Here we are at the ninth installment of the App Report, chock full of family-friendly apps from the developers in the Moms With Apps group. We have a bumper crop this week.
Read about Elly, Sparky the Shark, The Lonely Stable or Billy the Unicorn in Books. So Ouat applies their literacy techniques to the classic Peter Pan and Oceanhouse Media lets you put your child into a Christmas book.
If you’re looking for education, you’re in the right place. Learn math with Math Critters, Multiplication Table or Operation Math. Do a little drawing with iLuv Drawing Santa. Little ones can check out Baby’s Favorite Words, Montessori Memory, Baby Try to Speak Counting Bees, Jewel River or CVCReader. Learn a little French or Spanish with Montessori French Letter Sounds or Spanish Word Wizard. Do a little coloring with Coloring Christmas or Color Mix (Fairy Princess). Finally, Kindertown arrives with their curated educational app store app.
Build a snowman or color seasonal pictures in Entertainment.
Kids can learn colors, work on early learning skills, practice coloring or put together Penguin Christmas puzzles in Games. Kids of all ages can build a world, learn a little musical rhythm or play along with a Dr. Suess Band. The classic Rush Hour returns in a holiday edition sure to perplex us all over again.
Those that look forwards to holidays all year long need look no further than the lifestyle section.
Glowtunes arrives in a holiday flavor in Music.
Looking to learn a little Portuguese? Check out the travel section.
Click on the links to find out more about each app. If you find an app you like, remember to write a review on iTunes.
– Garry Froehlich | Jellybean Tunes
Books
Elly Book 10 by Dipali Vaidya: In this seasonal tale, Elly is surprised one snowy day by a knock at her door. It turns out to be a polar bear called Lumi, who has lost his way. Together with her friends, Elly makes Lumi feel at home and finds a way to help him back to the North Pole. Elly’s kindness doesn’t go unrewarded as in the final scene something magical happens! iPhone and iPad | |
Sparky the Shark – A Frighteningly Funny Adventure by Biscuit Interactive: Sparky is a friendly shark who is misunderstood. In Sparky the Shark, follow Sparky and his penguin pal Dax on their belly-laughing adventure to find Sparky a new ‘look’ so he will be accepted by people. This upbeat and hilariously funny story with ‘hero’s ending’ will be a guaranteed hit with your child. iPad | |
The Lonely Stable by R04R: “The Lonely Stable” is a book app that reminds children that it’s never too late to live out God’s plan for their lives. Told from the stable’s perspective, this intriguing Christmas book tells the story of Jesus’ birth. From time to time, we all wonder about our purpose in life. iPhone and iPad | |
Billy the Unicorn in 3D by Mobad Games: Mobad Media transforms Brianne Drouhard’s charming children’s book into an extraordinary 3D experience for the iPad & iPhone 4. Billie the Unicorn seeks adventure! She leaves her cornfield for the forest where her friendly cousins – Rhubarb and Smudge – grow delightful flowers like magic. Soon Billie learns that gardening takes both skill and love. However, the legend of a Queen’s castle, which holds the world’s grandest garden, lures Billie away! But will Billie discover that friendship matters the most? iPhone and iPad | |
The Adventures of Peter Pan by So Ouat: Peter Pan, who lives in Neverland, is a boy who refuses to grow up. With the help of the fairy, Tinkerbell, he’ll introduce his new friends, Wendy and John Darling, to this imaginary world. Throughout their adventures, they’ll meet the Lost Boys and scary Captain Hook. Immerse yourself into Peter Pan’s Adventures story with cartoons, karaoke-style reading and sound effects that stimulate the imagination. Give your kids a taste for reading with this intuitive ebook and its enriched content! iPhone and iPad | |
Picture Me Christmas Cutie by Oceanhouse Media: Easily take a picture or add photos from your library to the Picture Me Christmas Cutie omBook and your child can see themselves dressed up in various costumes including a helpful Santa’s elf, cute Christmas teddy bear, jolly snowman, cuddly mouse and playful reindeer. Young children will enjoy the playful sounds and interactive objects on every page. The omBook supports pre-literacy skills in the youngest of readers and encourages imaginative play as a child can take on a variety of characters. iPhone and iPad |
Education
Math Critters by Learning Yard: The Math Critters teach your kids how to add, subtract, multiply and divide with ease as they chase the Math Wizard to improve their arithmetic skills. Choose to embark in an adventure by chasing the Math Wizard across 5 math lands or engage your competitive spirit in unlimited arcade play with 1 or 2 players. iPad | |
