Kerry E.
Status: Beta reviewer
Categories of apps she/he wants to review: Books - Education - Entertainment - Lifestyle - Photography - Productivity - Utilities - Other
iDevices she/he owns: iPad1- iPad3- iPhone4S
Description: I am a Spanish translator with a background in editing/proofreading, graphic design and typesetting. My family is very much into Macs, iPhones and iPads. My interests include fitness, cooking and music. I love watching my three kids learn about new subjects thanks to the wonderful educational apps that can be found in the App Store.
Profile categories: Can test apps with kids ages 0-2 - Can test apps with kids ages 3-5 - Teaching kids ages 0-2 - Teaching kids ages 3-5
Date when her/his profile was validated: 2012-05-18
User who invited him/her: Jean-Eudes L.
Total review Karma: + 18
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Each time a developer thinks a review from a reviewer is useful, he give to this reviewer +1 in review Karma. The more Karma a reviewer has, the better her/his reviews are assessed!
Her/His app reviews
Bo's Dinnertime v 1.0 [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
The arrows at the top of the pages to go back and forth between pages are easy for children to see, and the app is very intuitive that way. I like how there are a variety of fine motor activities for the kids. It's wonderful how Bo changes what he is eating for dinner and for dessert. It really gives kids an opportunity to practice colors and shapes. |
| Improvements |
When you're at the grocery store, and catching food in the cart, the food falls behind the cart and then shows up in it. It looks a bit odd that way. I would also like to see an option where the child could drag unwanted items into the cart, and have the app say oops or try again. I would just like to see more options of having the child mess up and then be corrected. The dinner table puzzle is another example of this. |
| General review |
This app can be played over and over again. My children had a really good time with it and want to go back to it again and again. Their favorite parts are when Bo eats dinner and dessert. Bo is a very memorable character, and the kids recognized him right away. My children and I are already looking forward to the next app. |
Tapikeo HD (3.01) [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
This app is awesome. I love how customizable it is. The user is easily able to make his or her own grids and record various words or sounds. My five year old daughter really enjoyed recording her own voice on her very own grid. Additional grids are available, either via in-app purchase or free download. I was really impressed by how many free downloads are available. |
| Improvements |
The app can seem quite overwhelming at first, simply due to the sheer number of options available. I would like to see a tutorial window pop up upon opening the app, with an option of "Never show this again", only because the question mark help icons were not readily apparent to myself or my kids, and we floundered around for a few minutes before figuring it out. |
| General review |
I think this is a wonderful app for teaching children different words and sounds. My son, who just turned two, is not talking yet, and this app is a great resource for him to learn anything we want to emphasize. I would recommend this for vocabulary purposes as well; you could teach an older child more and more advanced words through making your own grids. The possibilities are endless. Kudos to the developer--this app is very well done. |
Simplex Spelling Phonics 1 - English [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
I love how intuitive the app is. Even though it is so intuitive, a new user is immediately launched into an introduction of how the app works, which is very helpful for a child learning to navigate it on his or her own. The sheer number of lessons that you get with this one purchase is amazing! |
| Improvements |
The user can put the letters out of order if she wishes, which may be helpful for some, but I would like to see an option that a parent might turn on to have the child only be able to spell the word in order. Also, if you enter a letter out of order and then have to delete a letter that comes before that last one, you end up having to delete everything, which is a little annoying. That situation wouldn't arise if the option mentioned previously were implemented. |
| General review |
This is a wonderful app for someone just learning to spell. I can already see my beginning speller (five-year-old) improving by leaps and bounds after just a handful of lessons. I can't wait to see what she can do after going through the whole program. It really is a tremendous amount of content for a relatively low price. |
Bo's Bedtime Story [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
I really liked all the game options for my kids. There's matching, color recognition, sorting, a maze, dress-up options, and more. I have a five-year-old, three-and-a-half-year-old, and an almost two-year-old, and they were all entertained for quite a bit of time. It's very helpful how the narrator explains the task at hand, so the children understand what is expected of them. |
| Improvements |
