In typical and awesome Oceanhouse Media fashion, Tacky’s Christmas By Oceanhouse Media is very well written, narrated very pleasantly, and has just enough interactivity to keep my four year old interested. She knows that she can click on each object to hear and see the word it represents. She can hold a paragraph to have it repeated, but rarely does. Swiping the pages is the most fun it seems and she gets really upset if you turn the page early! A sure sign of a good book.

Watch the video for a taste of what Tacky’s Christmas By Oceanhouse Media has to offer. Will your child learn to read in this format? I am not too sure, but I am confident this format will work as a good reinforcement to other reading activities.

Attention – 4
Fun – 3 (it is a book not a game)
Learning – 4

Total – 11

iTunes link

It is great to read/watch/play with these books when you have such a great iPad stand and frame. be sure to check out the Name Your Link. We love ours.

My four year old likes to have the book read to her “by the iPad” and can click on the objects in the story to hear them sounded out and see how they are spelled. The book has a lot of areas to explore and the graphics and color, which are classic Dr. Suess, are perfect on the iPad.

Fun – 3
Attention – 5
Learning – 4

Total – 12

Check out the video below and of course we have our iPad wrapped in the Big Grips Frame for iPad 2 – Pink

I am sure we still haven’t figured out all the nuances of each page. Shaking the book does one thing, picking the right frame does another, and there are even drawing games.

I “read” this book with both my four year old and ten year old. The former liked the interactivity and the latter was looking for the information the book provides. Both found it rewarding from what I could see.

I love books like this that are much more immersing than you can get with a “regular” book. The graphics, and audio, and interaction are tough to beat!

Fun – 4
Learning – 4
Attention – 5

Total – 13

The idea is simple you have three modes: Choose a word to match to an object, find an animal to match to a word, or spell the word using the alphabet and outlines.

The first two choices are a bit hard for my four year old to do on her own. She needs an adult sitting there with here. That is absolutely ok! This level of learning takes a bit of involvement.

The third choice she can handle on her own and it still has the potential to teach her the words along with proper placement or spelling of the letters in the word.

I am impressed with this simple yet potentially very effective spelling/reading app called Mentor-Words By Mentor-Kids. The game play isn’t perfect since the screen sometimes scrolls rather than clicks, but that takes about two times to get used to and you are on your way.

Learning – 5
Attention – 5
Fun – 4
Total – 14

Is it fun? It sure is. Is it a challenge? Yep. Will it keep your child occupied for hours on end? Probably not, but a fun counting app isn’t that easy to come by so Papa Penguin By Ideal Bureaucracy LLC is worth the download.

Fun – 5
Learning – 4
Attention – 2

Total – 11

The interface was a tiny bit confusing at first, but after a few minutes with a parent my four year old was able to use the app on her own. It is just something to note–parents need to be involved with just about any app and all apps are better learning tools when a parent is helping.

Sorting the ducks is a great game, picking the colored shapes has a nice interface, and overall the game is very enjoyable for my four year old.

Fun – 4
Learning – 4
Attention – 3
Total – 11

Can you really enjoy “reading” a book like this with your child? Yes. take the ipad on a trip, switch from a great book to a fun game at anytime. It is a great tool on a long trip or just before bed.

My four year old starts up this book by herself and I hear it reading to her while she is politely listening and sometimes not so politely pressing on the screen. The interactive parts of the book are the most intriguing part. If there is a section or page of the book that is not as interesting as the others then she can click away while still hearing the story.

Fun – 4 (it is a book after all)
Attention – 4
Learning – 4
Total – 12

Lola’s Magic Cube by Beiz is a puzzle game. Simple as that. You have three levels each containing five puzzles. The puzzle pieces are mixed and turned, so there is more than one dimension to the game. At first it took me a minute to figure this out and show my four year old, but then she had it down. She quickly progressed to level two on her first turn with the game.

She still has fun with the game after a few weeks and I really think there is a good chance for some tactile learning. In Kindergarten (the first “grade” that kids attend in the U.S. for those of you from outside the U.S.) kids learn things like how to use paint, scissors, and glue. This game is similar to the scissors activity where it is teaching tactile skills. Fine motor skills as well as problem solving.

It has a great method of providing the game and learning together.

Attention – 5
Fun – 4
Learning – 4

Total – 13

Watch my four year old explore the game. It is fun!

I think it is a good app, but it has one flaw. The never really enjoy shaking my iPhone or iPad. It is hard for my four year old daughter to shake the device sometimes too. For a one year old it would be nearly impossible. . The developer has updated the app to address this issue and you now have the option to not need to shake the device! Awesome! That being said this is not the type of app that a small child would play with by themselves. It is a way for an involved parent to teach their child animal sounds in a new and interesting way.

I do recommend the app, but would like to be able to touch the animal to make it make its sound!

My four year old is giggling and having a fun time while she is playing with the app.

Attention – 4
Learning – 4
Fun – 4

Total – 12

The book does a great job of getting you ready for bed. The characters all do the normal pre-bed tasks. You interact with them and my favorite part is the screen fogging up. A neat book by a great author narrated in a very appropriate manner.

Attention – 5
Fun – 3
Learning – 4

Total – 12