Category

Educational Apps

Apps that actually teach your kids something worthwhile.

5 apps to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthdayBest Apps

5 apps to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday

In honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday, I've rounded up some of our favorite Dr. Seuss apps, from cool books to fun games, even a camera app that lets you turn your kids into the Cat in the Hat himself, you'll find a slew of great ways to celeb…

Phonics apps for early readers? Reader Q&ABest Apps

Phonics apps for early readers? Reader Q&A

I (want) to know what some of the best apps (are) for a 4 year old. She's so interested in learning to read, yet I have no idea where to begin. I think she may have a bit of photographic memory, so it's hard to tell if she is actually re…

Getting tough on aliens this Presidents' DayBest Apps

Getting tough on aliens this Presidents' Day

This Presidents' Day, between shopping for a car (heh) and going to crowded play spaces with every other kid on their day off from school, find a quiet spot and spend a little time flinging presidents at alien attackers. Don't worry, it'…

One app two app Seuss app new appBest Apps

One app two app Seuss app new app

What parent among us has not relied on the genius of Dr. Seuss to keep our kids entertained with his wacky rhymes and memorable verses? When my kids were younger, I would literally walk around with sentences in my head like, "wet foot, d…

Butt Art a mom can approve ofBest Apps

Butt Art a mom can approve of

I don't know what my kids like more--playing with this new CMP fave book-turned-app, or hearing me say, "Here, kids. First draw a butt." From the people who brought us the wonderful Everything Butt Art book comes the brand new, just laun…

Android apps for kids: 3 new ones worth a lookBest Apps

Android apps for kids: 3 new ones worth a look

Our readers often ask us to suggest more kids' apps beyond iOS, and while we do cover the great Android apps we find, there's certainly a discrepancy in both quantity and quality when compared to what's available for iOS. Well Android us…

Sit. Stay. Read.Best Apps

Sit. Stay. Read.

After my kids had mastered mama and dada , the next thing they started saying is When are we getting a dog? Since my three kids are so obsessed with friendly canines, it was a no-brainer that we'd check out a new app that stars man's (an…

Looking Glass - Like "How it's Made" for kids.Best Apps

Looking Glass - Like "How it's Made" for kids.

*EDITORS NOTE: PLEASE SEE UPDATE BELOW When I was a kid, I used to LOVE those video segments on PBS shows like Reading Rainbow and Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood that featured things being made or built. There was one visit to a crayon-making …

Buy an app, help a child.Best Apps

Buy an app, help a child.

We love apps, and we love books, and we love celebrities. But we really love when all three come together to help kids who really need it. Our friends at Ruckus Media Group are partnering with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for th…

The old Cinderella story gets way cool as an iPad storyBest Apps

The old Cinderella story gets way cool as an iPad story

Though I've known the story of Cinderella for about four decades, I've got to hand it to the talents at Nosy Crow for freshening it up into an entertaining, engaging and interactive story worthy of 2011. Using the same playful attention …

National Geographic, now weirding out your smartphoneBest Apps

National Geographic, now weirding out your smartphone

Have a kid who loves odd little factoids about everything and anything? National Geographic has been putting out "Weird But True" compilations in book form for years, but now they're bringing the wackiness to the iPhone, and it's more fu…

Hickory Dickory Dock, your kids will love this clockBest Apps

Hickory Dickory Dock, your kids will love this clock

I can't be the only person who didn't know there are twelve verses to the Hickory Dickory Dock rhyme-- I never got any further than one, and honestly am not sure I'd ever want to keep the song going 11 more times. But, as an app, I'm mig…

The Very Hungry Caterpillar goes digitalBest Apps

The Very Hungry Caterpillar goes digital

Just when I thought it wasn't possible for my kids to love Eric Carle even more, CMP fave Night & Day Studios turns their all-time fave book into a cool iPad counting app that they just can't put down. The Very Hungry Caterpillar app fea…

Harold and the Purple Crayon appBest Apps

Revisiting Harold on the iPad, purple crayon optional.

Admit it. When you read those Harold and The Purple Crayon books as a child, you longed to have a magical purple crayon just like his. Though the ideas I'd draw today ( a clean house! a remodeled kitchen! a pair of Camper boots in size 1…

Brave Rooney to the iBook rescue!Best Apps

Brave Rooney to the iBook rescue!

iPad digital books are so common, my kids have become quite the critics. So I know that we had a hit on our hands when all three of my boys are fighting over one. We are definitely digging Brave Rooney which is absolute fun. Why? This st…

Freefall Spelling appBest Apps

A simple, effective app for little spellers

When it comes to apps for the preschool and under crowd, I appreciate an app that doesn't try to do too much. Kids don't always need to earn gold coins, reach the next level or simultaneously master shapes, letters and numbers; sometimes…

VivaKids ABC appBest Apps

A welcome twist on the ABC iPad app

Just when I thought it wasn't possible to do something new and exciting to an alphabet app, I discover this amazingly creative ABC app that has my little kids mesmerized--and learning too. The VivaKids' ABC app for iPad features the crea…