Price: $1.99   Score: 9/10   By Michelle Schusterman

Download this one for the kids, and you’ll find yourself hooked. I’m not going to disclose how long I spent trying to get through all the levels of Save Teddy, but suffice it to say it was tough to put down.

The object of the game, designed by Kadamedia, is to save the cute and cuddly Teddy, who is hanging from a balloon, by arranging other balloons beneath him for him to bounce off of safely to the basket below. If Teddy lands safely in the basket, you move on to the next level. If he ends up on the ground or runs into a crow…well, it’s not graphic but those button eyes take on a decidedly X-shape.

Each level shows Teddy hanging from his balloon, which won’t pop until you tap it, so there’s no rush to get everything lined up. There might be a few crows in the air, which don’t move, and you can even plant a balloon right on top of them if they’re in the path to the basket. In addition to the colored balloons you can move around, there are always a couple pink “locked” balloons that you can’t move and must either use or get around somehow.

The way Teddy falls and bounces off of the balloons is fairly realistic, so it’s apparent very quickly how you need to arrange your balloons. But like I said, this one gets challenging quick, even for adults. However, between the adorable graphics and the bouncy music and sound effects, I don’t think this is one kids will give up on easily. And there’s an added challenge that isn’t necessary to complete a level but makes the game more interesting for adults; each time you hit a balloon (which have different values) you rack up points, so sometimes the most direct route to the basket isn’t the best if you want to go for the high score.

At $1.99, this one is a great deal for the kids – and quite possibly, you’ll enjoy it as well. And if you’re one of the first few readers of this post, you can enjoy Save Teddy for free thanks to Kadamedia and these two promo codes! If you use one, be sure to tell us in the comments, and enjoy!

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Save Teddy requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. A small expedite fee was paid by the developer to speed up the publication of this review.

Price: $1.99  Score: 10/10  By M. Schusterman

This app comes with a warning – if you let your child read this book, you may have a very hard time getting your iPhone back.

How to Train Your Dragon, a DreamWorks Animation hit movie, is available as an e-Book app for kids thanks to FrogDogMedia LLC.  One of the keys to designing an app that children will actually use and enjoy is simplicity, and thankfully, this app has just that.

Touch the icon and the app automatically opens in landscape mode (better for little hands, in my opinion). Cue the opening credits music! (And don’t forget the headphones if you’re out and need to keep the kiddo occupied.) All your little one has to do is tap play. To adjust the settings, there is a small “information” icon in the top right corner. You can turn the narration on and off, set the pages to turn automatically, and choose whether or not to include the highlighted text option.

The story itself is, of course, adorable, and the pictures that accompany the story are straight from the movie. The text appears at the bottom of the screen, and as the narrator reads out loud, the words are highlighted in chunks of phrases. This happens to be a proven way to improve reading skills, making this app more educational for kids than watching the movie itself. After a few watches, try turning off the narration to see how much your child can read on his own.

Even with the automatic page turn, your child can turn the pages back and forth with a swipe. Tapping doesn’t interrupt the story, however, so touching the pictures won’t be disruptive.

It’s educational, it’s fun, it’s guaranteed to keep your child occupied, and it’s only two dollars. I highly recommend adding this to your children’s app collection.

How to Train Your Dragon requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. A small fee was paid by the developer to expedite the publication of this review.

Price: $0.99    Score: 10/10    By Michelle Schusterman

If you think a dollar is worth a fun, educational toy that will keep your child entertained, I highly recommend checking out Sound Touch.

I’ve mentioned in the past that I think the key to a successful iPhone app for children is simplicity. For the younger ones, even swiping can get a little tricky. Sound Touch relies only on taps, making it super easy for little fingers to navigate.

The app opens right to the activity, without a main menu. It’s broken into four categories, which are shown at the bottom of the screen as pictures – Animals, Transportation, and Musical Instruments. Each page has twelve items displayed with bright, cute cartoon items. Tap a picture, and a real life photo of the item pops open, accompanied by the sound it makes. Tap the picture anywhere, and it disappears.

Playing around with the app, I discovered something even cooler – each item has not one, but three real pictures and sounds! Bringing up something new every time you tap is a great way to keep kids’ attention. The photos are great, as is the sound quality of the recordings.

My favorite is the musical instruments section – I love that kids can tap on a piano or trumpet and hear three different runs. Tapping on the drum shows them a drumset, bongos, and marching drums. With ships and fire trucks, sheep and donkeys, and accordions and harmonicas, it would take a while for little ones to get tired of this game!

