The First Million is a lovely universal “mix and match” book application that adults and children will find interesting as well as intuitive as here, as the pages of this book are split into three sections – each being able to be flipped back and forth to create new and intriguing illustrations and word combinations.

Unlike other “mix and match” books where one can look for the corresponding thirds of the same image to make a match, this app is completely open-ended with no right or wrong matches to be made, giving children free range to produce any and all combinations they may fancy.

This book uses both charming, bright and colorful hand-drawn illustrations and text to increase children’s vocabulary, understanding of simple sentence structure and imagination. Parents will notice that the top and bottom panels include nouns, whereas the middle sections are verbs, creating three-word sentences, each full of whimsy such as “The pig pokes the grass” or “The pear washes the beetle.”

I really appreciate how the top head, middle body with arms section and bottom feet sections all combine together to make different characters, also wonderfully demonstrating each word used, such the middle section demonstrating words like “show” including the trunk of a body raising a shirt to show off a belly button or the hands of the center section working a marionette to demonstrate “move.”

The top and bottom portions include such wonderful details as well, with heads fashioned out of an hourglass to show “the time” or from a starfish for “the star.” I especially love the interesting feet creations, such as legs fashioned out of clouds or robot legs as well as many animal and other creative choices.

Without sound, this app encourages children to read these words themselves or with the help of an adult. I admire how the images used really demonstrate each word offered, helping children who may be new readers still working on their phonic sounds and who may really benefit from these hints.

Some nice options are also included, as one can tap the bottom right corner of each panel to switch between images with smaller words or to the words being the main focus with included smaller images – a nice touch for those who are ready to read these silly sentences with less visual help.

I also like the ability to tap the center bottom of these panels to have be able to scroll through image icons as an option to flipping the pages of the larger section of this book, done so with a swipe or tap of a finger.

As a child, I have seen a few of these kinds of books, and I have been quite fond of this format. What is special about this app, not including the lovely illustrations and fun sentences that one can create, is the fact that this book includes 100 pages cut into the three sections, creating a total of 1000,000 different combinations, hence the full name, The First Million – Teach your child to read. Although this app may not directly teach children how to read, it will go far in piquing toddlers’ interest in new words and may aid in emerging reading skills as well as the understanding of both nouns and verbs as well as sentence structure. For these reasons, I think toddlers through grade school children will have fun with this application, both with help from adults as well as by themselves.

The one note that I do have is that although I appreciate the lack of included narration, the complete lack of sound is a little disconcerting. I would love to hear included in the future subtle page turns or other simple sounds when a tap is made as well as the option to listen to included music. Just a thought for a future update.

[ The First Million – Teach Your Child to Read Review is a post from: GiggleApps ]

Boats – Byron Barton is the second in a series of apps that is based on printed books by Byron Barton that my son and I really enjoy.

Boats is a simple and sweet book that does a very nice job of teaching children about different boats – here with included sound effects and interactive elements.

As is the case for many of the book apps developed by Oceanhouse Media, Boats – Byron Barton does a great job of adapting the printed version into an application with the use of original illustrations and text.

Narration is included with sounds great, friendly and enthusiastic. Auto play is included, turning the pages of this book automatically, which is perfect for toddlers and babies. One can also read this book out loud as well, making this a lovely book to read to a child or a great first reader as well. It is always nice that within Oceanhouse Media books, the text is highlighted when read and readers are able to tap words or sentences.

I really enjoy the look of Boats as well as the other app in this series, Airplanes. The bright, colorful, and stylized images create a vintage feel that I really appreciate.

It is especially nice that the boats found within can be dragged around the screen, changing the direction the boats are facing as well for a very nice effect. When a boat is tapped to move, its particular sound can be momentarily heard, but I think it would be nice for an option to hear the sounds of these vehicles as long as the boats are dragged around the screen.

Boats – Byron Barton has quickly become a favorite app of my son’s, even before bedtime. For him, the best part of this app may be the ambient sound effects found among these pages, from the ocean waves, sea gulls and ferryboat horns to the sounds heard as a fireboat tries to extinguish a burning structure.

