Yes. An app about poo. There’s no point pretending otherwise, because the screenshot tells its own story. A messy, smeared-all-over-the-screen… pooey story.
But wait, there is a serious message here. The app tells the tale of PooBarr, a bear getting first-hand knowledge of how different foods affect the digestive system.
One day he only eats bread, the next fruits’n'veg, then meat, spicy food, chocolate and greasy food. And every day he has a poo, which kids can spread using their fingers.
We’ve seen (and enjoyed) Disney’s Where’s My Water?, Where’s My Perry? and Where’s My Summer? mobile games. Now get set for big news: Mickey Mouse is joining the party.
Where’s My Mickey? is a brand new game in the series, released today for iPhone, iPad, Android and Windows Phone alongside a new series of short Mickey Mouse cartoons.
“Players can immerse themselves in the ultimate mobile gaming experience as they watch funny episodes while solving challenging puzzles,” explains Disney’s announcement.
Parents and carers know that making sure kids are safe online is essential – but knowing exactly what to tell them and how to teach them can be a minefield! This new iPad app aims to give a helping hand.
Digital Passport is based on the award-winning game of the same name, which the developer claims is played by over 300,000 school children in the US. Read more…
A Shiver of Sharks is the sequel to the fabulous app we reviewed back in February, A Troop Is A Group of Monkeys
This new interactive app introduces kids to some of the wonderful collective nouns for ocean and water-dwelling animals – who knew that a group of flamingoes is called a flamboyance? Or that a group of crabs is called a cast? Read more…
In honour of Fathers’ Day, we’ve pulled together a list of five of the best apps celebrating all things dad…
I Love My Dad (£2.49, for iPad only) follows Ollie the zebra and Fred the dog as they spend the day with Ollie’s dad – baking cakes, climbing a tree, riding a bike… Written and illustrated by Australian author Anna Walker, this is a charming, gentle tale. With original music and animation on every page, there is plenty to keep younger kids interested, and it’s a lovely ‘read together’ book.
First in our new series spotlighting the best free children’s apps for iPhone, iPad and Android
We loved Toca Boca’s Toca Hair Salon 2 when it came out in December 2012: a colourful virtual hair salon for kids to cut, dye and blow-dry its customers into whatever unique styles they wanted.
This week, the app is being offered for free on iPhone and iPad, as part of Apple’s Free App of the Week promotion. There are six characters, lots of styling tools, and the quirky, characterful graphics we’ve come to expect from Toca Boca.
It’ll revert to a paid app in a few days’ time, so grab it while you can.
App Store link: Toca Hair Salon 2
Swedish author Sven Nordqvist’s series of books about Pettson and Findus have sold 6m copies around the world, and already spawned a fun iOS app. Now the old farmer and his cat are heading to Android.
Publisher Filimundus has released Pettson’s Jigsaw Puzzle and Pettson’s Memo for Android devices. The first offers six digital jigsaw puzzles, with varying difficulty to suit different ages, and a choice of English, German or Swedish language.
Pettson’s Memo, meanwhile, is a memory-matching game with six modes: regular, picture, math, sound, logic and ‘memory memory’. Kids can play against themselves, a friend or a device-controlled Pettson.
Pettson’s Jigsaw Puzzle costs £1.49 on the Google Play store, while Pettson’s Memo also costs £1.49.
Here’s something to trumpet: a range of storybook apps is on the way based on Babar and the Adventures of Badou, the latest TV series starring cartoon elephant Babar.
(Well, his grandson and heir Badou, if we’re being accurate.)
Developer Cupcake Digital is making the apps: the same company that recently brought Fraggle Rock back as an app, and which has also been making apps based on TV character Wubbzy.
The first Babar and the Adventures of Badou apps will be released this Autumn on iPhone, iPad and Android – the latter including Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble’s Nook tablets.
LeapFrog is a well-known brand for parents thanks to its various electronic learning toys. It’s doing more in the apps world too, with Learn to Write with Mr. Pencil its latest release.
Available in separate versions for iPhone and iPad, it’s designed to work with the Learn to Write with Mr. Pencil stylus accessory. The app is aimed at 3-6 year-olds who are learning to write (or practising their skills once they have).
It’s as much a game as an educational app, as kids help Mr. Pencil transform the town of Doodleburg for its Art Day:
The idea of apps that encourage children to get out looking at the real world definitely appeals. Here’s the latest example: Eye Paint Alphabet.
It’s the work of children’s apps developer Curious Hat, and aims to get kids painting letters of the alphabet by pointing their iPhone or iPad’s camera at the world around them.
“EyePaint offers the opportunity to create amazing images taking pictures using the camera to complete the drawings,” explains its App Store listing. “Tapping on any area in the drawing will reveal the live camera image. The Camera Shutter button then appears enabling users to capture their chosen pattern.”
Apps Playground covers the best iPhone, iPad and Android apps for kids: education, stories, games and more. We only write about apps that we think you and your children will love.
