Gro Book: The Adventures of Sophie the Sweater

Gro Book by Gro Play is a book that may bring some nostalgia to some parents. It's one of those stories where you can choose different what happens in the story at various points and see where it leads you. I not only like these stories because I think they're fun, but also because I like that it leads kids to think about plot and storytelling while experiencing a story on many levels.

Given the multiple paths of the story, I think turning these types of books digital can be advantageous and really take it to the next level, which is why I chose to review Gro Book. Price: $3.99

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation) and iPad. Requires iOS 4.3 or later. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

Developmental Appropriateness: The story is fun with a reuse, environmental theme, especially given the format. But don't expect a story that has a great moral or memorable message - it's a story that works with the format. It's fine - but I would not say that the format particularly enhances the story itself. It's a little difficult to pinpoint a target age as I think the book is appropriate for a range of ages. I'm going to put it at 7, which is on the older side because I think 6 yos can more fully take advantage of all the different paths of the story. At this age, they can remember paths they chose before, and also now also make connections between some of their choices. Don't get me wrong, a 5 yo or younger will fully enjoy this story as well. Rating: 4/5 (aim for around 6 years).

Balance: There's not too much here in terms of taking advantage of the features offered by tablets. The software of course helps the path choosing, so that you're not keeping your fingers on certain pages and flipping forward to a specific page to see what happens like back in the day. But otherwise, there's just narration and the option to turn it on and off and to take away or add the text. I'm not sure how I feel about the latter. There's certainly something to be said for just listening to a story - but maybe not in ebook format where kids have come to expect some level of interactivity. There's actually a lot of text - so with no interactivity on the pages and no words to follow, kids may get bored. The simplicity is fine, there's just not much that elevates the experience. Rating: 3/5

Sustainability: With so many paths, there's certainly re-read value here. Some of the paths repeat so don't expect a new story each time at every turn, but there's enough different paths to keep you interested at least the first few reads. Rating: 4.5/5

Parental Involvement: Nothing explicit here. It would have been nice to include some questions for parents to ask while they read or after - especially to compare and contrast the different paths. Rating: 3/5

Total: 14.5/5 = 4 stars

*I received this app for free for review purposes


Trend Alert: Check out these other great apps that let you take part in the story:

For those looking for more interactivity and a classic story in a new way: Little Red Riding Hood by Nosy Crow

For those with younger Elmo fans: Elmo the Musical -Storyteller


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Endless Alphabet

First off, let me say that Endless Alphabet is a great app from Callaway Digital Arts Inc. It's a super creative and hugely popular app but here's my problem: the title. It's a way better spelling and vocabulary app than it is an alphabet app! In fact, I think it's a poor app for learning the alphabet, especially if used without further reinforcement and support. So parents - get this app, but be careful who you get it for and how you use it. Price - Free (beware of ads though - can purchase ad removal for $0.99)

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 5.0 or later. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

Developmental Appropriateness: This app covers a lot - Letters, phonics, spelling, vocabulary. I think it does a great job for spelling and vocabulary, and even phonics - for kids who have already started to learn phonics. For kids who are just learning their letters and phonics, this may not be so great. It's well, just too cute! It's too distracting. Sure, these younger kids may be engaged and even repeat the letters and sounds, but that does not mean they understand what they are playing with. Being able to repeat the sounds they hear is step one of many to actually learning and understanding letters. A better measure of if they "learned" the letters is to see if they recognize the letters outside the context of the app, in various forms. Kids don't fully understand the alphabet until about 6 years of age - when they are reading. Kids are able to repeat the sounds they hear not because this is a great app, but because they are kids who are at the ideal age where they are learning to produce sounds and talk in general. Do I think younger kids CAN learn from this app? Yes - but I think only with reinforcement from parents to connect the information from the app to other examples of the letters and letter associations and with repeated exposure. Do not get me wrong on this last point - I am NOT saying have your kids play with this app as much as possible, I am saying that they will learn better once the novelty of all the cuteness dissipates.