I’d love to see more apps from Sound Touch with even more categories for kids to explore and learn. This is a fantastic concept, and I think it’s been really well executed. At just $0.99, I think Sound Touch is a wonderful deal for parents.

Sound Touch requires iPhone OS 2.0 or later and is compatible with the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Price: $0.99    Score: 9/10    By M. Schusterman

It’s not unusual to see iPhone apps aimed at young children not quite work out. The intention is usually good, but it has to be a pretty simple concept – not to mention bright and colorful – to really keep their attention.

Sheehan Applications seems to understand this, because their app Let’s Hear the Animals is simple, fun, and as kid-friendly as it gets. The app is automatically in landscape mode – a plus for me with children’s apps, because they seem to have an easier time holding the phone and navigating the screen this way. The main menu allows you to choose either English or Spanish, great for ESL or Spanish language students.

There are six pictures of animals on each screen, and you can swipe to view the next six. Tap an animal to view in full screen, read the name, and hear an automatic audio recording of the name. You can return to the menu, or just tap the arrows to move back and forth through the animals.

After a few dozen animals, the app moves on to four animals per screen. This is when kids will really start to enjoy Let’s Hear the Animals (and when parents will want to invest in some earphones). Tap the animal to hear a real audio recording of the animal itself. A nice touch that I really appreciated was that you don’t have to wait for one animal sound to finish before tapping another animal. You can even tap all four quickly and hear all of them at once. Kids tend to get impatient easily, and making them wait to hear one sound before hearing another would probably cause them to lose focus. If they want to tap the screen frantically and hear the whole menagerie, why not?

I reviewed the free version of Let’s Hear the Animals, which comes with advertisements. Younger children especially would be confused by these, as when the ad pops up, it seems the only button to tap is the one that encourages you to learn more about the ad. Tapping outside of the ad brings up a choice of either getting the app advertised or skipping the advertisement, meaning it would be very easy for your child to accidentally download an app onto your iPhone. However, there is an advertisement free version of Let’s Hear the Animals available for $0.99.

I love that the app is available in both English and Spanish. The two year old I tested Let’s Hear the Animals out on was enchanted with it. Definitely a great learning tool for little ones on road trips – just don’t forget to bring the headphones!

Let’s Hear the Animals! requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later and is compatible with the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Price: $0.99    Score: 7/10    By Daniel Bischoff

ShowMe Stories, from developer SID On, is an app with great value for anyone with young kids.  Basically, ShowMe Stories is a collection of visuals that the user reveals by swiping his or her finger over the screen.  The images, controls, and content are all perfect for the little ones in your life.

When you start up ShowMe Stories, you’ll see four different categories to choose from, including men at work, animals, fable figures, and pictures of your own choosing.  Obviously, tapping this last option will bring up the photo albums you currently have stored on your iPhone.  If your child wants to reveal a picture of him or herself, they can do that, but the other categories also have a lot of different images to reveal.

There are 30 pictures in total, and in the first category, Professions, there are images of firemen, construction workers, doctors and garbage men.  After every picture is wiped clean and revealed, the iPhone gives off a little cheer.  It’s a real simple task, but your child is sure to get a kick out of this and want to keep playing.  Simply tapping the little arrow that appears to the right of the image will let them do that.

You can also back out of any category at any time by tapping the menu button that appears in the top left hand corner of the screen.  This helps if your child gets tired of Santa Claus or doesn’t like the hunchback of Notre Dame, from the Fairy Tales section.

Of course, your child can always check out the worms, rabbits, and other animals in the animal section if the other two haven’t appealed to them.  For $0.99, ShowMe Stories is an exceptionally well geared app for people with children who may need to entertain on the go.

While there is an age limit to the children who will be entertained by ShowMe Stories, the app can be an invaluable tool if your child falls within the appropriate age range.  It provides friendly images, audio, and interactivity all in one.

Show Me Stories is compatible with the iPhone and iPod Touch.  It requires the iPhone 3.0 OS or later.

Price: Free   Score: 7/10    By Michelle Schusterman

MyIphonics II, developed by MyiPhonics, Inc., is the next in line in the MyIphonics series of apps to teach children basic phonics. In a previous review of MyIphonics I, I mentioned my support for using technology like this to teach children.

My opinion of the design of this app is the same as before – I love the flashcards and think they’re a wonderful resource for pre-k and kindergarten students. I like the pictures in the Sounds menu, although I wish they were bigger, rather than having all twenty consonants on one page. I also think landscape mode might be easier for some children.