The app has a lot going on in terms of the audio – much to my son’s delight – as a fire alarm can be heard as well as the firemen barking orders at each other as a fire boat puts out a fire. There is also a nice moment with workers loading up a cruise ship with supplies that add a few trucks to the image as well that are also fun to tap and drag, and we enjoy a moment with people boarding the cruise ship as well as celebrating their bon voyage with confetti and streamers. The selection of boats is quite nice and educational, especially the small tug boat that pushes and pulls the larger cruise ship to the dock, creating a nice conversation starter about how this all works.

I believe that the added sound effects and voices heard get my son’s imagination going as he fills in the blanks of what must be going in within these scene, especially as he drifts off to bed.

I hope more of Byron Barton books will be adapted into apps as well as Oceanhouse Media always does a great job translating printed books into interactive storybooks.

[ Boats – Byron Barton Review is a post from: GiggleApps ]

Mirta – The super fly is a creative story with an interesting message for children as well as a great sense of visual style.

This is the story of Mirta, a fly who would like to see the world, but she needs to leave the house she is currently occupying to do so. I really enjoy how prepared Mirta is with her maps of the world and the intense training she goes through including dangerous missions to avoid fly swatters and the like.

Finally, Mirta attempts to fly out a window, trying and trying but to no avail as Mirta does not realize the window is closed and she is repeatedly flying into the glass, time and time again, being unaware of the other various exits, such as an open door, window, skylight and vent – all within her reach if she had been more aware of her surroundings.

I really enjoy this story a great deal as a moral is included unlike any moral I have come across in any other application – here about “flexible thinking” defined as “the capacity to generate alternatives” which teaches children the importance of not being rigid in their thinking about the benefits of thinking outside the box. I love this message as I have often said that I hope my son grows up to be resourceful as this strength would open up any and all doors to his future.

This storybook includes excellent narration as well as a chance to read this book out loud as well. No animated interactions are offered although sound effects are included and a hidden sound can be found on each page. What this app does possess is wonderful illustrations and an impressive use of tonal colors, each page including a unique color theme, such as a page of pink, blue or green, including various shades of this color as well as white. This creates a dynamic look I really appreciate, especially when this color style is broken and multiple colors are found on a page, creating a moment that is striking and really pops off the page. I also am very fond of the imperfect textures and color-saturated areas also found within, creating a distressed vague vintage quality I also enjoy.

Mirta – The super fly is of the highest quality and lacks nothing from excluding more interactive moments. Both English and Spanish recordings are included with the use of native speakers – always a nice touch, Although I cannot judge the Spanish narration, I can say the English narration is excellent, clear and rich-sounding. Because of these wonderful elements, I am impressed that this app is free to introduce families to the “Brainy Tales” series of applications that also include thoughtful, if not cerebral, morals that children can learn a lot from.

Mirta – The Super Fly has absolutely piqued my interest in this series of applications by the developers at Next Stage. I am very interested to see what applications they come up with in the future.

[ Mirta – The Super Fly Review is a post from: GiggleApps ]

Coloring Smart is a lovely new coloring book app, bright and colorful, which includes a nice choice of pages to work on using the “paint bucket” style of tapping sections of the included images to fill these spaces in with color – my personal favorite method of coloring apps.

I really enjoy how this app reinforces the knowledge of numbers and shapes as well, using them as a guide for making correct color choices.

This app includes six subjects such as animals, vehicles or flowers. Each of these sections contains three modes to choose from in terms of filling in these coloring pages – specifically two pages each of matching shapes, numbers or simple addition questions each with their correct answers found at the top of the screen, arranged within the color choices of paints – much akin to “paint by numbers.”

I really like how shapes are included in two of the sections that also contain less intricate details and larger spaces to be filled in. Players must look closely at the picture they are coloring, as faint gray shapes can be seen in the background of the different areas that make up this page. Although this is a beginner page with fewer details, I enjoy the use of shapes as it is a little different than other apps like this which commonly sticks to letter or number recognition.

It is also nice that the levels dedicated to numbers and simple math are nicely detailed, including a few that are hard to determine what the final image will look like until completely filled in – something that I enjoy.