My fear is that parents of 3 yos or even younger are the ones getting this app - because it's called "Endless ALPHABET" when really it should be parents of around 5 yos who should be getting this app to help strengthen phonics, learn new words and how to spell them. Rating: 3 for 3yo (points for that this is in fact a highly engaging app for this age), 5 for 5yo, so an average of 4/5 stars.

Balance: I think it's ok for the older kids. They know their alphabet and that letters have sounds associated with them. They can get past the cutesy-ness and learn. But like I said, this is too much for the younger kids. Perhaps if the developers specified an age group and titled their app more appropriately (seriously, I think they are selling themselves short as it doesn't mention their best features!) I wouldn't have a problem. But they don't, and I think it's misleading. Rating: 3/5

Sustainability: Kids and even adults will find this engaging. The ever growing word bank also helps give this app longevity. Rating: 5/5

Parental Involvement: There's not much here to help parents be more proactive. Parents should take it upon themselves to play the app together and relate the letters and words to real world experiences. They can even have their own little spelling bees to practice the words they just learned. Rating: 3/5

Total: 15 out of 20 = 4 stars

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Shake-N-Tell

Shake-N-Tell was created by Your Name in Cows for true storytelling lovers. I'm always on the look out for unique apps, and this is one of them. This app provides the basics of stories and the rest is up to the storyteller. So if you're looking for an app with all the latest interactive features, this is not it. But if you're looking for an app to guide quality interactive time with your family, this may be it. Price: Free with in-app purchases for more storyboards.

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 4.0 or later.

Developmental Appropriateness: I really like the idea of this app. Hey, it's hard coming up with stories, so why not get some idea boosters. The navigation is pretty simple. Pick a title, then read the story. They highlight certain parts to encourage more description and elaboration on those parts. You can hit the shuffle button if you don't like where that page of the plot is taking you to get another option. If you're running short on time, you can fast forward to the end. 

Here's the thing - I am not a good storyteller. I really admire parents and whoever who are great at it, doing voices and sound effects and all. This may not be enough for me. They provide little tips for storytelling, wish there were more, or maybe an example or two showing the difference between the bare basic story and how someone turned it into a great story. I also think some added features would make it easier too. For example, adding a brief synopsis of each story could not only help families to choose the story, but also to help the storyteller prepare. Or a menu system where you could choose specific things for the story - like the genre, characters, setting, etc. These would also be good because some of the stories can be scary so parents can better decide if it's appropriate. This is actually a big point - parents need better indications here for whether the story is appropriate for their kids. But, in the end, is this better than trying to come up something completely on my own? Yes. Does this encourage more interaction for families? Yes. Rating: 3.5/5 (no age rating as I feel the parent is the main user here).

Balance: As I said, this is overall simple - but more features could make it better. Maybe offer suggestions of elaboration. Another suggestion would be a back/main menu button, if folks decide they want a different story. As is, you're pretty much locked in. Rating: 4/5

Sustainability: This is a hard one as the quality and effort required is kinda up to the storyteller. With the in-app purchases, there's a variety of stories to choose from. Rating: 4/5

Parental Involvement: This is a strength of the app as it encourages folks to take their eyes off the screen and onto each other. Good storytellers (parents AND kids) can just fly with it, and not-so-great storytellers can use it as practice to get better. At least there are prompts for where to elaborate or get others involved to make it a collaborative story. Rating: 5/5

Total: 16.5 out of 20 = 4 stars

Cartoon ABC

Cartoon ABC was created by Kids Academy Company and is exactly what it sounds like. An app that aims to teach kids the ABC's using cartoon animation. THere are now tons of ABC apps, so where does this one stack up? Price: $1.99

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 4.2 or later.

