0

Talking Santa

|

santa

FREE for a limited time for the iPhone/iPad – Talking Santa. Lots of holiday fun with this app BUT a few cautions for  parents.

FUN stuff – Talk to Santa and he will repeat your words then save as a video file and it can be emailed. Poke or tickle Santa to see how he reacts. Push the snowball button and a huge snowball runs Santa over. Push the milk and cookies button and Santa gets a snack. Touch Santa’s bag to open some gifts. Press the card buttons & send customized Santa Christmas cards via email or Facebook.All in all, cute and now for the cautions….

CAUTION #1 – Parents need to go into the setting and turn off the violence. Otherwise, kids will be able to hit Santa (and hear sound effects). CAUTION # 2 – If you press the blue card button, you will get a picture of Santa showing his polka-dotted underwear with Merry Christmas written across which cannot be disabled. FYI so you can decide what is appropriate for your child 🙂

Talking Santa for iPad HD - Out Fit 7 Ltd.

0

Christmas Carols for Kids, Sing Along Songs – Jolly Jingle

|

jolly time

FREE today only for the iPhone/iPad – super cute Christmas song app. Includes 5 animated songs: ♪ Jingle Bells, ♪ Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, ♪ Frosty the Snowman, ♪ Up on the Housetop, and ♪ We Wish You a Merry Christmas. The app opens up to a snow globe which has 5 different scenes to represent the songs within the app. Lyrics can be turned on or off. Songs can be enjoyed 4 different ways: as an instrumental, as a piano solo, or sung by a female soloist or by children. Each song also includes fun interactive surprises – a very cute, MUST-have for the holidays!

Christmas Carols for Kids, Sing Along Songs - Jolly Jingle - Hompimplay

0

Moving Christmas

|

moving christmas

Just released on December 1, Moving Christmas is currently FREE for the iPad. This e-book has 40+ pages of interactive fun with special sound effects & music. Christmas is in trouble because global warning has melted the ice at the North Pole. With Christmas only a month away, Santa calls on Frank Duffy, Mover of the Impossible. So Duffy and his dog, Bricks, fly off to the North Pole to take on the challenge of saving Christmas. Love this app! First of all, it’s a fun, smart story – written so it can be enjoyed by kids & adults. It has great whimsical illustrations by Max Micheli who has created for Disney, Nickelodeon, and more. The narration is wonderful but there is also the option of reading the book on your own. Rich in language, this book would be perfect to share in the classroom in so many ways. Use for a lesson on character traits, a lesson on inference (as the story setting changes), language lessons on similes, adjectives, and more!

This story is obviously the first in a series as there is an introduction to Frank’s next adventure at the end of this one – Frank is going to move Area 51. 🙂  I am looking forward to more from this developer!

Moving Christmas - Trusted Cape

0

ABC Expedition

|

abc expedition

ABC Expedition is currently $2.99 but I was able to download it on a FREE day. Captain Wallace leads a tour of the zoo in this aesthetically pleasing alphabet app. The alphabet letters are placed on large buttons  – easy for kids to push. Each button take the child to an animated page featuring that letter. The page contains both upper & lower case letters and an animal (with its word) that begins with that letter. The animated animals are appealing and include sound effects. GRReat! Both words and letters are pronounced when the child touches them. This app is simple but well done – love the unique color scheme! What a great app for toddlers who love animals and are learning the alphabet. Use it before or after a trip to the zoo! Keep reading my blog to find out when apps are offered for FREE.

ABC Expedition - Meldmedia Inc.

0

Juno’s Musical ABCs

|

juno

Narrated by Brooke Shields, this e-book for the iPhone/iPad was created by Emmy Award winning composer, Belinda Takahashi. Kids join Juno and her friends on a musical journey through the alphabet. The book, written in rhyme, teaches kids what instruments look & sound like as well as some musical terminology. It has 3 reading modes: read it to me, read it myself, or autoplay.
Kids will enjoy interacting with the characters (who talk & move when touched) in this cute, colorful book. Nicely done – what a great ABC book to share with a music class!

