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Clara City – Canovia Studios S.L.

  • March 11, 2013 7:19 am

Clara City – Canovia Studios S.L. is a really well drawn app that is meant to guide a child through the city safely while accomplishing tasks set by her father. Your child gets to pick which child they want to be. The oldest, middle, or youngest. I bet 99% pick the oldest!

Once you have picked your character you are off to perform tasks. The detail in Clara City – Canovia Studios S.L. guides your child on to the next step. First you are assigned tasks then you have to explore a bit.

My 6 year old loved Clara City – Canovia Studios S.L. and returned to it later in the day. She was crossing the street and performing her tasks by exploring and clicking on anything (many things move when clicked, which is neat). She was having a lot of fun.

For both the iPhone and iPad.

Learning – 2
Attention – 5
Fun – 4

Total – 11

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A Troop is a Group of Monkeys By Little Bahalia Publishing

  • March 7, 2013 7:51 am

A Troop is a Group of Monkeys – Little Bahalia Publishing is a fun and interesting book. The typical book features are there. You can have the book read to your child or read it yourself, the words being read are displayed at the bottom of the page, but are not highlighted. The topics in the book are what are impressive.

A Troop is a Group of Monkeys – Little Bahalia Publishing takes your child through sixteen different animals and the term that defines a group of those animals. It is a simple concept, but when added with the teaching tips there is a real chance for some learning in this simple book.

A Troop is a Group of Monkeys – Little Bahalia Publishing adds in the idea of memorization, reading, and simple identification to an illustrated book. The characters move, and the narration is well done. A Troop is a Group of Monkeys – Little Bahalia Publishing is an app that your child can pick up and start reading within a minute. That is ideal for the most basic learning experience, but when you sit with your child and experience A Troop is a Group of Monkeys – Little Bahalia Publishing with them, the book takes on a while new potential.

Attention – 4
Learning – 4
Fun – 3

Total – 11

iPad only.

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Cookid Teaching Jar By Juan Pedro Lozano

  • March 6, 2013 7:04 am

Cookid Teaching Jar – Juan Pedro Lozano is a great app for kids to learn reading, hand-eye coordination, matching, counting, and new animals at the same time. Oh. And my 6 year-old thinks it is fun!

I wasn’t so sure when I first started to play Cookid Teaching Jar – Juan Pedro Lozano. Yes I play each app before reviewing it of course – part of the fun! I wasn’t sure if Cookid Teaching Jar – Juan Pedro Lozano was a good app because I couldn’t seem to figure out how to get to the next level or “oven.” Turns out it is easy. I was just being a dumb dad.

Cookid Teaching Jar – Juan Pedro Lozano has three languages. Espanol, French, and English. Since I only speak and read English fluently, that is the language I chose, but I can see the other languages as great learning tools for an non-English speaker or if you wanted your child to learn some Spanish or French animals.

Cookid Teaching Jar – Juan Pedro Lozano is fun, educational, and rewarding. After the video my daughter insisted on playing with the app as she went to bed. Those cookies, the swiping, pinching, and pulling make for a challenge that should last a long while.

Attention – 5
Fun – 4
Learning – 4

Total – 13

iPad only.

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Lazy Bird by Tatyana Mironova

  • March 1, 2013 6:42 am

Lazy Bird – Tatyana Mironova is a fun book with all the usual features PLUS record your own voice.

Not only does Lazy Bird – Tatyana Mironova allow you to read a book, have it read to you, and record your own voice!, but you can also click the characters and watch them move. We really like that.

Lazy Bird – Tatyana Mironova is a fun story that kept my 6 year old interested the entire duration. I even recorded my voice for several of the pages, which was really neat to do. The book is well written and narrated by a young girl which is cool too. The interactivity makes it that much better.

Lazy Bird – Tatyana Mironova is available for the iPad and iPhone. I linked to the iPad version below because we obviously review both iPhone and iPad apps at kidsiPhoneAppReview.com. I believe it is a universal app.

Learning – 4
Attention – 3
Fun – 5

Total – 12

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Zuko Monsters By Goodbeans GmbH

  • February 28, 2013 6:07 am

Zuko Monsters – Goodbeans GmbH isn’t really a learning app at all, but rather a fun pokemon type role playing game. The story is well drawn and the game is sufficiently challenging for children 6 years and older.

The basic idea of Zuko Monsters – Goodbeans GmbH is that you are given the chance to fight the monsters who are the bad guys. You get to fight and capture using various little monsters who you need to keep healthy and grow their skills and abilities. You have certain tasks you need to accomplish and levels that you can pass.

Zuko Monsters – Goodbeans GmbH also includes a local challenge and gamecenter battle which is cool.

The fun is in the challenges and the quest. My six year old thinks the game is awesome as does my 12 year old. Fun? Yep? What do they learn? Some money management, some math, and some critical thinking.

The only caution I would give parents is there is the ability to buy credits in this app. Up to $99 at a time! Be sure to immediately require a passcode for in app purchases within your iOS device to be safe.