Developmental Appropriateness: With so many alphabet focused apps out there, it's becoming harder and harder to pick out which ones to get. Some of the things I really look for are 1) repetition - the actual letter needs to be repeated over and over, 2) word associations - it's almost given that letters are paired up with words starting with that letter - are there a few different examples? Are the words appropriate? 3) Letter presentation - is it prominent? Does it get lost with the words? and now more and more with apps, 4) how are the interactive elements related? Cartoon ABC addresses my first three criteria really well. There's lots of clear repetition of the letters, it's paired with three different examples where the actual letter is highlighted, and each presentation begins and ends with only the letter. So yes, this is a solid ABC app. However, when compared to some other ones, this one does not capitalize on the affordances of the device - there's not the same interactive quality as seen in other apps - it's more like watching little video clips. Rating: 4/5 (aim for around 3 years)

Balance: The animations are simple and cute. My only critique would be with the main menu. It's nice that you can pick any letter to work with, but they are not all labeled on the main menu -some are, some aren't - so kids can't automatically go to a specific letter, without thinking about it (yes, it's in alphabetical order). Rating: 4/5


Sustainability: There's a nice variety of picture and animation. But again, I do think kids are gonna have an expectation for interaction features, which this does not have. So while this app does clearly and nicely present the content, after seeing all the different animations, kids may want to seek more action elsewhere in terms of an app. Rating: 3.5/5

Parental Involvement: There is a parent report section where it shows which letters kids have looked at. Again, I think these types of reports are great starts. This also points at a need for a better main menu labeling system so parents can easily tap on the letters they want their kids to work with next. Rating: 4/5

Total: 15.5 out of 20 - 4 stars

Disclosure - I received this app for free for review purposes.

Cars in Sandbox: Construction

Cars in Sandbox: Construction was created by Thematica and is for construction truck lovers - dump trucks, loader, trucks, tractors, trucks I'd never heard of like the crawler-mounted excavator, trucks with cool names like the telescopic handler, you name it. Price: $2.99

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.Requires iOS 4.2 or later.

Developmental Appropriateness: This is a creative app in that it makes the trucks pretty functional and realistic in what their tasks are. So for each truck, kids have to move them with their finger or tilt the device to achieve a task fitting of that truck - so like putting objects in a dump truck to dump them into a bin. There aren't much verbal instructions but in each task there are cute pictures posted on the walls that show you what should be done, which encourages exploring, without leaving you totally in the dark. A younger kid may not notice these pictures, but once they do, they'll get the hang of it. Some of them are easier to figure out than others - but overall a good exercise in problem solving. Also, at times it takes some good motor skills to get the truck to do what you want, so younger kids may get a little frustrated. I wish there was more info offered about the trucks. I guess learning by doing is answer enough, but some of the trucks are kinda similar - at least to me who's not very well versed in construction trucks, so a brief little explanation with facts and figures would be nice. Rating: 4/5 (aim for around 6 years).

Balance: There are some fun additional features like if you tap on the door it opens (only to reveal no driver! Would be nice if kids could create their own avatar and continue the role playing as the driver) and the horn sounds. But sometimes, these features get in the way of trying to make the truck move. And it's sometimes hard to get the truck in the exact position you want, so a gas/brake feature would be nice for more accurate movement. Rating: 4/5

Sustainability: Overall, this is an engaging task for truck lovers. Some sustainability issues may that that while some tasks may be hard for younger kids, older kids may get bored because there is only one task per truck. You also earn various number of stars per truck task which is good, but I wonder if there could be levels, the harder, the more stars - or a progression of some sort. Rating: 4/5

Parental Involvement: Parents may need to help kids figure out what to do at first, but otherwise, this is a kids only game. Rating: 3/5

Total: 15 out of 20 stars = 4 stars

Disclosure: I received this app for free for review purposes.

A Garden for Pig

A Garden for Pig was developed by Kane Miller Books. It's a story about a pig who lives on an apple farm and gets sick of eating just apples and wants some vegetables - a cute story about a pig and his food. Price: $3.99

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPad.Requires iOS 4.2 or later.