Juno's Musical ABCs HD - The Juno Company

0

The Chicken and the Egg

|

chicken

FREE for a limited time – The Chicken & the Egg is an interactive e-book written by Allan Plenderleith for the iPhone/iPad. It is the story of Flo, a little chicken, who just cannot lay an egg. One rainy night something happens… An object rolls down a hill and lands next to Flo who thinks it’s her egg. She loves her egg & takes very good care of it. Then one night a “dark thing” appears… Even though all ends well, read this one first before you share it with preschoolers. You know if your child is sensitive to stories with “scary” parts.

Teachers – this story is perfect for teaching prediction. I would stop the story when Flo wakes up next to “her egg” and have students predict what will happen next. Is it actually an egg? If so what will hatch out? There are lots of possibilities for creative writing with this story. Then read the rest of the story to see how the author finishes it. The story is cutely illustrated with delightful narration. Its interactivity adds to the story rather than distracting the reader from the story. Definitely worth downloading 🙂

The Chicken & the Egg HD - Plendy Entertainment

0

Cooper’s Big Bear Hug

|

cooper

This FREE animated e-book from Hallmark’s Story Buddy line is for the iPhone/iPad. It tells the story of  Cooper the bear who wants to find a way to show his mother how much he loves her. If your child owns the accompanying Cooper Story Buddy stuffed animal, it will respond to key phrases from the story. By going into the settings, you can record your own voice reading the story to your child. Also included are a puzzle and a game. Cutely illustrated, sweet story – even if your child does not own the accompanying bear.

Cooper's Big Bear Hug - Hallmark

0

Toca Tailor Fairy Tales

|

tailor

FREE for iPhone/iPad, Toca Tailor Fairy Tales has kids designing and tailoring clothes for two fairy tale characters. With a tap, the style of clothing can be changed. The length of the sleeves, pants, etc. is easily adjusted with a swipe. Kids then choose different colors & prints of fabric or they can create their own fabric using the built-in fabric camera. They can also access and use pictures from the camera roll. There are trims to add – buttons, pockets, etc. Finally, kids choose accessories – hats, scarves, shoes, etc. Kids can take a picture of their finished creations like they can in so many apps. BUT…. in this app you can use your own room as a background – how unique! Kids could create their own little elf, take pictures of it all over the house, and write their own “elf-on-a-shelf” story. The possibilities for creative writing using this feature are endless – LOVE it!! Very open-ended & creative for hours of fun!

Highly recommended!!

Toca Tailor Fairy Tales - Toca Boca AB

0

Oh, What a Tangle

|

tangle

FREE for a limited time – Oh, What a Tangle is an interactive e-book for the iPhone/iPad. It normally sells for $4.99. It is a cute story told in rhyme about Kiki, a little girl who doesn’t take the time to brush her hair because there is always something better to do. A knot develops and Kiki allows it to get wildly out of control. Cute story with animation and interactivity found on almost every page. Kids can help paint Kiki’s nails different colors, use a magnifying glass to find the tiny knot in Kiki’s hair, make the birds fly around Kiki’s head, etc. Kids also collect hidden brushes throughout the story to unlock puzzles at the end of the story. Very cute story with rich vocabulary – great for a lesson on context clues 🙂

Recommended!

Oh, What a Tangle! - Digital Leaf

0

Usborne Sticker Dolly Dressing

|

sticker dolly

Normally $4.99, Sticker Dolly Dressing for the iPad is currently FREE until midnight. This app is based on the popular Sticker Dolly Dressing books by Usborne Publishing. The app includes 5 dolls with over 120 drag & drop stickers to dress the dolls. Clothing can be customized with different patterns. Hair styles, hair colors, and skin tones can be changed. The dolls are placed into one of 8 colorful scenes – a wedding, the beach, a shopping area, a disco, a horse stable, a birthday party, a picnic, & a bedroom. Scenes can be further enhanced by adding animals, objects, and foods. Final creations can be emailed and/or printed to share with friends and family. Kids can create a scene & write a story or create several scenes & write a book. Also, this app will provide hours of fun for  kids who are interested in fashion design 🙂

Usborne Sticker Dolly Dressing - Usborne Publishing