My only problem is that MyIphonics II, with the exception of the game, is the exact same app as MyIphonics I. As a customer, this bothers me because the iTunes page clearly states: “MyIphonics I teaches children letter sounds. MyIphonics II teaches children beginning sounds.”

This tells me the apps will each have a different focus. Instead, the Sounds and Flash Card pages are 100% identical. That means a customer will download a second app that is two thirds the same as the first. And the full game is not included in the price for either app – it’s an additional $0.99 each. Granted, this is spelled out clearly on the developer’s website.

I like the games in both versions, and I think kids would like them too. In MyIphonics II, three pictures with different beginning letters are over two pictures and one blank space. A three letter word is spelled out beneath. Kids are instructed to drag the picture that starts with the missing word to the blank space. It’s a cute concept, and I feel like it could be useful in helping kids learn.

But again, the game is only a preview – the full game is $0.99. And this bothers me because it is the only thing that makes this app different from the first, which most customers are likely to already own. Not a big deal considering the apps are free, but they both take up space you could be using for something else, and it’s implied that the apps focus on different concepts. The bottom line is this app will be a fun purchase for your child, but you probably can stick to one or the other rather than spending money for both.

MyIphonics II is compatible with the iPhone and iPod Touch.  It requires the iPhone OS 3.1 or later.

Price: Free    Score: 8/10    By Michelle Schusterman

I’m a big fan of technology in the classroom for students of any age, and it’s obviously something many app developers have already tapped into. The iPhone is a very intuitive device, and kids enjoy using it, so why not give them something educational to do rather than accidentally calling all of the D’s in your phone book?

MyIphonics I is the first in a series of apps by MyiPhonics, Inc., designed to help children in pre-k and kindergarten learn the alphabet and the actual sounds each letter makes. When your target audience is 5 years old, the app needs to be simple and entertaining, and MyIphonics succeeds at that.

The app opens to cute music, then right to the Sounds page, so no need for menu navigation from the start. The consonants are up first, twenty little pictures with words that start with the letter (a basketball for B, a tiger for T, etc.) Touching the picture prompts an articulate voice to say the word, then instruct the child to say the sound the letter makes (not the letter name itself). Touching the arrow or swiping the screen brings you to the vowel page, which is the same.

Because all of the consonants fit on one screen, the pictures are rather small. The vowel pictures are the same size. I think bigger pictures spread out over more pages might be a little easier for young ones – I’ve taught kindergarten before, and too much in one place tends to make them lose focus. I also think being able to play in landscape mode might help little hands hold on to the phone a bit better.

Next to Sounds on the navigation menu is Flash Cards, which is my favorite part of the app. Each flashcard fills the screen with a picture, the letter, and a star. Touch the picture to hear the sound the letter makes at the beginning of the word, and touch the star to hear the letter itself. An arrow brings you to the next flashcard. They’re simple, the pronunciation is very articulate, and I think these would be great for kids to practice.

The third component is the game. Starting the game brought up a window asking if I wanted to buy more letters. I half-wondered if this was a Jeopardy kind of game (“want to buy a vowel?”), but then I checked the MyIphonics iTunes page. There are two apps in the series, and from what I understand of the description, the game that comes with this app is a “Lite” version. That means the game comes with six letters, and to purchase the full game is $0.99. So keep this in mind if you want the full game for your child.

The game is cute – three of the now familiar pictures are lined up over a blank space, along with a letter and the star. Touch the star to hear the name of the letter, touch the pictures to hear the sounds their beginning letters make, then drag the correct picture to the blank spot. If you drag the wrong one you get a silly noise, and the right answer gets applause.

The flashcards alone are enough to sell me on this. The bottom line is that a $0.99 price for the app and full game is definitely a fair one for what you’re getting.

MyIphonics I is compatible with the iPhone and iPod Touch.  It requires the iPhone OS 3.1 or later.

Price: $0.99    Score: 8/10    By Shaun Campbell

A remake of a classic card game, TwentyFour! is a new math-inspired game developed by Lucid Logic LLC. With a balanced combination of mental arithmetic and problem solving TwentyFour! is sure to stimulate your gray matter.

The goal of the game is to make a total of 24 using four different numbers in combination with basic mathematical operations (+, -, x, and ÷). Each number can only be used once, but there is no constraint on using a particular operation multiple times.

TwentyFour! starts with four numbers, and gives you simple instructions to get started – “tap a number, then an operator, followed by the second number”. The two numbers will quickly merge into a new number – i.e 2 + 2 creates 4. It’s a nice feature to help you to visualize the solution, rather than having to remember the new number. You continue combining numbers until just one number is left (which is hopefully the solution, 24!). The initial instructions, along with sound effects and number options can be toggled on and off in the “Settings” menu.