Developmental Appropriateness: The topic is is appropriate and timely, given the whole organic food trend, and animals are always popular characters with kids. Surprisingly, even though this e-book does have some interactive elements, it feels like a physical book that's been pdf'ed. Not that it's a bad thing. The illustrations are great on their own and I don't think the little extra "e-book-ified" elements really add all that much. Actually, the illustrations are "multi-media" and looks like newspaper was used to make the trees and stuff like that which I think would actually look better in person rather than on a screen. There are some recipes and a bit more information on specific vegetables that are sprinkled throughout - a nice touch, but not kid friendly. They do not read aloud and are not written on a kid's level. There's narration and some light sound effects here and there, and that's more or less it. Again, there's nothing wrong with that - but I'm not rating on how good a book this is, but how good of an e-book this is. Basically, it's a cute book, but folks might prefer just the plain ol' print version. Rating: 3.5/5 (aim for around 5).


Balance: I like the addition of recipes and info on the vegetables and gardening- could have gone farther. And maybe the recipes could have been separate from the story. Some of the other interactive features seem to really just for fun and possibly distracting and don't add much. Rating: 3.5/5


Sustainability: It's a cute story with some humor. Kids will come back for the story, but probably not for the interactive features... Rating: 3.5/5


Parental Involvement: The cards for recipes and extra info encourage parents to elaborate on the points and do some cooking! It's a nice way to lead into cooking together. And perhaps to get kids to eat their vegetables too! Note that this food focuses on gardening and home grown food, but the recipes are not necessarily "healthy ones" - just so that that's not an expectation. Rating: 4/5


Total: 14.5 out of 20 = 3 stars

i Learn with Boing: Savannah Adventures!

i Learn with Boing: Savannah Adventures! is another cute educational app from Tribal Nova. While the previous installment, iLearn with Boing: Iceland Adventures! focused on literacy activities for preschoolers, Savannah focuses on math activities for the same age group. Price: $2.99

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPad.Requires iOS 4.0 or later.

Developmental Appropriateness: A strength with Tribal Nova apps in general is that they do a good job of making the activities have a game like feel. In this case, there are three activities led by animals found in the Savannah targeting counting, specifically quantity-number association, order - counting forwards, backwards, and skip counting, and calculate - early addition and subtraction. As with Iceland, some nice features are the leveling through each activity, adapting to kid's progress, rewards, and the parent center. 

Where it falls a little short is with the details. First, the labels of the activities are a little misleading. "Counting", I think is really enumeration because kids have to judge how many objects are shown and then tap on the corresponding number in "Whack a mole" style. "Order" is actually counting, because it's just all different patterns of counting or getting the frog to jump to the different numbers on the lily pad. Finally, as is, the "calculate" activity is not really calculation but more counting or kinda early or precursor to adding and subtracting. Other little details that could be improved is in the feedback/prompts/scaffolding features. For example, in the counting/enumeration, it would be nice if kids could tap on the items and hear them counted. As is, if you tap anywhere around the objects, it just tells you how many total there are. Kids should be able to be given the objects, asked, how many, and then they can count them by pointing, pushing, grouping, etc. The activity I could see the most improvement is with the calculation activity where kids have to go and catch a target number of ostriches and put them on the truck. At times, there are already some ostriches on the truck, so kids have to "add" x more to get the target number or in the higher levels, there are more than the target number of ostriches on the truck, so kids have to "subtract" x amount. I think the adding and subtracting could be made more obvious - as is, it just seems like a counting activity. Like the already present ostriches should be separated from the to be added ostriches so that kids can see that, for example,  3 already there ostriches + 5 added ostriches =8 total. And that should be highlighted by some voiceover feedback before the truck drives away. In general, the activities are good, - these little details just add a little oomph to help learning. Rating: 3.5/5 (aim for around 4)

Balance: I think the activities have struck a good balance between fun game features and keeping the focus on learning. Again, there are just little details that could be improved - like the objects that are to be counting in counting could be bigger and made more functional. Rating: 4.5/5