I appreciate that this app is universal, but before downloading to my iPhone, I was concerned that the images and individual spaces to be filled in would be too small to comfortably work on with the smaller screen of the iPhone. I am happy to say that this app looks and plays equally well on the iPhone as it does on the iPad.

Intuitive to use, I think children will have a lot of fun with Coloring Smart as do I. Pleasant background music is also included as are congratulatory sounds when pages become complete as well as a few sound effects when selecting and filling spaces with color. It would be nice to mute any of these sounds – specifically the cheering after completing a page to make this app a charming, quiet app as well.

Having said this, Coloring Smart is a very nice coloring book choice. I do hope more pages are included in the future.

[ Coloring Smart – Fun and Education for Kids Review is a post from: GiggleApps ]

Fancy Nancy Dress Up – as the name may suggest – is a lovely universal dress-up activity app starring Fancy Nancy herself, a character from the series of books by the same name revolving around a young girl with a large imagination who loves to dress up and is into all things “fancy.”

Here, children are able to choose from a variety of shoes, skirts, tops, dresses, pants and fun accessories such as hats, crowns, boas or jewelry to dress an image of Nancy, also including a nice selection of backdrops to choose from.

The look of this app is lovely with the same style of illustrations found in the series of books used throughout, making Nancy stylish and ornate without ever seeming too adult-like in her garb or provocative in her dress.

As this app opens up, Nancy is ready to be dressed up by children with the tap of the “start” button. From here, one can choose the wardrobe button and then any item of clothing or accessories available which then brings players to a scroll bar filled with similar choices.

I like how one can layer choices, adding a skirt over pants, a dress, coat and top, as well as layer on every accessory choice possible, much like the way children love to play dress-up in real life. Likewise, the removal of these layers is fun as well, as one can drag an item off the bottom of the page, freeing up space to continue to mix and add new layers of clothing.

There is also an option to create a random outfit as well that is very nice, creating a very detailed outfit full of fun elements children will love, discovering as they remove layers to see what else she is wearing and possibly developing new ways to use these pieces in their own wardrobe designs. An undo button is also offered, allowing children to retrace their choices as they swap clothing – a nice touch.

It is nice that one has a chance to change backgrounds as well, with some lovely choices including a charming backyard scene with details to me reminiscent of Monet’s Garden, a posing against a fence outside at night including details such as stars in the sky, that along with the included music creates a simple, relaxing, and serene moment children as well as adults will enjoy as well as other choices. One can also choose a photo from their device to create a personal background as well. Stickers are also included to embellish the pages.

A short story is included along side the dress up activity, which teaches children vocabulary words that pertain to fancy things as well, as does this series of books. Children are able to change Nancy’s wardrobe among the pages of this story.

I have enjoyed the first of the series of Fancy Nancy books. Although critics may accuse her of being pretentious, I choose to look at her as a child with a grand imagination, yet I can appreciate how the tone of this story can be changed by the tone the narrator chooses to deliver in the text of this story.

Likewise, this Fancy Nancy app also includes a child speaking for Nancy as she encourages young players to dress her up. Although not a major flaw, I do not care much for the tone the child narrator uses as a dash of sass may be heard by those who criticize this character as being ostentatious to a fault. I love the included frilly clothing, all charming and age appropriate, as well as less dressy elements well suited to other children who may find themselves playing with this app but who may have a taste for clothes different from Nancy herself, but comments like “I’m a glamour girl” or “That’s posh” now carry an unfortunate connotation some parents may not want to share with their children.

Keeping this in mind, fans of Fancy Nancy or other children who are into dress-up may enjoy this app a great deal.

[ Fancy Nancy Dress Up Review is a post from: GiggleApps ]

Avengers Origins: Assemble! is a very enjoyable universal interactive storybook that tells the tale of how The Avengers find Captain America, and become more of a cohesive group. I really enjoy how these characters are introduced, making this a great primer for children new to Marvel comics. Interactive moments are included throughout that children will also enjoy such as dragging the tools used by each Avenger to their rightful owner.