There are two main game modes in TwentyFour! – Free Play and Speed Play. Free Play has no time penalties, whereas in Speed Play the aim is to solve as many problems as you can before the time runs out. Solving a bonus gives you an additional 10 secs, while passing will cost you time

There are many different puzzles to solve in the game – all with the goal of creating the sum of 24. Some problems have many solutions, others have just one. While an easy concept to learn, TwentyFour! will definitely test your brainpower. An enjoyable challenge for adults and kids alike, TwentyFour! is an especially great game for young students who will quickly learn the order of operations used in basic math while reinforcing basic arithmetic.

TwentyFour! features both local and global high score leaderboards as well as the ability to challenge your friends to a quick-think multiplayer battle via Bluetooth (3G/3G S & 2nd Generation iPod Touch only). Well worth a look if you enjoy a good brain-bender.

TwentyFour! requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later and is compatible with both iPhone and iPod Touch.

Price: $1.99    Score: 10/10    By Sarah Parker

Thanksgiving is upon us, and for those who love tradition, that means wonderful feasting. If you have young children, they may be curious about the meaning of Thanksgiving and how it started. Help them learn about the tradition of Thanksgiving with My Thanksgiving, a hands-on iPhone picture book that explains the cherished holiday in a way that is easy for children to understand. Developed by Zidware, My Thanksgiving is a creative and relevant book for kids who love to learn.

My Thanksgiving is an interactive i-book for children about Thanksgiving and why we celebrate it. The app has a brief history of the holiday, mentioning the Mayflower ship, the harvest celebration, and the pilgrims in Wampanoag who celebrated the first Thanksgiving feast. The book also describes the different kinds of food people eat on Thanksgiving, such as turkey, corn, bread, and stuffing.

The settings for My Thanksgiving are simple – you can choose to have the sound (narration) turned on or off. And you can choose the way the pages change by picking between 6 different transition styles. My Thanksgiving is very easy for children to navigate, giving kids the opportunity to play with this book on their own without a lot of supervision.

My Thanksgiving is perfect for children who want to know more about our harvest holiday and feast. The book is made just for children, with bright illustrations that are simple and cute. The narrations for each page are brief (which is great for children with short attention spans).

My Thanksgiving is compatible with iPhone and iPod Touch; requires OS 3.0 or later

Price: 2.99    Score: 9/10    By Daniel Bischoff

Paradise Monkeys is a fun and colorful game from Vetasoft. It offers several play modes – story, time mode, as well as mini games you can play on the side. Story mode presents you with several challenges leading up to boss battles, while time mode entails trying to score as many points as you can within the time limit. These modes are obviously pretty self-explanatory, but the charm of Paradise Monkeys offers lies in the gameplay and graphics.

Obviously with a title like Paradise Monkeys, the graphics are tropical, colorful, and very kid friendly. Some monkeys are pink, some gold, and some are more traditional colors – I suppose that is if you consider a traditional color for a monkey to be red, blue, or green.

Paradise Monkeys has the player tapping monkeys as they pop up, sort of like Whack-a-mole, but after each successful round of tapping, story mode will add new challenges. Some monkeys will hold up signs that tell the player not to tap them, some monkeys will hold up bombs and you can’t tap them until they’ve dropped the bomb. Some monkeys drop coins, hearts, or a random drop.

The coins are counted up and tallied after a successful round. You can enter the shop to buy more hearts, which basically act as hit points, should you tap on a monkey that you shouldn’t have. You can also buy power rings so that some monkeys (who need to be tapped twice or more) only need to be tapped once. You can also buy the mini games in the shop after accruing enough coins.

The shop adds a little depth to a game that is actually pretty basic. You’ll have fun clearing levels, but certain elements seem a little out of order. For example, story mode adds gold monkeys that drop coins when you tap them before it adds pink monkeys that drop hit points when you tap them. If you can’t clear the level because you’re running out of hit points, how will you get enough coins to buy extra life or power rings?

Paradise Monkeys has great tap accuracy and sharp colorful graphics. Tapping is responsive and if you are challenged you know that it’s the level of play you’re at and not glitches or bugs in the game.

In the end, Paradise Monkeys is fun – quick and shallow – and doesn’t require a lot of thinking. It’s a great game to have on your phone for a younger child to play or if you just want a time waster that’ll wear your fingers down.

Paradise Monkeys is compatible with the iPhone and iPod Touch.  It requires iPhone OS 2.2.1 of later.