Sustainability: The activities are cute, and I see an nice new feature here is that once you've been playing awhile, when you start again, you can pick what level to start with and it gives you the recommended level as well. The rewards are nice and you can go to the reward world to play with them. For more competitive kids or kids who might find going through the levels repetitive, a score or high scores list might be nice, especially with the two-player activity. It seems to take time into account, so it could be easy to convert that into points. Rating: 4/5

Parental Involvement: All iLearn apps are linked to a parent center which provides how well kids are doing on the specific activities and if kids have multiple iLearn apps, parents can see what topics they are spending time with. Parents are also given a brief explanation of the target skills within the activities. Parents can stay involved by reviewing. It'd be great if there were then suggested activities parents can do outside of the app that targets their kid's strengths and weaknesses so parents can share and link to the real world. Rating: 4/5

Total: 16 out of 20 - 4 stars.

Disclosure: I received this app for free for review purposes.

The Tree I See

The Tree I See was created by Aridan Books and is a sweet story about friendship and helping each other out. It was conceptualized by a neurosurgery physician assistant and claims to have been designed to help working memory and re-call ability. Let's see how and whether it does so. Price: $0.99

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.Requires iOS 3.1 or later

Developmental Appropriateness: This is a solid e-book. The story topic is appropriate for young kids - maybe not totally exciting, but is a cute and heartwarming story about a tree who makes lasting friends in the forest by helping each other out.  The interactive features are relevant to the story and tapping on the characters will make them repeat what they've said in the story which is a nice touch to reinforce plot points. A feature I thought had a lot of potential is how the text is presented. It automatically appears in a box as it's being read and then goes away so kids can interact with the pictures. If you tap on an arrow within the text box, it enlarges in the center of the page. I thought this is a great opportunity for parents and teachers to focus kids on the text and help build their literacy skills. However, it does not highlight word by word, repeat if tapped on, provide definitions, etc. It only highlights a few words at a time, and you can press play to hear the entire text read again. It relies on the parent or teacher to provide extra support, enhancement, and reinforcement. So while I like the thought, it could have been taken further.


So what about improving working memory and re-call? From the iTunes description, it says it does so through "consistent illustrative theme and gradual character integration, to maintain focus and assist with the cognitive development of your child." Don't many books do this? Yes, the tree remains constant, and each new friend is added to the picture as they are introduced in the story. So illustratively, the story is updated and provides the cues for plot points, but the text does not update and build upon/repeat the characters as have been seen in many other children's stories. And for re-call, how are we measuring this? I thought maybe there would be prompts for kids to answer questions or to think about what happened in the story, but there aren't any. One great way to improve retention is to make things explicit and to verbalize it, and I don't see that here. So yes, while I think having the characters on the page repeat what they say in the text is nice, I don't otherwise see what else separates this e-book from other good e-books for comprehension and re-call. 

Overall, The Tree I See adds some nice touches to help learning, but maybe over-emphasizes the claims. Rating: 4/5 (aim for around 5 years)


Balance: For the most part, the interactive elements help to enhance the story. At times though, tapping on them make them all overlap, especially later on the in the story with more characters involved. Rating: 4/5


Sustainability: It took me a few readings to really start appreciating some of the touches here, so I think parents and kids will too and discover new things with each reading. Rating: 4/5


Parental Involvement: There's no laid out role for parents, but I think the text feature provide good opportunity and a good cue for parents to highlight words or plot points or whatever. Rating: 4/5


Total: 16 out of 20 = 4 stars


Of note: 100% of Net proceeds will be given to Autism Speaks for the month of May and June. Thereafter 10% of our proceeds will continue to be given to Autism Speaks. 


Disclosure: I received this app for free for review purposes.

