5 fun apps for kids and families

— -- From playing with your veggies to swinging an adorable color-changing chameleon around a garden of flowers, this roundup of kid apps has something for everyone. Two of the five apps are free. Some are simple enough for preschoolers, and the rest can be enjoyed by kids (and adults) of all ages. All five are new to the iTunes app store.

FREE APPS

Squiggles!

From Lazoo Worldwide, Inc, best for age 2-5, Free for iPad.

Rating: 4 stars (out of 4)

Perfect for the toddler who is just starting to make his or her mark on the world, "Squiggles!" encourages kids to draw squiggly lines on the screen. After drawing on top of sheep or behind a car and then pushing the "Go" button, the child's squiggles come to life through animation. Children will watch their squiggly lines turn into sheep's wool or the exhaust of a moving car. There are 14 drawing pages to animate with your finger-created living ink; and you can even take your photo and "squigglify" it. This app has a huge "Wow" factor, as it encourages little ones to try new things. By drawing these squiggles that come to life, kids feel empowered. The app also includes an adorable, interactive read-aloud story about imaginatively drawing squiggles to save the day. If you have a preschooler, don't miss this one.

Awesome Eats

From Whole Kids Foundation, best for ages 6-up, Free for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad.

Rating: 3.5 stars

It's rare to find such a wholesome, clean and high quality app in the "free" part of the apps marketplace. "Awesome Eats" is a wacky sorting game that makes playing with vegetables fun. But it also teaches kids about healthy eating by introducing them to over 50 vegetables and grains, and delivering cute nuggets of information (such as flavoring drinks by adding frozen fruits) in between the puzzles. Produced by the Whole Kids Foundation (a non-profit associated with the Whole Foods Markets), the game delivers on the mission of engaging "children in making good food choices." Veggies and grains appear on multiple conveyor belts. As they zip by, kids use their fingers to grab hold of the foods so that they can transfer them onto the belt that will drop them into the correct boxes. These belts go in different directions, and some pause and change directions. Plus there are birds flying by trying to steal your food. All of the veggies have be anthropomorphized making them more fun to play with. With 32 levels, which get progressively faster and wilder to control, kids will have to stay on top of their game to sort the "Awesome Eats."

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PAID APPS

Draw and Tell HD - by Duck Duck Moose

From Duck Duck Moose, best for ages 3-10, $1.99 for iPad (iPhone/ iPod Touch version is $1.99 but lacks some of the features)

Rating: 4 stars