In the first game, where you have to sort blocks, doll, and cars, the object isn't considered sorted until it's in an exact spot at the top of the bin. My children all had trouble getting it where it was supposed to be. I would like to see it sorted when it's just on the bin; as it is right now, it was somewhat confusing and frustrating for my kids. |
| General review |
I'm a big fan of this app. I think it can be played over and over again, especially for a child's own bedtime routine. My kids were all very engaged and entertained by all the different games. My girls especially loved the dress up game with all of the various outfits. I would recommend the app for ages three and up, only because it is a bit advanced for my two-year-old's motor skills and comprehension. |
Alphabet Jumbled v1.0 [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
What a wonderful alphabet app! I like how the letter is repeated when you tap on each abc flash card. Repetition is wonderful for those beginning learners. The easy jumble game is a fun, puzzle-like game wherein kids learn sorting at the same time that they learn their alphabet. I love the jumble a-z minigame where the child must rearrange all of the letters into the correct alphabetical order. This is such a refreshingly new game. |
| Improvements |
The letters in know your ABC's are shaped weirdly in a way to be whimsical or cutesy, and it's a little confusing for kids trying to learn the real shapes of the letters. For example, the h looks like an n. When rearranging the alphabet, the letter has to be placed exactly between two letters, which was confusing to my child when she knew she had the right letter but it was marking it as incorrect. The sound when selecting a game on the homepage is funny and not in a good way...I would suggest changing it. |
| General review |
This is a wonderful app for children ages two and up to learn the alphabet. My only minor gripe is that some of the letters are shaped in such a way to be a little bit confusing, for example, the "h" looks kind of like an "n". My five-year-old daughter absolutely adored the jumble A-Z game, and went back to it many times. I would love to see capital letters added in an update. This app is definitely going into our regular rotation! |
The Waterhole - Graeme Base (1.2 iPad) [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
The illustrations in this app are absolutely fabulous. I can't get over how beautiful the animals and landscapes are. This story is very well written, and my children loved counting each animal on every page. It is an excellent way for children to learn numbers and develop an appreciation for art. The animatch game was a big hit with my three and five year olds. |
| Improvements |
The frog hopping game was a complete disappointment for all of us. Nobody could figure it out. I would like to see some hints at the bottom that the user could access to be able to play it. The hidden animals were very difficult for my children to find. They had fun tapping all over the place, but they weren't able to find much. Differing levels of intensity would be great so that both younger and older kids could find the animals. |
| General review |
I really have a great appreciation for art, and the illustrations in this app are quite breathtaking. The app also has a very enjoyable matching game with additional illustrations. I would definitely recommend reading this book and introducing your children to numbers, counting and art, all in the same app. The hidden animals are a little hard to find, and the frog game is confusing, but overall this app is one that my children and I enjoy. |
Budget Balance, version : 1.2 [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
This app has a lot of good initial ideas as far as budgeting goes. There is a lot of information, which is covered in a help section that the user can go to if he or she is confused. However, I really have to say that there was not much that I liked about the app. I don't think the ideas were well implemented. |
| Improvements |
This app needs a lot of improvement. The help section is riddled with grammar errors and typos, and as a professional proofreader, upon reading the help section, it is unlikely that I would keep the app on my device. I understand having a typo here and there, but there's really no excuse for how many there are. If you can get past the typos, the help section is still confusing, and it creates more questions than answers. I would say the help section needs to totally be redone. |
| General review |
Honestly, I think the actual app has a lot of great ideas. But the execution of those ideas is poor. The help section was so confusing that I had a hard time understanding how to use the app. I think if the developer revamps the help section, this could be a good app. It does have great potential. |
Chocolate Chip Cookie Factory: Place Value (v1.0) [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
I really appreciate how this app can help a child with mathematics in many different ways. I know it says age six and up, but my five and a half year old daughter had fun with it, also. I would think that ages five and up could use it with parental supervision. This is a wonderful app for learning addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. |
| Improvements |
I wish that the explanation for how the app works was more extensive. I felt like you really have to muddle around trying to figure out how to do each stage. For example, counting was supposed to be the easiest one, yet the app froze several times while trying to do it, and it was confusing. Even when we were tapping on the cookies, the count never went up. |