Math Doodles

Math Doodles was created by Carsten Studios Inc., by Dan Carstens, an early math hater who later found ways to make math fun. This is a unique perspective for a math app designer! Math is one of the subjects where you often hear kids and even adults saying, "I hate math," or "Math is just not something I'm good at." This is more true in America than most other countries. So any way we can make math thought of as less of a dread is great. Does Math Doodles accomplish this? Price: $2.99

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPad.Requires iOS 5.0 or later.


Developmental Appropriateness: Math Doodles presents three games: Sums Stackers, Connect Sums, and Unknown Square. They are all variations on getting the dice (or whatever representation you choose) to add up to a target sum (9=4+5=3+3+3=8+1, etc). This helps to increase fluency and flexibility in thinking about these otherwise simple, but perhaps boring, math problems. Sum Stackers and Unknown Square a bit more logical thinking as they have an extra layer of problem solving involved (See video). So overall, I think that Math Doodles can attract kids who may not love math, but love puzzles and want to solve things. This is definitely a great way to get them to do some math, all disguised as a puzzle. For kids who are struggling with math, they will probably need some help getting started and to help focus them on the game elements so that they don't get frustrated with the math. So while I don't think that Math Doodles will make everyone love math, it will attract a larger audience than a more straight forward math game. Rating: 4/5 (aim for around 6 years).

Balance: The art work definitely has a doodle-like feel. It's all pretty straight forward. Offering all the different representations is a nice touch without being distracting, but some will be easier representations than others. I wonder if there could be a hint mode for when players get stuck. Rating: 4/5


Sustainability: The different modes of play (race, solve, etc). are good variations. A high scores list would be a great addition to help keep kids going. There's also an easy and difficult setting. Having all three games be about adding might get repetitive, what about other operations? Rating: 3.5/5


Parental Involvement: This is definitely a game parents could play too. There's no multiplayer mode though. Parents and teachers should definitely make sure to relate these math skills back to the classroom. Rating: 3.5/5


Total: 15 out of 20 - 4 stars




Disclosure: I received this app for free for review purposes.

Mathlands

Mathlands was created by Mamanijo and comprises of 6 games. While most of these games do require some math, this is more of an app for puzzle solvers and logical thinkers than straight-up math lovers. So where does this app fit in for the typical math student? Price: Two games are free, the rest are an in-app purchase for $1.99. There is also another in-app purchase for $0.99 if you want to play all the games together. Careful not to confuse one purchase with the other.

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPad.Requires iOS 4.3 or later.


Developmental Appropriateness: For kids, and even adults, who like logic problems like these (The Tower of Hanoi is a typical example) this is a great app to flex those muscles. It's done in a kid-friendly way - for example on one of the more typical math word problem games, the word problem is presented within a comic strip, adding a bit of fun to what may be a boring math problem. I like that it adds some "help" materials at the bottom in some of the tasks to help kids solve the problem. For kids who are pretty strong in math already, this is a great way to get them to increase their flexibility in math thinking. However, for kids who may not be great at math and or love these types of puzzles, this app does not offer enough support to win them over. The "help" materials aren't enough to help a kid who doesn't know where to begin. There's a hint part, but it basically just tells you the answer. There's no leveling of hints - to get you going if you're stuck. Also, more kid-friendly information on the strategies would be useful too. Even as an adult, I could solve the games, but for some, I couldn't really tell you what I was doing to get the answer. Being able to express the strategy is important to truly understanding the concept. The app gives a "puzzle history" and provides the solution, but the text is long and reads like a textbook. In sum, I like that these games make kids think about math in a different way, but it doesn't offer enough support to reach kids of all skill levels and for me to think of it as educational/instructional rather than just-for fun. Rating: 3.5/5 (aim for around 7 years).