Fun – 5
Learning – 3
Attention – 5

Total – 13

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Story Train By SS Infotek Inc

  • February 27, 2013 6:52 am

Story Train – SS Infotek Inc., is a fun and simple game to teach your young one reading, letters, numbers, coloring, and some topics about animals and farms. Included in the game are two stories for free and four more than can be unlocked for .99. The drawing app is simple, but that is a positive. Your child is given either a blank slate to draw on or templates of letters, numbers, or coloring book type pictures of different objects. 19 coloring pages in all.

For .99 Story Train – SS Infotek Inc., is a great app to load on your iphone (it is an iPhone app, but scales ok on the iPad too) and head out in the car. My six-year-old spent 15 minutes with the app the first time she touched it and will likely pick it up a few more times in the future.

Learning – 4
Fun – 3
Attention – 4

Total – 11

Be sure to check out the video too:

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Yumby Toss by PlayGearz

  • September 20, 2012 6:41 am

Yumby Toss by PlayGearz is our first app back from a short break and boy were we pleasantly surprised!

Our five year old fell in love with Yumby Toss by PlayGearz immediately. She loves the characters, the game play is familiar, and the story was enticing for her. She has played Angry Birds in the past, but Yumby Toss by PlayGearz has an extra fun twist that can revive the interest in the genre.

Was it fun for just our five year old? No. Parents were playing too. Yumby Toss by PlayGearz is just too fun to pass up.

The developer is awesome and the app is currently free. There are some in app purchases available, so be sure to lock down the device to avoid unintentional purchases by the young ones.

As usual check out the video below of our first glance at the game.

Our ratings:

Fun – 5
Learning – 0 (it is a game!)
Attention – 5

Total – 10

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Thomas & Friends: Engine Activities By Callaway Digital Arts, Inc.

  • December 26, 2011 7:10 am

Thomas & Friends: Engine Activities By Callaway Digital Arts, Inc. is another great activity app by Callaway Digital Arts. My four year old loves Thomas & Friends but she loves puzzles and coloring even more. Thomas & Friends: Engine Activities By Callaway Digital Arts, Inc. hits the spot for her. It is a lot of fun.

For some reason I think boys might enjoy Thomas & Friends: Engine Activities By Callaway Digital Arts, Inc. more than girls just because, well, Thomas is a train I guess, but my daughter still loves the app and game.

Is it typical that Thomas & Friends: Engine Activities By Callaway Digital Arts, Inc. would b so popular? Is it an easy formula to come up with a great activity app? It seems not. The activities in Thomas & Friends: Engine Activities By Callaway Digital Arts, Inc. are similar to those activities you would find in a traditional coloring book, puzzle, and matching game set. Three in one!

Attention – 4
Learning – 3
Fun – 4

Total – 11

If course we love the Big Grips iPad case. Be sure to check it out:

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A Charlie Brown Christmas By Loud Crow Interactive Inc.

  • December 24, 2011 7:30 am

A Charlie Brown Christmas By Loud Crow Interactive Inc. is the perfect book/app for Christmas eve! Read another amazingly interactive and almost 3-D book by Loud Crow Interactive with your children right before you put them to bed. Perhaps at lunch since A Charlie Brown Christmas By Loud Crow Interactive Inc. will probably get your little ones thinking about Santa and all excited.

Loud Crow Interactive does an amazing job of bringing stories to life. It is as if the cartoon version of the story is melded with the book and made into an interactive story book movie on the iPad. It really is magical when you see your four year old engaged with Charlie Brown and friends just like you probably were 20, 30, 40? years ago! It is worth it. Believe me.

A Charlie Brown Christmas By Loud Crow Interactive Inc. retains the classic feel of Charlie Brown while taking advantage of the touch screen, gyroscopes, display, and processor power of the iPad. You can read a long with the book or have the volume turned off and read it all by yourself. The characters move, the snowflakes pop, and you can repeat paragraphs or single words if you want.

This is a fun to read book and you could use it as a reading reinforcement book, but it is not something I would consider a learning to read book. The words are just a bit too small. The story and graphics stand out, but it isn’t something I would use to teach my 3-4 year old to read with. That is just fine! I just wanted to point it out.

Attention – 5
Fun – 4
Learning – 3

Total – 12

There is no question you should be downloading this app right as you read this. Here is a link to make it easier:

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The Berenstain Bears Trim the Tree By Oceanhouse Media

  • December 23, 2011 7:22 am

The Berenstain Bears Trim the Tree By Oceanhouse Media is another great book from Oceanhouse Media. We have mentioned this several times this week already, but we love the style of the books, the interactivity, the narration, and The Berenstain Bears Trim the Tree By Oceanhouse Media adds another touch – flaps to open and close.

We all remember the books with flaps as kids. By the time I got a hold of a book with this hidden gems they were all very well worn and easy to notice, some were ripped right off in fact. That is hard to do with the iPad version of these books. The flaps are a fun addition to the story and usually hide something silly and funny.

The Berenstain Bears Trim the Tree By Oceanhouse Media is a neat story of out favorite family of bears getting their tree ready for the holidays!

Fun – 4
Learning – 3
Attention – 4

Total – 11

It looks like the Big Grips iPad Frame is sold out! We love that iPad frame and hope that as you read this you already picked yours up or have one on order for Christmas. Check the other colors if Pink is out of stock. It is a no brainer. Buy the Big Grips iPad Frame.

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