| General review |
This is a wonderful app for helping your child understand numbers higher than 20, which my kindergartner needs. I love the options for tens, hundreds, thousands and many more. This app could be used with five-year-olds as well, as long as you're doing it with them. I plan on using it with my daughter to help her with math. The app is confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's great. |
Be a Buddy, Not a Bully -- A Tales of Midlandia Storybook v0.9 [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
The illustrations are gorgeous. I really like that there's a map at the beginning that shows the reader where exactly the farms are in relation to the rest of the town. The fact that the part that you are supposed to press next glows for you is very helpful for little ones who are reading or first time readers of the story. |
| Improvements |
In the part of the story where Buck starts throwing ears of corn at Harvest, it's not real evident at first that you are supposed to press the other buttons in order for Harvest to dodge the ears of corn. I understood it after a couple seconds because I'm an adult, but I don't know that a small child would understand without a little bit of explanation... maybe just a sentence saying, help Harvest dodge the ears of corn by either jumping or ducking. |
| General review |
I really like how the story would teach children to go to an adult when someone is bullying them and explain the situation. I also like how the chief gave Buck a chance to read about how Harvest had felt about the bullying, and let Buck think about the way he had acted and remedy the situation by himself. I highly recommend reading this story with your child, whether they are being bullied or not. Very well done! |
Preschool Kitty 1.4 [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
This is a neat bunch of games including find the difference, colors, puzzles, shapes and letters. I know my five and a half year-old is closer to the older end of the recommended age for this app, but she had a lot of fun with it and was entertained for quite a while. I like how the puzzle game consists of many pieces, so my older daughter did not find it too easy. |
| Improvements |
It would be nice to have a main menu and be able to decide which game you want to play in which order. Also, the help button, located at the bottom right of the screen, is confusing in that it is not evident that it will repeat what the Kitty says, instead it seems like it will take you to a help menu. I would change the symbol there to a volume icon so it is clearer what it is. I know you can turn the music off on the first page, but it would be helpful to have that option on every page, if you decide later on that you don't want to hear the music. |
| General review |
I think this is a great app for learning for the recommended ages of three though six. You have to be able to understand what they're asking for in order to play the games, so unfortunately, my two-year-old is not quite ready for this app. My five-year-old loves it, though. I think it is wonderful for reinforcing basic, common concepts that preschoolers and kindergartners should know. |
Healthy Creatures 1.0.0 [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
I especially am a fan of the no in app purchases or banner ads. Having those in apps has always been a frustration for me as a parent, because my young children are forever pressing things they should not be. It means that I will definitely be on the lookout for future apps from them. Also, my three-year-old absolutely adored this app. She and I both love the concept of playing with food without the mess or frustration. We also really like the option of choosing your own pictures to decorate, and being able to save finished masterpieces. |
| Improvements |
It forces you to be in portrait mode, and I think that the iPad is especially made for landscape mode with regard to artistic apps. Also, it appears that once you press the play button, there isn't a way to get back to the initial screen. An option to mute the background music would be nice as well. When trying to rotate or make the objects bigger or smaller, it was frustrating because the objects seem to revert to the original size or become huge very easily. An option to erase the whole picture should be included as well; I had to erase them one by one when starting a new picture. |
| General review |
This is a wonderful app for encouraging artistic expression and playing with food shapes without the mess or clean up for parents. My kids always want to play with their food at the table, and I always discourage it for obvious reasons, but this app will go into our regular rotation so that they can get that out of their system and have fun, too! No in app purchases or banner ads is also a huge plus. |
Thomas's travels in Bookland [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
I really like the narrator's voice in English. It is very soothing and pleasing to the ear. The illustrations are very cute, also. The story is very engaging, and my children enjoyed finding the interactive elements. I especially like the twist at the end. |
| Improvements |
