... Wee Alphas is a standout example of a fun, quality preschool education app."
-Dana Villamagna, Common Sense Media

"A is for amazing adorable animal alphabet app from Wee Society. Impalas deep sea diving, vultures with beehive hairdos, sneezing squirrels – they're all part of a new crazy clever alphabet app with illustrations so quirky and modern that I want to hang them on my kiddo's wall. But even better, this app isn't just a bunch of pretty pictures. It's amazingly educational too … [and] learning basics doesn't have to be boring. You just can't beat a fox doing film critiques."
-Pilar Clark, Cool Mom Tech

"Brilliant! It's fun for kids, and not at all boring for adults. So smart, simple, intriguing, thoughtful and well-designed. It's quite possibly a cosmic sign signifying the end of kids' books printed on paper."
-Charles S. Anderson, world renowned designer and founder, CSA Design Company and CSA Images

"I love it! My favorite is Charlie the Chipmunk because he has a cheese flag and I like cheese. Also I tap tap tap and change Violet's hair to a ponytail or something." (giggle) "My special letter is Q."
-Quinn, age 3

"Hipster parents rejoice! A fabulously designed app called Wee Alphas is here!! The beautifully stylized animal characters in Wee Alphas makes one think of Mid-Century Modern meeting Sesame Workshop ... a visually stunning, fun-to-use app for kids."
-YogiPlay

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The somewhat silly stories and quirky illustrations of Alexander the Angelfish, Biki the Buffalo, and their furry, feathered or finned friends, are full of surprises.

Find each letter of the alphabet hidden in the animals, activate animations, and then practice drawing your own special letter - set to rad music by Rabbit!

Fun features include:
-Interactive animations that respond to touch, encourage discovery and promote pre-literacy skills.
-Music, narration and sound effects from indie rock band Rabbit!
-Letter highlighting that helps reinforce ABCs.
-A sketchpad to practice drawing your special letter.
-Tips for parents to create teaching moments.

Screenshots

(click screen shot to enlarge)