Category Archives: apps for kids

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Avatar Books: Cinderella, PeterPan, Alice in Wonderland,

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These three books from Avatar Book collection for the iPad are currently FREE: Alice in Wonderland, PeterPan, Cinderella. Using these apps, it is really simple to make your child the star of a fairy tale. Just take your child’s picture/use an existing photo, adjust the photo to fit the face line, then watch as your child’s avatar becomes the main character of the fairy tale. The brightly illustrated story is read aloud by a narrator. Because there is no option to read it on your own, it feels more like a movie than a book. The narration is fine but the words are not highlighted for kids to follow along. The appeal of this app is that your child becomes the main character. If you think your child would enjoy that….try one!

AvatarBook Cinderella - JDF Cinderella

AvatarBook PeterPan - JDF PeterPan

AvatarBook Alice in Wonderland - JDF Alice in Wonderland

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Curious George at the Zoo

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Curious George at the Zoo is currently FREE for iPhone/iPad. Designed for preschoolers, this app has kids helping Curious George wake, clean, and feed animals in the zoo. Introduced by the Man with the Yellow Hat (of course), the app then asks your child where he/she would like to go. But, buyer beware  –  there is only one section of zoo (Sunny Safari) included with the initial purchase of the app – normally $.99.

There are 5 animals for kids to learn about in this app – the hippo. giraffe, lion, parrot, and elephant. First they wake the animal up, then they clean it and feed it – fairly simple activities. Also included are age-appropriate video clips about each animal. Kids can play a game (Safari Showers) and collect stickers.

I have always loved Curious George books – the stories are timeless and can be enjoyed by kids from preschool through first/second grade. The simplicity of this app makes it most appropriate for Curious George’s youngest fans (2 – 3 year olds). I am disappointed that kids are given “a choice” of where they would like go in the app when there is only one area available without additional purchases. Choices are presented in a cute pop-up book but 3 out of 4 pages are covered by a huge “tap here to purchase” button. It feels similar to having the candy in the checkout line of the grocery story. That being said, if you have 2 – 3 year old that loves Curious George, you may want to download this app.

Curious George at the Zoo for iPad - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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Collins Big Cat Story Creator Apps

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6 of Collins Big Cat Story Creator apps are currently FREE (for a limited time) for the iPad. Collins Big Cat is a reading series used by over 9000 schools in The United Kingdom. Titles included are: Around the World/ Farmer’s Lunch/ In the Garden/ It Was a Cold,Dark Night/ My Bike Ride/ The Steam Train. These apps normally sell for $3.99 each so take advantage of this great offer if you have young readers/writers in your life.

These apps, geared towards children ages 4+, include an animated story (with hidden surprises on every page) and a story creator. The story creator allows the child to transfer what they just read into writing. Children can create their own story using the scenes, characters, etc. from the book. There is also the option to record the child’s newly created story. Nicely done for young readers/writers!!

Highly recommended!

Around the World       Collins Big Cat: Around the World Story Creator - HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

The Farmer’s Lunch       Collins Big Cat: The Farmer’s Lunch Story Creator - HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

In the Garden       Collins Big Cat In The Garden Story Creator - HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

It Was a Cold, Dark Night       Collins Big Cat: It Was a Cold, Dark Night Story Creator - HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

My Bike Ride        Collins Big Cat: My Bike Ride Story Creator - HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

The Steam Train       Collins Big Cat: The Steam Train Story Creator - HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

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Smash Your Food

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Smash Your Food for the iPad is available until September 5 for $1.99 but I was able to get it on a FREE day. This game makes kids, ages 5 – 12, and parents aware of the sugar, salt, and oil content of common foods  – in a fun way. Kids can choose 40 different foods to smash in the 5 levels of the game. A child starts by entering his/her name, gender, age, and activity level. The app then generates the maximum amount of sugar, salt, and oil that child should have per day. A food is put into the “smasher” and the child guesses how much sugar, salt, and oil are in that food. Then the food is literally smashed (sound effects included) and points are awarded based on how close the guesses are to the actual content. As the child progresses through the levels, his/her parents are emailed personalized nutrition tips and advice.