Right on the homepage it says, 'purchases restored', and 'purchases' is misspelled. The icons with the books and the Facebook logo are right where little fingers will get at them and get out of the app, which I don't really care for. The other icons for text and sound are not very obvious for little ones, and even for myself, it was hard to get the sound working at first. Also, it seems to me that you should not have to press the text and sound buttons on every page. |
| General review |
This is a cute story to help children understand the worlds that they can find themselves in when they learn to immerse themselves in books. There are also references to several famous books, which can help children get interested in those books as well. I had a little bit of difficulty restoring my purchases after I bought the entire book, but if you give it a couple of minutes, it will work. |
Heidi story collection - 3 in 1, Version 1.0 [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
I like how there is an option for more advanced readers with more text. Also, when you turn the sound off, I like how the app lets you know where to touch to access each interactive element and in what order. The option for the less advanced readers is nice to have, and I like how it lets you know exactly where on the page the narrator is reading. The sheer volume of content in this app is amazing! |
| Improvements |
Perhaps when the text is being read by the narrator, it would be helpful for there to be an option for it to turn off automatically if the interactive elements have been pressed, just so there's not so much confusion and people talking over one another. The little girl's accent in English has her saying the word 'with' as 'wif' and 'truth' as 'troof', which may be a little confusing to those just learning to pronounce words, but it's a very minor gripe. |
| General review |
This may be a little pricier than a lot of other apps, but you get a lot of content in return. You get access to spot the difference games, jokes, quizzes, and lots of real-life information about Heidi's village, Switzerland, animals and nature, and much, much more. The stories themselves are fantastic and extremely well done. My girls were enthralled. Highly recommended. |
MyCQs v1.0 [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
I love how intuitive this app is. The introductory section is brief and to the point, and you can get started on creating your own tests quickly and easily. The community section, where you can gain access to other tests that people have created and uploaded for the purpose of sharing, is great, too. This app has great potential, and can be used for all ages. |
| Improvements |
The app did crash when I was trying to access a fellow user's quiz in the community section. This may be due to the iCloud problem that was addressed in the introduction of the app; I'm not sure. Also, this app has tremendous potential in terms of social interaction, but there aren't currently a lot of quizzes in the community section. I attribute this to the newness of the app, and I expect when word-of-mouth gets around that it will become a lot bigger and therefore users will have access to many more quizzes. |
| General review |
This is a great app for educational purposes, and also just for fun. All ages can use it---parents may need to create quizzes for their younger children, but other than that, the app is extremely intuitive, and it is very easy to create one's own quiz. I created preschool and kindergarten quizzes, and I can see the usefulness for higher education as well. Highly recommended. |
Wubbzy's Space Adventure [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
I really like how the text is highlighted as the narrator reads each word. This is very useful for my kindergartner and preschooler who are both learning to read and recognize words and letters. The animations are super cute and entertaining. The games are fun and a nice break from the narration of the book. |
| Improvements |
The minigame "Space Craze" in the middle of the book is a little advanced for my almost 4-year-old. The obstacles are going a little bit too fast for her---just my observation. It would be nice to have an option to slow them down a little bit for younger children. I would love to see another one or two minigames added in a future version. I really don't have any other dislikes; the app is very well done. |
| General review |
This is a really cute app, even if you have not seen the original Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! show. There's a book, mini games, painting, and catchy videos with songs. I love the grownup's corner at the end of the book. There are questions to consider for little ones and not so little ones. It's a great conversation starter. Also, the words are highlighted in the book as the narrator reads them. This is very helpful for beginning readers. |
Chabadabada [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
This is a very original take on the classic tale of "Puss in Boots". The hidden animations are very engaging, and my four-year-old was enthralled with finding out what was new on each page. The option to turn off the sound completely is nice for when you're in a situation where you need that. I love that there is an option to listen to it in French as well as English. |
| Improvements |
