Feed Me! – PencilBot Preschool
By Edutainment Resources, Inc.

Rated: 4+

Developers’ description:
“Ranked 100 essential iPhone apps of 2009 (out of 100,000 apps) – The iLounge.com 2010 iPod + iPhone Buyer’s Guide

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Received “BEST” award by iPhoneAppsPlus.com that tracks ratings and reviews of all 70+ iTunes Stores globally

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Ranked top 10 best apps 4 kids by Apps4kids.net

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Highly recommended by theikidsblog.com

“…an endless buffet of educational fun…fantastic animations…provides ongoing motivation to play – and learn…perfect for kids learning their first, second, or third language…opens up possibilities for all early language learners.”

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PencilBot Preschool Feed Me! is a series developed by teachers and parents who love to make learning fun!

This simple, easy-to-use game can be enjoyed by children and their parents as they play along.

•Feed the little monster the correct “food” he is thinking of and unlock trophies for your trophy case! Go to www.pencilbot.com for more details.

•Feed the monster the wrong item and he might get sick. But don’t worry; you’ll have the chance to try the question again later in the game.

•Poke the monster for fun!

This app includes 100 fun questions on basic numbers, colors, shapes and much more.

Also available for In-App-Purchase:

•175 language art questions on letters and sounds, simple spelling and basic vocabulary words.

•100 additional questions on numbers, colors, shapes, basic math concepts and pattern recognition.

(Flip between the different games to choose – see picture below.)

Expose your child to other languages and take advantage of their natural ability to learn multiple languages. Check out additional PencilBot Preschool apps in the following languages:

•Feed Me! (English) – PencilBot Preschool
•Feed Me! (Spanish) – PencilBot Preschool
•Feed Me! (Japanese) – PencilBot Preschool
•Feed Me! (French) – PencilBot Preschool
•Feed Me! (German) – PencilBot Preschool
•Feed Me! (Italian) – PencilBot Preschool
•Feed Me! (Korean) – PencilBot Preschool”

Why we think it is great?
“This cute app exercises logic, math, colors and a series of other educational challenges through a game of feeding the little monster. Feed the monster with the write answer and he will be happy. Give him the wrong stuff and well… check it out! After completing a series of tasks, there is the treasures room. My kid just loves it.

Now, also available on the Mac!

Faces iMake - Right Brain Creativity
By iMagine machine LLC

Rated: 4+

Price: $2.99

Developers’ description:
“Faces iMake is all about stimulating the right-brain and giving kids a fun and playful educational environment. The app encourages kids to solve problems creatively; to innovate; to see things from a different perspective; to create forms with the most unexpected combination of objects. Faces iMake piques the curiosity and helps develop your child’s mind. It’s no wonder that Daniel Pink, New York Times Best Selling Author of “A Whole New Mind” recommends Faces iMake, “It’s fun and addicting — if you can get it away from your kids”!”

Why we think it is great?
From iMagineMachine (creators of Itsy Bitsy Spider and Halloween) here comes ‘Faces iMake’, one of the most beautiful and powerful apps to exercise creativity we’ve crossed so far. Created along with artist Hanoch Piven and musician Michael Harpaz is simple to use, with endless versatility – so inspiring!

Choose from different face shapes for a base, color background and sets of objects to create virtually infinite collage combinations that can be stored in an artist gallery. Watch inspiring video lessons hosted by Piven to learn and expand possibilities. The choices of objects, shapes and colors create the most beautiful artwork, all the fun backed-up by a great exclusive song. Originally designed for the iPhone / iTouch it has now an HD version! It has become quickly one of the favorite apps of my son and we all have fun making together endless faces. For all parents considering the exercise of creativity and expression this is a MUST HAVE.

UPDATED: Now also available for Android.

Shape Builder is one of the most complete apps I’ve found out there. It exercises puzzle-solving, learning the alphabet and words. Comes in Spanish and English versions.

First I thought the puzzle could be too hard for my 3 yo. but, on the contrary, he found it challenging and could quickly handle it. It has been one of the games he enjoys the most lately!

The only part I think is missing for perfection here is the quality of the art work, which could be improved for future releases.

Here is a list from the creators of what is inside:

• Total of 120 puzzles!
• 24 Music instruments with sound effects
• 17 Fruits & Vegetables
• 37 Animals – awesome sound effects!
• 26 Letters – speech therapist sounds out each letter in a fun way
• 16 other fun items like Firetruck, and Police Officer
• Random play resets after all puzzles are completed

Shape Builder, by Touchscreen Preschool Games.

Here is one of the most delicious apps I have come across to this date. Kids Song Machine is an app with 8 kids classic songs beautifully illustrated and full of interactivity. The songs versions were specially produced and recorded for the app and the illustrations are just mind blowing. At first one can think this is an app for babies or toddlers but it is so beautifully produced that older children get interested by it as well. When making a choice of what essencial apps to have on your touch device, make sure  to include this one.

