February 2013
The Archives
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02.28.13Toca Hair Salon 2 gets two new charactersToca Hair Salon 2 is without a doubt the best cartoon hairdressing app for kids in the world. Although in fairness, the first Toca Hair Salon is its only serious competition. Now here's some good news: two new characters for your kids to give a makeover to. They're called Jazz and Mindy, and they're accompanied into the app by some new accessories to decorate all the characters with. Developer Toca Boca says the app has been downloaded more than 1m times since its release in December, which is plenty of clipping, brushing and dyeing. The new characters should give lots of those children ...
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02.28.13Toy Story: Smash It! gets destructive on iPhone, iPad and AndroidBuzz Lightyear, Woody and their Toy Story friends are still hugely popular with children, so Disney's new Toy Story: Smash It! mobile game is big news. Released for iOS and Android, it's clearly inspired by Angry Birds, except in 3D, with the birds replaced by Buzz and the cheeky pigs replaced by aliens. Buzz has to run around the room flinging balls at the aliens and their bricks, glass and trains to knock them all over. There are different balls with special effects to try, and a three-star scoring system (again, like Angry Birds) to rate your kids' skills. Continue Reading...
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02.28.13Alphabet Animals: A Slide and Peek Adventure brings ABCs to life on iPadBased on Suse McDonald’s book of the same name, Alphabet Animals: A Slide and Peek Adventure is a beautiful book-app from Auryn, with gorgeous illustrations. Covering the full alphabet from Alligator to Zebra, your child can ‘pull the card' to reveal the letter and make the animal move, and tap each image to hear the animal and letter name. The added features on the app are accompanying music (which you can choose to mute) and a game where your child can spell out their own name using the animal pictures. We think this app is best suited to younger children who are just ...
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02.27.13My Zoo Adventure makes your child the star of the storyOne of my favourite presents ever as a child was a story book that had MY NAME all the way through it (me on an adventure with Peter Pan!). The My Zoo Adventure story-book app makes your child the star of this story. You set up their name and gender, and choose their appearance (hair and eye colour, skin tone) from five different options. Your child then appears throughout the story, as he or she takes a day-trip to the zoo with their father (NOTE: the skin tone / eye colouring of the father in the illustrations changes to match the ...
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02.26.13Rainbow Fish swims into a book-app for iPad and iPhoneRainbow Fish is one of the most recognisable kids’ book characters. Created by Swiss illustrator Marcus Pfister, the Little Rainbow Fish is now 20 years old. To celebrate this, a new book, Good Night, Little Rainbow Fish, was released in 2012, and this title has just been released as a book-app. The book tells the tale of Little Rainbow Fish, who is afraid to go to sleep at night. He tells his mother about all the things he is scared of, like octopuses, monster fish and jellyfish. His mother reassures him that she will protect him from anything. Continue Reading...
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02.25.13Puppet Workshop – Creativity App for Kids comes to iPadSometimes the simplest ideas are the best – especially when they’re as well-executed, colourful and easy to use as Puppet Workshop – Creativity App for Kids. Select a glove or sock from one of the 20 different options, then bring it to life with more than 150 accessories such as buttons, ribbons, pegs, zips and so on, to make a truly unique character. Give your puppet a name, then select a background - there are 18 provided, or you can use one of your own photos. Finally, take a snap-shot of your masterpiece using the camera icon. This image then appears in your ...
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02.25.13Beautiful Jackie Junko storybook floats onto iPadTalking boats, mountainous scenery and lots of interactivity: Jackie Junko is a heady mix indeed for young iPad users. It's a storybook app from developer Springy Thingy – the first in a planned series starring the "little boat on an adventure that goes just slightly wrong". The story is called The Old Ship Yard, and sees Jackie meeting a host of animals and other boats, while also going to school. The tale is told over 15 interactive pages, with lots of things to tap on – boats, fishes and creatures. Continue Reading...
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02.25.13Cowzat teaches cricket (and cows) to children on iPadCricket and cows: together at last! And while it's a combination that would make for chaos in a test match, it looks pretty good as a children's app. The app is Cowzat, from Colour Me Interactive in Australia, and it's based on an existing printed storybook. "We present the dead-set truth about the origins of Cricket," explains its App Store listing. "Well that's our story and we're milking it for all it's worth." Continue Reading...
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02.25.13Meerkats star in Animal Planet iPad book for kidsWhether donning dressing gowns for TV insurance adverts, or simply cavorting about on tiptoes in wildlife documentaries, meerkats are great. Now they're starring in a new iPad app. It's called Meerkats - Animal Planet Books for Kids, and was released last week on the App Store by a publisher called LivoBooks. The app includes a mixture of information, photos and interactive fun for children, including a puzzle, a memory game and a quiz. It includes voice narration in English, Portugese or Spanish, with plenty of scientific facts to enlighten curious kids. Meerkats - Animal Planet Books for Kids costs £2.49 on the App ...
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02.21.13Disney’s Cars gets a Numbers & Counting app for iPhone and iPadAre your kids keener on Lightning McQueen than on maths? Well, it's hardly surprising. But Disney's new Cars: Numbers & Counting app combines the two. Released under the company's Disney Connected Learning banner, this is part racing game and part educational app based around numbers and counting. You may have guessed that from the name... The app is aimed at 4-6 year-olds, and features locations from Cars including Porto Corsa, Tokyo and Radiator Springs. Continue Reading...
recent posts
- It’s our one thousandth post on Apps Playground!
- Disney’s Where’s My Water? gets a new (female) alligator star
- Bloomsbury launches Pirate and Princess Activity iPad apps
- CBeebies star Justin Fletcher launches Goldilocks app for kids
- Tunetrace iOS app turns real drawings into music
- Dr Seuss’ The Butter Battle Book comes to iOS and Android
- Sago Mini Sound Box app wants to be a ’21st century rattle’