When you click on contents, the "x" to get out of it is not very evident at first. It also was not very responsive when I was trying to tap it, although it did close after a few tries. The same is true for the language options. Also, if you want the narrator to read to you, you shouldn't have to click that option again on the very next page. It should remain open until you decide not to have it at all anymore. |
| General review |
I think that this app is maybe better for ages four and up, since the storyline is a bit long and advanced for the younger ones, in my personal opinion. I do think that elementary school-aged children would find it very humorous. My four year old daughter enjoyed the castle, the drawings, and the music. |
The Legend of Momotaro - Version 1.0 [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
Wow, this app is really neat! I am a translator by profession, so I really appreciate the language capabilities. I really like the ability to practice drawing the Kenji symbols, and hear the Japanese words pronounced. The interactive elements are great for little fingers, and were very much enjoyed. |
| Improvements |
On the first page under instructions, there are a couple of typos. It should be "to get the most OUT of" and then "slide your finger left or right ACROSS the screen." This is only the second screen that I saw, so it was a real turnoff, and I wondered if the rest of the app would be full of mistakes. Luckily, it wasn't! |
| General review |
The illustrations in this book are fabulous. It makes the story very realistic and enjoyable. The children really enjoyed being able to scroll back and forth across the scene, find the hidden illustrations and learn more about the Japanese language and culture. I will recommend this app to everyone I know with young children! |
Thumbelina : 3D Pop-up Fairy Tale v1.0 [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
I like how you can turn the background music off if you wish, so you can hear the narrator better. The interactive games are spaced evenly throughout the book, and are a nice change from just the narration. The illustrations are really cute and are engaging to young readers. |
| Improvements |
On page 1, there should be a comma after the word "asked"; Also, I would maybe change the word "asked" to "said", since she says a statement first and then asks a question. The background music is a little bit too loud when compared to the narrator's voice. It is a little distracting at the current volume. On page 19, it should be "in a dark" instead of "in dark". Are on page 20, it should be "such a sweet voice" or "so sweet a voice." |
| General review |
This is a neat app that totally engaged all of my children. They were enthralled from the beginning all the way to the end, which is saying something, since it's 32 pages long. The kids loved all of the 3D interactive scenes. This is a great adaptation of the classic fairytale. Wonderful for young children! |
Splash Money [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
This is a neat concept for those just learning about money and its value. The tutorial for how to use the app is very well done. I like the progression of concepts, and the examples illustrate said concepts very well. The lessons prepare the students well for the tests that they are about to take. The monkey's encouragement is a good motivator for children to get the answers right. The explanations for incorrect answers are great for helping children to understand how to improve the next time around. |
| Improvements |
The narrator speaks a little too slowly. It seems like it is just really slow going. I understand that some children will need that pace, but my five and a half year old got bored pretty easily. She's interested in the material; I think if it moved a little bit faster, she would have been more engaged. The accent of the narrator is a little different from what we are used to as Americans, but with time we adjusted to it. I would like to see some tests geared toward those who can't quite read yet. My four-year-old is not able to read yet, but I think she could learn about coins and take a test if there was a section devoted to those a little bit younger. She did sit with us and listen to the lessons quite eagerly, so I really think there is a market there for those not yet in kindergarten. In all honesty, I find that a button saying "no, I don't want to receive these awesome reports" is a little annoying. All you have to say on the button is "no, thank you." I'm much more likely to sign up for email updates from an app that does not try to guilt me into doing so. I do like the option to receive email, I just don't like the negative button. The sections in the lesson that told you to touch the coin to see the reverse side were running a little bit slowly. I did have to tap each coin at least a couple of times before it started working. All in all, though, a great app, and I will be working on it with my daughter on a regular basis. |
| General review |
What a wonderful app for those learning about money! This is great practice for my five and half-year-old. I highly recommend it to introduce these essential concepts to young children just learning to read or who already know how to read. Having the option to receive periodical updates for how your child is doing via email is great as well. |
iVocAudio, your memory chum (v 2.1) [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