Balance: The features in each of the games are focused on the task. A bit more instruction could be given for the tasks. For example, in the water task, you have to get a goal number of liters, but that goal goes away. If you go to instructions, the instructions only talk about the goal of the first problem. I'll admit it, I kept forgetting what the goal was - and I couldn't get to that information unless I started over. Rating: 4/5

Sustainability: The games keep getting harder and harder so there's enough challenge, even for adults. If you've purchased the game portion (so it's not just free-play), it will keep track of what level you're on. However, it doesn't really save your times and records. I feel these are the kinds of puzzles that people would enjoy sharing - to tell people how they figured it out. So some sort of social, sharing element would be nice. Rating: 4/5


Parental Involvement: Parents can play too! But in terms of co-playing there's not too much here. Parents can go over the puzzle history with their kids. There's no review or measure of how kids are doing and what they need to work on. I think the leveling of hints would be good so parents get be more involved in the process so it's not just get it or don't get it. Rating: 3.5/5


Total: 15 out of 20 - 4 stars

The Rooster Who Lost His Voice

The Rooster Who Lost His Voice was created by iMagine machine, LLC. This is a great example of how some apps are really starting to blur the line between whether it's a book or a show. Rooster is definitely a story, told in a folktale kinda way - but it doesn't have any text and is 18-minutes long, putting it in a category all on its own Price: the initial 3 pages are free, but to purchase the full "book" is $4.99

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation) and iPad.Requires iOS 4.0 or later.


Developmental Appropriateness: This is a well-done story with great graphics and effects. On the spectrum of book to show/movie, this leans heavier on the show/movie side. One of the few book feature is the tone of the story is told like a classic tale, not like a tv show or movie. And while some scenes advance on their own, there are moments where the child must "turn the page". But even this is not the typical swipe, it's pulling a rope, like you would to close or open the curtains to a stage show. This little pull feature along with very limited interactive features is just enough to make sure kids are still paying attention and not just passively watching a show. The main interactive feature is I guess comprehension questions. Kids have to choose what "gift" they think the characters are giving. I like this "active thinking" idea, and I think it's an important feature to have especially in this format, but I think there could be more feedback here. The picture options at least need a label as they are not always obvious what they are. And the answers require background knowledge not given by the story so a little reinforce/feedback would be nice to make sure kids "got it". 


So, since there is no text here, is this as "literacy-focused" as a book? Are apps like this one even meant to be thought of as "literacy-focused"? There is no doubt that listening and I guess in this case, watching a story has great value. I guess I'm just wondering where do we draw the line - do we need to? Rating: 4/5 (aim for around 5 years)


Balance: The developers really kept it simple here in terms of interactivity, but I don't think they lost anything in terms of engagement. Not sure where to put this, but one feature I'd like to see added would be a page menu or something. 18 minutes can be a bit long for a story - depending on the situation, and there's no way to jump to a certain page - you start from the beginning each time. Actually, mine froze once, and I had to just scroll through everything again to get to where I was. Rating: 4/5


Sustainability: I think it's a cute story kids would keep coming back to. It'd be great if the questions switched up a little so that kids don't already know all the answers if it's a repeated reading.  Rating: 4/5


Parental Involvement: So without the text, it kinda takes away that co-reading experience that books automatically give. But perhaps this will free up the parents to elaborate on the story and provide some  "active thinking" prompts that could go along with the comp questions. Rating: 3/5


Total: 15 out of 20 = 4 stars


Disclosure - I received this app for free for review purposes.

Count-A-Licious

Count-A-Licious was created by Brainster Apps. It's an introduction to numbers kinda app. It may sound weird to phrase it like that, but there really are many steps to learning what numbers mean and this app really targets those initial steps. So while a narrow focus, it's the foundation to learning math. Price: The initial app is free, but after the first level that concentrates on the numbers 1-5, there's an in-app purchase for $0.99, and that gets you up to 20.

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.Requires iOS 4.3 or later and also Kindle Fire.