Montessori French Letter Sounds by Les Trois Elles Interactive: Designed by Les Trois Elles Interactive, publisher of the award winning Numberland HD, Montessori Letter Sounds in French is a French language app teaching children letter sounds (and not letter names) to get them ready for reading. Based on sound games, this app is ideal for children between 3 and 7 years old. iPad | |
Baby’s Favorite Words by James Elder: Designed for little fingers and big imaginations, Baby’s Favorite Words will delight your child with the big Words, expressive characters, spoken audio, and fun music! Chosen for their simplicity and often occurrence, the 15 words are: Apple, Baby, Ball, Banana, Bib, Blocks, Book, Cat, Cow, Cup, Dog, Fish, Shoes, Spoon, and Truck. iPhone | |
iLuv Drawing Santa by MyVijan LLC: Great Holiday Activity for parents, teachers, kids and students! You can create holiday cards for friends and family while you learn to draw Santa Claus, Snow Man, Reindeer etc for FREE! iPhone iPad | |
Tapikeo by Jean-Eudes Lepelletier: Tapikeo allows you and your children to easily and quickly create your own audio-enabled picturebooks, storyboards, visual schedules, memory aids, audio flashcards, and more using a versatile grid style layout. Create engaging combinations of your own photographs and narration for pre-reading children to enjoy independently, or watch the imagination of your older children soar with this unique method of creative expression. iPad | |
Super Speller: Create Your Own Spelling Tests by Quiet Spark: Super Speller allows your child to practice spelling any word, including those that they are learning at school, to help improve their test scores while making learning fun. In Super Speller, you can easily create spelling tests for your kids. To create a test, you simply enter the word and record yourself speaking that word and, if you like, a sentence to go along with it. Super Speller also includes a study page and a fun feature called “Smiley Hints”, an animated friend that provides your child facial cues based on their spelling of the word. iPad | |
Montessori Memory by Bonto.ch: Montessori Memory is a fantastic Educational game that will give the opportunity to all kids to play a classic memory or a learning memory, with a voice telling the name of the objects! Using this system, the kid can learn the name of the objects listening to the voice and reading the name of the object inside the card. iPhone and iPad |
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Multiplication Table by Esa Helttula: This app can be used to visualize the multiplication table. The aim is to increase the intrinsic motivation of a student to learn the multiplication table. There are no quizzes, badges, or timers in this app. Explore the multiplication table, see multiplications as visualizations, see how each number has an unlimited number of multiples and scramble and solve the multiplication table. iPad | |
Baby, Try To Speak by eveokom: Discover an interactive world, identify animals by listening to their names or sounds, or play a memory matching game. Three languages (English, French and Spanish) and four levels of difficulty are included. Available for iPhone and iPad in four versions: Farm Animals, Woodland Animals, Sea Animals, and Jungle Animals. | |
Counting Bees by Piikea St. LLC: Kids will learn counting to 20 by guiding bees to the flowers! As they learn to count, they will fill four big honey bears. This game is relaxing and non-violent and provides a safe and fun environment for kids to learn to count. Learn to count in English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese Chinese, and Japanese! iPhone and iPad | |
Jewel River – Preschool and Kindergarten Math Game by KinderTown: Jewel River is a one-of-a-kind math game that teaches preschoolers and kindergartners how to instantly recognize quantities of objects without counting. Known as “subitizing,” this skill is an important part of early childhood learning, and is an idea taught by the popular Montessori system. What makes Jewel River unique is its additional 2-player mode which encourages kids to cooperate and is also a great way for parents to get involved with what their children are learning. iPad | |
Color Mix (Fairy Princess) by A+ Kids Apps & Educational Games, LLC: Children love learning that Red and Blue can be mixed to make Purple. Add some Black and it’s a Dark Purple! Other apps only let your children choose a crayon color. Color mixing allows them to explore their creativity by learning to mix colors and then paint “masterpieces” with them. iPhone iPad | |