I enjoy the back story explaining how Namor the Sub-mariner was originally a hero who has forgotten his good-guy past to later re-emerge as a villain. Much to the Avengers’ surprise, Namor is now being helped by The Incredible Hulk, odd as he fights alongside The Avengers – not against. Readers soon find out that this is all a trick to tire Namor, giving The Hulk a chance to strike, also included as an interactive moment within this book. After the Avengers regroup, it is then that Ant Man sees a body under the water, frozen in a block of ice that readers melt with the drag of a finger, awakening Captain America. The gang still has to deal with Namor and now the armies of Atlantis as well, it is here that Captain America joining in helping The Avengers and becoming a member.

I enjoy this app very much, as does my husband, a loyal Marvel fan as well as my four year old son. The look of the illustrations is very nice, bright and colorful. I am also very happy that the included animated elements look like moving images not fully animated like a cartoon, keeping this app grounded as a cartoon or storybook without venturing too far into being a video which could distract from the reading component of this app.

The interactive elements are fun and well-placed, propelling the story as well as taking part in the action, such as helping The Hulk take a swing at Namor or using the circular drag of a finger to help Captain America swing his shield at the Atlanteans, fighting on the side of The Avengers for the first time and becoming a part of their group.

It goes without saying that the narration by Stan Lee himself is perfectly realized – a favorite element of mine within this book. Music is included as well that is also very nicely done, creating a wonderful sense of drama and suspense.

Parents also have the chance to read this book to their children, and auto play is also included, as is a “young readers mode” which aids in the page turing by including familiar arrows one now touches to continue, as without this mode a tap anywhere on the screen will progress the story, allowing children to flip pages easily by accident. I do wish, however that that page turning was not possible until the narration was complete on each page, as it is still possible to turn a page to early missing parts of this story.

The retelling of this episodic story is nicely simplified and condensed for children to follow easily, yet my husband, who has spent many hours of his youth in comic book stores, enjoyed sharing this book with our son. Although this story contains a lot of action, the fight scenes are demonstrated in a way that is fun and stylized, not violent fashion that could be off-putting to parents.

Although the release of this app coincides with the new Avengers movie, this app does not feel like a tie-in that will be forgotten when the movie is no longer a new release, but it is a very-nice retelling of a classic story that will be enjoyed for a long time to come without ever feeling like an advertisement for licensed merchandise.

Recently, new arcade-style games have been added allowing players to play these games from the point-of-view of the characters from the new movie, The Avengers, including Black Widow – not mentioned in the interactive book. These games are fun and also nicely explain the special powers of each of these super heroes.

I am happy to have shared this application with my son. We have not had a chance to see The Avengers yet, but I look forward to sharing this movie with my son who now knows a little more about this story, adding to the overall richness of the experience.

Avengers Origins: Assemble! is part of a series of Origins apps that also includes Spiderman and The Incredible Hulk. Please check iTunes for more details. I look forward to reviewing Avengers Origins: Hulk soon as well.

[ Avengers Origins: Assemble! Review is a post from: GiggleApps ]

A Jazzy Day is a lovely universal interactive educational storybook that teaches children about the instruments used to play jazz music. Narration is included as well as the ability to read this book by oneself.

Children will enjoy how this app opens up one morning as a daddy cat wakes up his two kitten children early to spend the day learning about jazz, taking a trip to hear Big Band music, meeting musicians and learning about their instruments. The illustrations are cute and include watercolor details that are always appealing. Mild interactive hotspots are also included that will trigger banter and subtle movements from these characters with the tap of a finger.

Soon, the jazz instruments are introduced. I really like the different sections and instruments found here such as the Rhythm or the Bass Section which are articulated with both words, illustrations and animated moments when instruments are tapped, allowing children to see and hear these instruments being played.

I enjoy how animals are used as the musicians such as trumpet-playing dogs, trombone-playing mice or saxophone-playing goats. Really cute details are also included, such as head-nodding or toe-tapping and tail-wagging as the animals perform, really getting into the playing of their music, as well as individual fingers strumming the bass, pressing the keys of a flute or trombone with the chest moving in and out the way one would expect, as well as other charmingly accurate details within these illustrations.