Developmental Appropriateness: There are 4 games: Number Show, Counting Game, Tracing Game, and Treasure Crits. Ok, really only 3, as the last one there is more of a fun, reward game. Brainster Apps has also made my job easier by clearly stating what their learning intentions are: 1) Recognize number sounds, 2) Recognize numbers visually, 3) Understand that numbers have a sequence, 4) Understand that numbers are associated with a quantity, 5) Understand that numbers in the beginning of the sequence are associated with smaller amount of objects and latter number with more, 6) Introduction to writing numbers. Do they achieve these objectives? Yes. I think together, the three games, albeit very simple games, are done well. They sequence the numbers whenever possible and also associate the numbers with objects fairly often. I think these games do a good job of showing and teaching, but I do think this app is missing an important step. While the games all show the number to object correspondence, I guess we don't actually know if the kids "get it" - not with these games at least. It'd be good to have an additional game where the kids are asked to find/choose/tap - whatever you want, a target number of objects. Then we would know for sure that they've absorbed what these three games are aiming to teach. Rating: 3.5/5 (aim for around 3 years).


Balance: While the special effects that happen as you count make it fun and engaging, at times, the sound effects are louder than the voice counting, especially in the Counting Game. Seeing the cool effects will already be taking kids attention away from the counting, so it's especially important that they at least hear the numbers loud and clear. Rating: 3.5/5

Sustainability: Cycling through the games gives it a nice feel of variety. Throwing in the just for fun reward game is nice too - and I think it's a game kids will get a kick out of. Since this app targets a narrow skill set and only goes up to 20, kids may master and bore of this app quick - although the goal is to master it, so I guess I can't complain! Rating: 5/5


Parental Involvement: This is a one-player game (it does allow for multiple kids to have profiles) and of simple games so maybe parents don't have quite as much of a role, but can still reinforce the material. there is no review/progress monitoring for parents. Rating: 3.5/5


Total: 15.5 out of 20 = 4 stars

Kids Crosswords

Kids Crosswords was created by Learning Touch. It boasts 100 words, 10,000 puzzles, and 10 levels of increasing difficulty. I like crosswords so let's go. Price: $0.99

Device Requirements:  Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.Requires iOS 4.0 or later.

Developmental Appropriateness: Ok, I must admit, I was at first disappointed. I was expecting crossword puzzles. Yes, for kids, but some form of here's a clue, figure out the answer. This is more of a put the words together. There are pictures, and you make the word for that picture and the words cross and intersection. But even on the highest level, you can just tap on the picture and it tells you the word. But, after I got over the initial realization that this was not a crossword puzzle app, I thought that this was actually a pretty good phonics app. The 10 levels may seem like they only increase in difficulty by a smidgeon, but the progression actually makes sense - although I'd still like to see it get into a larger range of words and combinations of sounds or even not providing the labels for the pictures so kids have to figure it out. For what's there, throughout the process, it very clearly sounds out everything, from the letter options to as you place them correctly. The blending of the sounds together could be smoother - as is it's very separated so it's hard to hear how all the sounds together make up the word.


I've let go of wanting this to be more like a real crossword puzzle, but I do have to say that the developers still could have given the crossword aspect a little more thought. For example, all the pictures start off in black and white. For one, it's a picture of a painter, and the target word is actually red. But there would have been no way for someone who was trying to figure it out to get "red" from a black and white painter without tapping on it, thus eliminating the fun of "figuring it out." Rating: 4/5 (aim for around 4 years).

Balance - Everything is very simple and focused. I like that it doesn't allow you to do anything until it has completed sounding out and saying the words. Rating: 5/5


Sustainability - Although it seems like there's endless puzzles, there are really only 100 words and animations. Another reason I'd like to see a larger library of words is because a lot of the words start repeating, even within one level. This could get repetitive, and kids will just start memorizing. Rating: 3.5/5


Parental Involvement: There's not much to do here for parents. It'd be great if it could what words the kids are struggling with or at least a list of the words that appear on each level or just some sort of review for parents to generalize and reinforce. Rating: 3/5


Total: 15.5 out of 20 = 4 stars


Disclosure - I received this app for free for review purposes.