CVCReader by Elusive Promotions: CVCReader has been designed to help your child learn to read by segmenting and blending the sounds in words. In addition, it provides a fun and enjoyable way to develop their early phonic skills which are essential in improving their ability to read more complicated words. It has been made by teachers with extensive experience of improving the reading levels of children within UK schools. iPad | |
Kindertown by Kindertown: KinderTown is an “educational app store” that helps parents find the best apps for young kids. With more than 47,000 educational apps out there, finding apps that are fun and have learning value can be difficult and time consuming. KinderTown makes it easier. We test apps with teachers, parents, and kids and pick only the best for you to see. We organize those apps by age and subject so you can quickly find ones that will help your child learn. iPhone and iPad | |
Coloring Christmas! by Weiner Family Studios: Coloring Christmas is a fun holiday coloring activity for children. This Coloring Book app will keep your children busy using a variety of bright colors and seasonal patterns that show off their creativity. If your kids are looking for a fun way to decorate this holiday season try coloring a large variety of pictures including Santa Claus, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the snowman, the Nutcracker, presents, winter wonderland friends, nativity scenes and even angels. iPhone and iPad | |
Operation Math by Spinlight Studio: Dr. Odd is on a global quest to eliminate the world’s even numbers. And it’s your job to stop him, by seeking out his secret bases, destroying his menacing mainframes and making the world a safer place for math. Complete each mission by solving the equations that lock the doors along your escape route in 60 seconds or less and earn all the uniforms and watches of a seasoned Base10 spy. iPad | |
Spanish Word Wizard by L’Escapadou: Spanish Word Wizard is a unique app that lets kids hear the sounds of letters and words using a talking movable alphabet. Featuring advanced text to speech capabilities, the app can pronounce and spell-check an unlimited number of original spanish words. Spanish Word Wizard also provides spelling practice with a list of more than 1,500 questions and answers, and the best is that you can add your own words to create any spelling quiz. iPhone and iPad |
Entertainment
Make-A-Snowman: Holiday Gift by SpentakLabs: It’s wintertime again. The snow is coming down hard and you’re stuck in-doors with nothing to do. Well, now you can put all that down time to good use and build a snowman without ever having to step a foot outside! iPhone and iPad | |
Lil Painter Winter Edition – Creative Coloring Book by Tapptil: Coloring has never been more fun or creative! Lil Painter Winter Edition is the perfect way for children to get into the Christmas spirit while simultaneously developing their artistic sides and exploring their imaginations! The app includes over 40 winter season illustrations and backgrounds. Can be painted by selecting a tool like paint bucket, magic crayon, paint brush, spray or chalk. iPad |
Games
Henry’s Smart Headlamp by Campfire Apps, LLC.: Henry will help your child become smarter as they use Henry’s headlamp to search in the night for all of the hidden objects like letters, numbers, shapes, and colors. Simply drag the light around the screen to highlight the hidden objects and get a special surprise when you find the object Henry wants you to look for. Henry’s Smart Headlamp is an engaging way for your child to practice basic early learning skills. iPhone and iPad | |
Little Star Piano by Fun To Learn Apps: Little Star Piano is a music rhythm game that is great for kids ( or adults ) who want to start or have just started playing piano. The aim is to improve sight-reading and rhythm by playing the melody to the songs. 12 classic songs and 3 levels of difficulty included. iPhone | |
World Tree – Christmas Gift Ver. by Singularity Games: World Tree is the first tree world simulation type game. You can build a fantastic world where you control almost everything! By combining 3 types of branches and 12 different patterns of leafs (more to come in future updates), you can grow your tree totally unique from any other one in this world! iPhone | |
Trunky Memory Game by Serious Games Interactive: The Trunky Memory Game is a matching game with an educational twist. In this game, there are 3 categories (pictures, words, and numbers) with numerous game modes in each. Apart from matching pictures, you can also match words to words, letters, and pictures. In the numbers category, you can match equations to their answer, or numbers to roman numerals, the written form of the number, or pictures. iPad | |