This app has received a lot of press. It was chosen as one of the winners in the “Michelle Obama’s Apps for Healthy Kids” competition. It was featured on the Today Show. Here is link to an article about it from CBS News: “Smash your food” app breaks down sugar, salt and oil content of kids’ meals – HealthPop – CBS News. This app helps make kids aware of what’s in the food that they are eating – a step in the right direction towards making our kids healthier!

Highly recommended!

Smash Your Food HD - Food N' Me

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Read Me Stories – Children’s Books

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Read Me Stories is an app for the iPhone/iPad that offers a selection of read along picture books for kids ages 4+. The FREE version of the app is loaded with the series, Tuffy’s First Adventure, and 6 books from other series for you to try. Available as in-app purchases are: additional books (from other series) and a new book every day. There are two options: “read to you” or “read yourself.” In the “read to you” option, the words are highlighted as they are read. Other than that, the interactivity is limited.

The stories are brightly illustrated and the story lines are fine but not wonderful (in my opinion). Teaching elementary school for 30+ years & reading literally thousands of kids’ stories has made me very picky. I do agree with the philosophy – the way to develop the habit of reading is by reading every day; but personally, I prefer the selection of books available through the Reading Rainbow app  – see my July 18th review.

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Intro to Geography – North America

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Happy Birthday, Maria Montessori – August 31, 1870!! Enjoy this iPad app FREE (today & tomorrow) in honor of Maria Montessori’s birthday. Kids learn the shapes, names, locations, and flags of North American countries.This app is based on the methodology of Montessori  – it progresses through a well-organized sequence of activities using puzzle maps. Excellent learning tool!

Highly recommended!

Intro to Geography - North America, by Montessorium - Montessorium, LLC.

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Hiding Hannah

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FREE today, Hiding Hannah is an interactive book for kids 2+ for the iPhone/iPad. Hannah loves to hide everything, including herself. Narrated by Tom Kenny (the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants) and illustrated by Melanie McCall, this book is adorable! Your child will love reading through the story and finding where Hannah has hidden things. And the best part is that the hiding places change every time you read the story. Really cute!!

Highly recommended!

Hiding Hannah - Squeaky Frog

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Fetch! Lunch Rush

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From our friends at PBS comes this very unique FREE math game app for iPhone/iPad.  In this multi-player game, it is the students’ task to keep up with the lunch orders from Ruff Ruffman’s movie crew. The challenge is to keep track of how many pieces of sushi everyone wants by adding and subtracting. Before the game begins, game pieces have to be printed from the PBS website and distributed around the room. As the sushi orders come in, students have to find the game piece with the correct answer to the problem. Using the camera lens on their device, they focus in on then tap the sushi. The sushi pieces magically move to the table in front of their character (as seen above). Students have to think fast and keep moving to fill all of the sushi orders before their friends do. What fun !!

Common Core Standards met:

  • 1.OA.6 – Add and subtract within 20, demonstrating fluency for addition and subtraction within 10.
  • 2.OA.2 – Fluently add and subtract within 20 using mental strategies. By end of Grade 2, know from memory all sums of two one-digit numbers.

Highly recommended!

FETCH! LUNCH RUSH - PBS KIDS

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The Tree I See

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This storybook app for iPhone/iPad normally sells for $1.99 but I was able to download it on a FREE day. Geared towards toddlers, it is a story about a little boy and a tree who willingly gives and shares what he has with his wilderness friends. The Tree I See is a beautifully animated story about sharing and what it means to be a friend  🙂

Keep reading my blog to find out when apps are offered for FREE.

The Tree I See - Interactive Storybook - Aridan Books

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Goodnight Safari

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FREE  for the iPhone/iPad, Goodnight Safari is a sweet interactive story for bedtime. Kids (ages 2-4) help the animals of the savannah complete their evening activities in 7 different scenes –  a giraffe eating dinner, a monkey climbing into bed, a hippo taking a bath, etc. Optional counting & color activities are available as an in-app purchase. Very sweet story for a peaceful end to your child’s day 🙂

Recommended!

Goodnight Safari - Polk Street Press LLC