10 top apps for kids
— -- If you are contemplating buying a tablet for your family this holiday, it's a great option if you have kids over age 2. The big touchable screen entices kids to explore. And the world of apps is full of education and fun. If you can afford an iPad, it is the best way to go, because it is tied to the iTunes App store, which houses more apps than any of the Android marketplaces. Plus, for kid apps, most developers initially release their new apps in iTunes. It can take months for top-rated apps to make it to the Android marketplace.
And here's a little tip: since the iPad 2 is now the hot tablet, people who had the first generation iPads are now dumping them for the newer technology. But for a family wanting a tablet for kid apps, the original iPad is fine. Check out the used market.
To help you load up a smartphone or an iPad with great kid apps, we have downloaded and played hundreds of apps. While most are just average, here is a list of 10 that stand out from the rest, because they create a magical experience for kids.
Where's My Water?
Disney, for ages 6-up, $.99, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android
The best new puzzle game of the year, this humorously brainy app will appeal to all ages. Swampy the Alligator, a Disney original character, stars in the over 120 puzzles. This toothy guy loves to get clean by showering, but other alligators are wreaking havoc in the underground sewer system. The puzzles challenge you to use your finger to draw a path through an obstacle-ridden sewer so that clean water and rubber duckies can swoosh down into Swampy's Shower. With life-like water physics and a cute story tying all the puzzles together, prepare to be charmed by this adorable gator.
Doodlecast for Kids
zinc Roe, for ages 3-7, $1.99, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
This app's magic is that it turns a child's drawing into an animated, narrated story. By recording the sounds children make when they draw, as well as the visual step-by-step marks made on the screen, the app turns the simple process of drawing a picture into a story-telling video. The videos can be shared with family via email or uploaded onto You Tube. By providing both written and visual prompts, any child can become the animator of his own story.
Peek-a-Zoo - by Duck Duck Moose
Duck Duck Moose, for ages 2-5, $.99, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
This app's special appeal is that it teaches kids about emotions. Using adorable animated zoo animals in search-and-find games, kids learn to look for details about the 19 featured animals. In addition to the animals' names, kids will learn to look for visual cues that show if someone is angry, surprised, crying or happy, or whether they are waving, winking, sleeping and eating. This is a great conversation-started for parents and can lead to hilarious games about shaping your face into different emotions.
Bartleby's Book of Buttons Vol. 2: The Button at the Bottom of the Sea
From Monster Costume Inc., $2.99, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
Offering 17 pages of treasure hunting under the sea, this rollicking app is part book and part puzzles. Kids join an eccentric collector of rare buttons on a quest to find a stone button buried in the ocean's floor. Unlike many book apps where the interactions on the pages are optional, in this app kids must solve puzzles on each page to move the story along. Kids will push buttons and flip switches to make things happen on the page, including navigating a water maze by tilting the iDevice to match the water's current. This is the second in the series; so if you love it, download "Bartleby's Book of Buttons Vol.1: The Far Away Island" too.
Beary Happi: Lovable Friend
Tipitap Inc., for ages 2-4, free, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
Your toddler will fall in love at first sight when you download this free virtual teddy bear app. Beary's adorable brown face with warm expressive green eyes fills the screen. He giggles or coos when you touch him. This little bear makes a great toddler companion, because he tells jokes, sing songs, plays Peek-a-boo and teaches a variety of things to kids. Parents can set how chatty he will be. He will always respond with positive feedback and in a loving manner. While not necessary, parents can purchase HappiTaps, a fuzzy Teddy Bear body to encase an iphone or iPod Touch so that Beary has a whole furry body surrounding his face. The huggable case is sold at www.happitaps.com for $19.99.
Bugs and Buttons
Little Bit Studio, LLC, for ages 4-6, $2.99, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
With vividly realistic bugs (including bees, roaches, ants and tarantulas) and brightly colored buttons, kids engage in games that teach counting, sorting, patterns, path-finding and more. Each of the 18 games is masterfully crafted so that kids learn while they play.
Elmo Loves ABCs for iPad
Sesame Street, for ages 2-5, $4.99, iPad
With high definition video, little Elmo, the red furry monster from Sesame Street, appears to be alive inside your iPad. He uses his considerable charm to teach kids alphabet recognition, how to draw letters and the sounds letters make.
Bobo Explores Light
Game Collage, LLC, for ages 7-up, $4.99, iPad
With Bobo, a little robot, kids embark on a book-based journey to explore the scientific concepts of light. But instead of just reading material, this app is filled with videos, fun facts and hands-on explorations. This app transforms complicated science into a fun, interactive experience that blends learning with humor.
Another Monster at the End of This Book…Starring Grover & Elmo!
Sesame Street, for ages 3-6, $.99, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
This hilarious book app stars a fearful Grover and an intrepid Elmo as they debate the merits of turning pages of a book that claims to have "monster" at the end of it. As kids help Elmo undo Grover's outrageous attempts to keep the pages from being turned, including removing paper clips, wiping off glue and knocking down an alphabet block structure, they will laugh hilariously at all of the muppets' antics. This is loveable old Grover at his over-the-top best, with sweet, curious Elmo providing a counterbalance.
Scribblenauts Remix
Warner Bros., for ages 10-up, $2.99, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
Hailing from the video game world ("Scribblenauts" and "Super Scribblenauts"), this highly creative puzzle game builds on its source material by adding its own unique levels. In each of the 50 puzzles, you help boy Maxwell navigate different environments so that he can unlock, find or reach a star. The key play-mechanic is your own imagination, since you can literally write in objects that you need in order to solve problems. Conjure up an exciting, flying bathtub or a boring ladder to get to high places -- it's all up to you.
Gudmundsen is the editor of Computing With Kids (www.ComputingwithKids.com) magazine. Contact her at techcomments@usatoday.com.