This is a great app, not only for schooling, but for anything you might need to memorize in life in general. The intro video explains the app very well, and I felt like I had a good handle on how it works just by watching the video. Also, I like being able to customize my lists, and get ideas from finding other lists that I am then able to import. The option to send and share lists with friends and family is great. I wish I had had this app while I was still in school! :-) |
| Improvements |
The app does need to be checked for spelling errors and typos. For example, on the introductory page, it should say "Welcome to iVocAudio", "We recommend that you watch the video below…", and "minimum" is misspelled. A native English speaker needs to go over the text in the app to ensure that the English sounds natural. Also, it's a bit disconcerting when you're listening to the tutorial to have the audio suddenly get very loud and then go back to a normal level. |
| General review |
I really think the developer has thought of everything in order for someone to be able to memorize something quickly and efficiently. I am very impressed with all of the options available, such as changing the question and answer order, importing new lists, and having questions that you don't know as well come up more often so that you learn them better. |
Paddle Duck in Where's Carrie Cat? An Interactive Story V1.2 [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
All the interactive parts were very fun for my children. They loved being able to touch things and hear sounds and see the animations change. We really like the little song. Counting to three on two separate occasions was very fun and educational for my two-year-old. Also, I absolutely love to see an app without in-app purchases! |
| Improvements |
The acoustics in the app are a little bit off. It sounds like in some parts the voices are louder than in others. It's not to the point where it's completely off-putting, but it is noticeable, especially with the animal sounds. The accent is fun for me to listen to, but for American kids just learning to talk, the pronunciation could be a little bit confusing. An example is the word "farm", pronounced as "fahm." Also, the story ends sooner than you would expect. |
| General review |
This is a very fun little app for smaller children. The animation and interactivity are very cute, and my children enjoyed it. You might say that they were glued to the app the entire time it was on. I would like it better if the story were a little bit longer, but we definitely enjoyed what was there. |
Christmas Karaoke: Christmas Carols & Christmas Songs vers 1.0 [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
I love being able to sing along to the songs. It's much easier to learn them when you are following along with the lyrics and have them all in front of you. Having the information about each song's origins is a great idea and helps one learn more about Christmas. |
| Improvements |
I would really like to be able to play this app in landscape mode or at least have the option of doing so. You cannot read the credits on the credit page. They are obscured by the snowflakes. Additionally, this is not really karaoke…if it were karaoke, you wouldn't have the lead vocals still attached to the music. It should be called Christmas sing-along or something similar. Also, in the song Jingle Bells, "one horse" is shown as one word, but it should have a space in between the two words. Also, your pop up should say, "you have used this app a lot..." |
| General review |
My kids and I really enjoy this app. Every time I played a song, they got up and danced to it in its entirety. It's a neat little app that gets you in the Christmas mood. With that said, it is not karaoke in the true sense, since the lead vocals are still on most of the songs. It does help you learn your favorite Christmas songs very well and is a lot of fun for the kids. |
Hedgehog Book v1.0 [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
I really like how this encourages children to both learn their colors and follow directions. The illustrations are very cute and whimsical. I can see how children would really enjoy the interactivity along with reading the book. Having the next step not be immediately evident can be a good thing for children, as they can learn to puzzle it out for themselves. |
| Improvements |
The app wouldn't let me hold the iPad in the direction I wanted to. I had to turn it upside down. I think the user should be able to view it the way they want. Also, it's not immediately evident in the Daisy book that you have to touch the daisy to get started. I can see younger children becoming confused at what they have to do in order to keep the story moving. We got stuck when it says to "blow mic" to comb her hair, although it finally worked. We also got stuck when it says to shake the iPad, although it does eventually work as well. |
| General review |
This is a neat story book that has three stories and a lot of interactivity. Children will enjoy getting involved and learning how to make the story progress. If you get stuck or are not sure what to do, there is a helpful question mark at the bottom of the screen. It's very good for both learning colors and learning how to follow directions. The daisy story is the best one; the other two are rather short, but are also cute. |