There is a nice interactivity found within this section as children can trigger these animal musicians to play their instruments, but I especially like being able to tap to play the vibraphone – a favorite instrument of mine.

I enjoy how these animals are styled to be very cool as the cat dad wears his red beret to the jazz hall. The other animals wear hip hats or sunglasses or the like, making them look jazzy themselves.

The included instrument sounds are great as well and have been recorded by professional musicians – a nice touch.

Some other sections are included, allowing players to tap to hear the sounds of the instruments as well as to move them around the page and stretch them with their fingers to enlarge them to see details.

I also enjoy the two games: “Find the instruments” where one is asked to find the instrument in question from a page of instruments as well as “Which instrument sounds like this?” where an instrument sound is played that one needs to match to the correct picture. I found these sections nicely done, but I wish it were easier to choose either game because as of now, a tap will bring players to either game rather randomly.

There is also a section that reinforces the names of letters found in these instruments, such as “p” for “piano or “c” for clarinet.

I really appreciate that this app has chosen to focus on jazz music as the other music apps I have seen through iTunes tend to be focused on classical music appreciation instead. For this reason and more, I can easily recommend Jazzy Day for toddlers and the preschool set.

[ A Jazzy Day – Music Education Book for Kids Review is a post from: GiggleApps ]

GazziliPuzzles is a very nice universal jigsaw puzzle app that includes a simple and sweet animated scene after each puzzle is completed, really bringing these jigsaws to life in a way that kids will very much enjoy.

This bright and colorful app includes six puzzles that range in the number of pieces from six to twenty, also including the rotation of pieces in the upper levels.

Children will enjoy the topics covered within this app such as a cowboy scene as well as train, skateboard, sledding, water ski and sea park motifs.

Intuitive to use, after a theme is chosen and players are brought to an individual puzzle to be worked on. Arrange the included pieces found at the bottom of the page into their correct places by dragging and dropping these pieces over the correlating area of the faint image used as a reference drawing in the background of these puzzles.

Although a subtle feeling of “grab” is included – slightly pulling the pieces into their correct location as if by magnetism – an interesting feature of this app is the ability to move pieces around the page without making a specific correct placement or mistake. This inclusion of being able to move the pieces around the puzzle board creates an experience much akin to putting together a real jigsaw puzzle – an aspect that I appreciate as oftentimes puzzles leave little room for mistakes to be made as often puzzles reject the wrong placement of pieces – unfortunate because these mistakes are great opportunities to learn from.

The most difficult three puzzles include a heavy use of rotated pieces that one must identify and rotate with a tap until the correct piece is right side up and ready to be added to the puzzle with the drag of a finger. I like the inclusion of the rotated pieces, making these puzzles a little more challenging than without.

When a puzzle is complete and the animated scene has stopped, players are brought to a bonus puzzle that when complete, becomes an object found within the Gazzili Fun Page – a reward that children add to each time a puzzle is solved. This Fun Page provides a nice level of motivation to complete each puzzle, adding the missing shapes until complete.

The elements found throughout such as the illustrations used, the included puzzle play and the added interactive hotspots one can find when tapping the included characters really make this app a high quality one that I enjoy and can easily recommend to families.

It would be nice, however, if more puzzles can be added in the future as these six puzzles, nicely done as they are, may be of limited replay value over a long period of time. I hope more puzzles can be included in a free download in the future.

GazziliPuzzles is actually a series of apps from GazziliWorld I have enjoyed as well, as I especially appreciate the use of these colorful characters appearing in these apps – a real treat for children and adults alike. I am interested to see what apps GazziliWorld comes up with next.

[ GazziliPuzzles Review is a post from: GiggleApps ]

Trucks HD – by Duck Duck Moose is a charming new app that allows children to explore five truck-related sections. As is the case with other Duck Duck Moose apps, Trucks is bright and colorful, with fun, playful characters hidden throughout that will react with a tap in various cute ways that children will enjoy, as well as including the classical instrumentals of children’s rhymes that Duck Duck Moose are well known. An iPhone version of this app is also available.