Kids Song Machine, by Genera Kids. $1.99 (iPhone and iPad versions)

See the video demo:

One of my favorite moments of the day has always been reading bedtime stories for my kid. And it got all much better after the iPad. Now keep reading stories but they come with music, movement, interaction. It adds a whole new dimension to this very special time.

But since this is all too new, we are still considerably limited in terms of book titles for the iPad. So every new discovery of a good book for me is very special.

‘Maggie and the Trouble with Monkeys’ for the iPad is certainly fits this category. With all the care it was made, quality of the story, illustration and everything else, it became part of our bedtime library and I totally recommend it.

The description from the developers’ site gives us a good idea of the app:

For Maggie, it’s not easy living with a monkey. Monkeys make quite a mess, lots of noise, and they always eat the last cookie! But is there another side to the monkey? A side that Maggie could actually love?

Maggie is an extremely bright and imaginative 5 and 1/2 year old (although she tells everyone she meets “I’m practically six”) who lives in a lovely little house with her mom, dad, brother, grandfather, dog and cat.

In each of Maggie’s adventures, her imagination takes over when she tries to explain an aspect of her life. She likes to dream of a world more fantastic than her own. She wishes for impossible, fairy tale-like experiences and her imagination allows her travel to new places while remaining safely at home with the people she loves.

Gorgeous illustrations and layouts as well as interactive elements on nearly every page of the book help us fall in love with Maggie’s world.

The producers, Brighter Minds Apps, mention other Maggie titles (at this point I could only find this one) which I’m  certainly  looking forward to. In any case, it is worth checking their website as they already have several other quality iApps out.

Maggie and the Trouble with Monkeys, by Brighter Minds Apps. $ 4.99 (iPad version)

Right after Pixar/Disney’s Toy Story 3 was out on theaters the read-along book app for the iPad was available at Apple’s AppStore.

Following the same quality of production and completeness of features of other Disney’s read-along apps, Toy Story 3 Read-Along for the iPad has a nicely edited short version of the feature movie with loads of activities, like puzzles, coloring boards, sing-along songs and games. This is a must full-featured companion for kids who saw and enjoyed the movie that enable them to keep on re-living the story and playing with Woody and his friends.

The app isn’t ‘cheap’ when compared to others, but the amount of work put on it and all the fun you get in exchange are certainly worth the price.

The only feature my son missed was the videos that Toy Story 2 Read-Along had and this one doesn’t.

Toy Story 3 Read-Along, by Disney Publishing Worldwide. $8.99 (iPad version)

OLIVIA Paints
By Soma Creates

Rated: 4+

If for nothing else, Olivia would already be a great app just based on its beautiful graphic style, animations and music. It would be another really well produced coloring app. But there is more to it, and this is one of a kind. Olivia is the first coloring app I came across that actually teaches how to mix colors.

With a painters ink palette and a brush, you actually get to mix different colors and see what happens when you do it. Mix green and yellow to get green, add a little black to make it darker. Clean the brush in the water and start over. Such a great way to learn how to use colors!

The only thing missing in our opinion is an option to export the images to the photo library and/or send via email. Maybe a nice add-up to future updates?

Drawing Pad
By Darren Murtha Design

Rated: 4+

Price: $1.99

Drawing Pad is one of the most complete and nicely done drawing apps I have crossed my hands so far. It gives you such a wide variety of tools to work with that make your creative options virtually unlimited. Choose from white or colored paper, themed backgrounds, pencils, crayons, markers, stamps and stickers and let your creativity go wild! The interface is really well established with a virtual drawer where all the tools are stored and it is really easy to use. After you have your drawing ready, save it to your photo album or share it via Facebook and Twitter. This is fun not only for the kids, but also for parents!

The apps is out with iPad and iPhone versions but works specially well on the iPad, becoming just a must have for iPad owners.

From the creators of Kidztory, in our humble opinion one of the best digital book series for kids out there, comes Face Time with Mage Nuttimugs, the story of a powerful yet confused wizard that can change kids faces with the wag of his wacky wand!

In this fun story we pick a photo from our iPhone / iPad library that will be part of the tale and suffer the wacky powers of Nuttimugs the wizard. The interaction is fun and simple so the little ones can customize themselves the pictures that will take part in the play. Great illustration and sound effects, you can choose the read or be read to.

I like to keep a whole section dedicated only to digital books always at hand on the iPhone or the iPad and this is certainly a keeper there!

Face Time with Mage Nuttimugs, by Kidztory. 99¢

Here is another great Sesame Street app from the guys of IDEO: Count TV. Very simple and straight forward. You pick a number and a related classic Sesame Street video about that number is shown inviting for some interactive counting with it after it runs for a while.

Amazing to see how the great Sesame Street formula is still working for today’s kids. It is already one of my son’s favorite apps, who doesn’t get tired of watching the videos over and over although he is way passed the 1-9 counting phase. And for us adults who watched those videos on TV when we were kids, what a nostalgia!

Count TV By Sesame Street / IDEO. $2.99

But if your favorite Sesame Street character is Bert, make sure to check this other great app by the same IDEO guys.