The Friendly Ogre [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
I love how you can click on contents and see exactly how many pages are in the book, and you can go to whatever page you would like. This allows you to skip going through the entire app if you had to stop in the middle of it for some reason and is very useful. Also, being a translator, I very much appreciate the ability to listen to the story in another language. My husband speaks French, so this is a great way to introduce our children to the language. |
| Improvements |
I do really wish that you didn't have to click on the lips to read the book to you on every single page. I believe this was a complaint of mine from the last book as well. It seems to me that if you click on it at the beginning to read it to you, you would want it read to you in its entirety. Also, and this is minor, and I realize that the app having it like this is a way of being individualized and unique, but I do prefer more realistic illustrations. Lastly, the story ended rather abruptly for me. |
| General review |
This is such a cute little story. I love these developers and the way that they capture a child's imagination. You really start to feel for the characters and their situations. I absolutely recommend getting this app, and especially listening to it in French! |
Meet the Insects: Village Edition (1.0.0) [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
The animation in this app is simply stunning. I am in complete awe of the developers! I would love it if all apps to this high of a standard of visual communication. I think the idea to have an observation journal is rather ingenious. I know my kids will enjoy recording their observations of insects in our garden outside this spring. |
| Improvements |
There isn't a lot of negative to say about this outstanding app. I think it has been well thought out and carefully planned, and it shows. If I had to nitpick, I would say that the massive size of the app will almost certainly keep some users from buying it. I myself would probably not have bought this app, as I had to delete quite a few apps to make room for it. Also, the quiz questions are a little bit too easy, in my opinion. |
| General review |
We adore this app! It is a great way to get to know the many different species of insects. I would say that some parts, such as the info videos (length-wise), may be better suited to ages 5+, but there are many other aspects of the app that younger children can enjoy as well. I know our little family will be enjoying this app for a long time, since there is a ton of content. Everything is extremely well done, and the graphics are outstanding. |
PUZZINGO Puzzles (Pro Edition) – Animated Kid’s Puzzles [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
I like how the narrator tells the user exactly what they are tapping on as they are tapping on it. Also, it's neat how the app just has the user do a few puzzle pieces at a time, and then adds more as you go. We loved the little mini games when we were done with each puzzle! What a fun idea! Finally, I love how new content is going to be added every so often. We look forward to more puzzles! |
| Improvements |
I think if the user places the puzzle piece near enough to where it's supposed to be that it should be recognized by the game. It seems like it's a little too picky, especially for children with motor skill difficulties. I could see my younger children getting a little bit frustrated with repeated tries. Other than that, the app is extremely well done! |
| General review |
This app is wonderful for all children, but especially for my 2.5-year-old who has speech delays. The opportunity for him to learn a lot of core educational subjects, such as shapes, animals, etc. and have them reinforced through one of his favorite things, puzzles, is one that we will definitely not pass up. He adores puzzles, and there is so much content here, it will keep us busy for a long time. This is absolutely a five-star app! |
Weather and Clock for Kids [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
I like how the child can click on the food or crayons or whatever it might be on the table and have animation occur. Making well-known cities available is a great idea. Having the user be able to click on the city and see exactly what time is and what the weather is like there is so neat, not only for the little one, but for the parent, too! |
| Improvements |
I would really like it if you were able to add your own cities. I didn't see a way to do that. That way, we could see the cities that our relatives live in, since we live far away from our family. Also, it seems like there's not much to the app; I would love if there were two or three activities that you could do related to time or the weather. Maybe you could increase the price of the app to $1.99 or even a little bit higher if you added a couple of activities. |
| General review |
This is a fun, cute little app for those kids who are curious about the weather and what time it is. You can see what time it is and what the weather is like in your current location, as well as other famous cities, such as Paris. I absolutely love the other language options, since that's my profession. You can put it in Portuguese, Russian, French or English. Perfect for your little budding linguist! |
Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 1.0 [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
This is a wonderful app with great illustrations. The illustrations really open up the story. I absolutely love the interactivity. The ability to play with elements of the page is great not only for the kids, but for the adults who are reading the story to them. The interactive part is extremely well done. |
| Improvements |
I really do wish there was an ability to have a narrator read the story to you. I have one child who can read, but two others who cannot, and even so, it is nice to have that option. Also, the fact that the little lamp at the bottom center of the page is a home icon is not readily apparent. It could perhaps be marked better. |
| General review |
I love this story, and this app really brings life to it. The interactive elements on some of the pages are so fun for the kids to play with, and helps them maintain interest in the story as well. The illustrations are well done, and the app overall is a great way to introduce your children to this classic story. |
The Lonely Beast ABC [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
This is a pretty straightforward app for children learning their letters. I really appreciate the animation on each page. I think that children really enjoy those kinds of things, and it certainly helps keep their attention focused on the app. I also think it's neat to have the letters and words repeat when you tap on them again. Repetition is a great way to learn. |
| Improvements |
I do wish that there was some kind of indication that you need to swipe to the left to advance each page. There are no arrows or any text explaining what to do in this regard. I got the pages to turn by process of elimination instead of knowing what to do. I think some children might get frustrated by this. Also, "Z" is pronounced as "Zed" instead of "Zee." I don't know what this means, but it's confusing for kids to have a letter pronounced incorrectly. |
| General review |
This is a great app for kids who are learning the alphabet. They get to play with neat animations on each page, all while having their capital and lowercase letters reinforced. This is a good alphabet app for children to both keep focused and have some fun at the same time. I have two little ones currently learning their letters, and this is a definite hit with them! |
Finding the Way Home [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
The animation is very well done, and I like how the clouds move over the title on the homepage. When the narrator asks the reader to find a letter, it's nice how the letter is on the bottom of the screen so they can compare it to the floating bubbles. This is true throughout the app, so that young ones can better find words and letters that they are being asked to find. |
| Improvements |
It would be nice to have the option of turning the narrator off and reading the book yourself. I did not see a way to do that. There just are not that many options, for example, to skip to where you left off in the story, or to just turn the page ahead of time, etc. It was really frustrating to leave the app for a minute, and come back and it started over even if I was in the middle of it. I noticed two typos: The rabbit says, "the three is very old." instead of tree. Also, when the frog is playing with the tree, he says "I'm geting nervous." Getting is spelled wrong.
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| General review |
This app is very well done, and it will help young ones learning to read to find letters and words and get better at reading. The segues to letter and word games are seamless, and little ones will really enjoy the story and games. My only complaint is that I wish there was a way to skip to a certain point in the story instead of having to start all over if you have to leave the app and come back later. Otherwise, great job! |
Animal Planet Hide & Seek Pets [text]
Link to the App Store
| Rating |
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| What I liked |
I like how if you stay on the opening screen and watch, little animals come out from behind the logo and make noises. It is a very cute introduction. The narrator's voice is very easy to understand to understand and pleasant to the ears. I like how the text is highlighted as she says it. This is very important for children who are beginning to read. |
| Improvements |
The animal planet animated logo at the very beginning is cut off due to screen size. You can hear what they are saying, but you can't see the whole logo. During the beginning activity, when it tells you to touch the hamster to spin the wheel, the whole menu comes down from the top, which I think was to show the user where the menu is, but it's confusing that it does that. It made me think that by touching the hamster, I made the menu come down. Also, the app froze in the middle of tracing the letter "a" in the word cat. I'm not sure what happened. |
| General review |
I am very pleased with this app. There are many different activities that your children can do, including memory match, painting, music, tracing letters and numbers, fact-learning, and puzzles, in addition to hide and seek. In fact, I think the title is kind of misleading, since this app offers so many other activities besides hide and seek. This is a great app for young children, and mine had a blast with it! |