My son’s personal favorite area of this app is the car wash where he can ride a car back and forth through a mud puddle, then drive the vehicle to the next screen into a car wash and engage the different rollers, sprayers and an air blower as one drags their car through the car wash.

Although I appreciate that like within a real car wash where driving in reverse is not an option, my son would like to have the ability to of drag his car back and forth between these different stations to re-wet his car, allowing him to use the blower over and over again.

Fixing a tire is also focused on here, as one section allows players to choose a sharp object that a car rolls over onto causing a flat that will be fixed in the next scene. I enjoy how the selection of implements are random, changing as one may go back to this section, with fun choices including a fork, open safety pin or a hedgehog.

Currently, only one item can be chosen to flatten one’s tires. It would be nice if players could choose any and all sharp items to puncture their tires, just for fun.

After the tires are damaged, a tow truck takes the car to the next page. Nice interactive moments exist here like disconnecting the truck from the car or lifting the car up onto hydraulics with either the drag of a finger or tapping the up and down arrows of a control pad. A tap will bring players to a page of tire selections to chose from. Another tap adds these new tires to one’s car. Although we have heard no complaints from my son, my husband and I would love to change the car’s paint job, basic model and other elements as well, fully realizing all that could be included within a garage-themed scene, even if it is not directly related to fixing a car’s flat tire.

My son has also really enjoys the sorting game of compost recycling and garbage where he cleans the mess off a street, sorting items into the correct containers, such as produce, empty food jars and fun garbage such as underpants, a shoe or a garden hose.

Later, tap on the correlating can of the truck that is here for their pick, and the truck will then back up, allowing the monkey worker to empty the correct bin into their truck and drive off. I enjoy this section as well as this allows children to learn how to sort their waste into the correct bin at home.

A parade is also offered which includes cars, trucks, construction and emergency vehicles. Do notice the stoplight to the right of the screen where children can tap the red, yellow and green lights as doing so will stop, slow down or allow the procession to keep moving. I like how when applicable, the sirens and other sounds these cars and trucks make can be heard as well as seen when tapped, such as is the case for the cement mixer and road sweeper.

Another fun detail here is the ability to stop a car with a finger, causing the vehicle behind to crash into the car – a fun inclusion that I wish were allowed with all the vehicles.

A construction section is also included where players get to interact with a front loader and dump truck, filling and dumping piles of dirt or sand.

At first glance at this lovely and fun app, I assumed that the target audience would be the same as their earlier toddler apps such as Wheels on the Bus or Old MacDonald, yet I must tell readers that my four year old son does enjoy this app a great deal, as we had a hard time retrieving the iPad away from him while exploring this application.

I have been a fan of Duck Duck Moose from their first apps, both toddler and educational. After tackling such subjects as math, reading, puzzles and music, I have wondered what would be next from these prolific developers. I am happy to see their interest in developing open-ended applications as well. I am very interested to see what Duck Duck Moose comes up with next.

[ Trucks HD – by Duck Duck Moose Review is a post from: GiggleApps ]

Color Dots is a bright and fun universal application that the youngest of app users will enjoy. Color Dots is very simple and is geared towards babies and toddlers as colored dots are popped with a tap of a finger as they move around the screen.

At first, a single dot is to be popped. When this is done, the screen color changes and two more appear, then three, and so forth. I can imagine that the bright colors and simple cause-and-effect would be very engaging for babies.

I appreciate how one can change the size and speed of these dots, making this game surprisingly challenging even for adults on the smallest, fastest settings, allowing parents to slowly increase difficulty for their children as their tracking and hand-eye coordination improve with age. Other options include whether to include vibration, popping or musical note sounds, or to make this a silent game. I personally find the musical notes very relaxing and enjoyable to listen to and interact with. One can also control the number of dots found in use as well including a border of these dots, creating nice effect that I personally enjoy.

It is also worth noting that this app, as well as the other apps within the library of other Ellie’s Games, are thought highly of by families with special needs children for their simple, engaging game play.

There are many apps in iTunes that are designed for babies and toddlers. It is easy to recommend Color Dots for the use of brilliant colors, relaxing sounds, and simple interactive elements.

[ Color Dots Review is a post from: GiggleApps ]