Magic Coloring – A free draw by numbers game by Alexandre Minard: With “Magic Coloring” your child will have fun coloring various original drawings. Magically color the page with the correctly colors in freehand mode, select colors to match a colored pellet, select colors to match a number or select colors that match a simple equation. iPhone and iPad | |
Baby Learns Colors by Bebebe Co.: This colorful and highly interactive game will help teach your little ones the names of 12 basic colors. It will also be fun for older kids and even adults to learn colors in other languages. Record and share your own unique and personal voiceovers. iPad |
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A Penguin Christmas – JigSaw Puzzles for Kids by Apps Kids Love – LLC: Santa visits the penguins of the South Pole for the holidays in A Penguin Christmas – Jigsaw Puzzles! 16 cool and fun penguin cartoons sized from 6 to 20 pieces with a guided mode for younger kids. iPhone and iPad | |
Dr. Seuss Band by Oceanhouse Media: Experience the excitement as Dr. Seuss Band transforms your device into a vibrant, energetic musical instrument that all ages will enjoy! Jam along with playful Seussian melodies or create your own whimsical masterpiece. As you play, you’ll unlock new instruments, silly effects and catchy songs. Contains over 120 combinations of sounds, so you’ll always have something new to discover! iPhone and iPad | |
Rush Hour Holiday by ThinkFun, Inc.: Rush Hour: Holiday Edition gives ThinkFun’s classic brain game Rush Hour a complete redesign with seasonal graphics, 400 never-released challenges, four levels of play from Easy to Expert, and a whimsical holiday theme. Rush Hour Holiday Edition is a must for Rush Hour fans – and anyone who loves logic games. iPhone and iPad |
Lifestyle
Holiday 365 by SchaetzKc LLC: Holiday 365 is a one stop shop for celebrating the holiday’s 365 days a year. Developed with the holiday lover in mind. The application will allow you to have a countdown to all your favorite holidays, find recipes and search for holiday events in your area. iPhone |
Music
GlowTunes Christmas by Chris Martone: Decorate your tree with music! GlowTunes Christmas lets you decorate a tree with beautiful lights that glow and play unique melodies! It is the absolute best Christmas gift for anyone with an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch! Based on the original best selling music app, GlowTunes, GlowTunes Christmas puts a holiday spin on what has been called “Music Magic”. Simply select a color and tap anywhere on the tree to place your lights, press play and watch a dazzling show of lights and music! Hear your song evolve as you add and remove lights! iPhone and iPad |
Travel
brazilian.portuguese.verbs – learn the language by Lux HQ Ltd: Are you an English speaker learning Brazilian Portuguese and looking to expand your vocabulary? Then brazilian.portuguese.verbs was tailored just for you. 99 flash cards, audio samples, sample sentences, made for language learners by language lovers. iPhone |
App News
My PlayHome by Shimon Young: now a universal app and named one of the best kids apps of 2011 at bestkidsapps.com. iPhone and iPad |
Peekaboo Barn by Night & Day Studios, Inc.: is now sporting a wintery-christmas holiday makeover for a limited time! iPhone iPad |
Arthur & Charles Present Create & Play by Moopf: has been made into a FREE app. iPhone and iPad |
Shake-a-Phrase by Artgig Studio: has been updated with improved vocabulary and a better starter theme. iPhone and iPad |
Curly Hair, Straight Hair by 33 Loretta Kids’ Books LLC: was included in the Critics’ Pick section of Kirkus Reviews. iPad |
Sight Words Hangman by Marcel Widarto: has added iPad support and a professional voice actor. iPhone and iPad |
Pirate Scribblebeard’s Treasure by Kidoodle Apps: has added 2 new pages. iPad |
Simplex Spelling Phonics 1 by Pyxwise Software: New and Noteworthy in Education. iPhone and iPad |
Flying Poodles – A Christmas Story by Poodle Dog Productions: Awarded Best Mobile App of 2011 in the Fun Stuff Category by Parent’s Choice Foundation. iPhone and iPad |
Kid-Capsule: Family Event Journal by Zen Labs LLC: updated with holiday event layouts, a new calendar view and a brand new way of sharing events and memories with other members of your family. iPhone and iPad |
Alien Buddies by Artgig Studio: New and Noteworthy in Education and featured on the App Store Facebook wall. iPhone and iPad |
Just wanted to thank Jellybean Tunes and MomsWithApps for including GlowTunes Christmas in this report, and also to let everyone know GlowTunes Christmas has bee chosen for the “New and Noteworthy” section of Music Apps on both iPhone and iPad! Thanks to everyone who has supported me, AppHappy Studios, and GlowTunes. This is a great way to end 2011! Happy Holidays!
Yowsers.
That’s all I can say!
Thank you, nice job on this list, grabbed a few I didn’t have. Thank you