Developer Tank & Bear is thinking about this too, it seems. The company got in touch to tell us about Jörgits, which came out for iPad last month. Its full title is Jörgits and the End of Winter, and it’s a sci-fi storybook with a climate-change theme.

“Jörgits & the End of Winter is an interactive children’s novel about a group of aliens whose planet is becoming too cold for them. Fortunately, they’ve discovered a planet nearby which is rapidly heating up – ours,” explains its App Store listing.

It’s a beautiful piece of work: an illustrated novel with lots of characterful animation, and a dash of interactivity too.

Besides reading the story, your kids will be able to read biographies of the characters, unlock secret documents, explore a map of Helsinki (where the story is set), and play in outer space and underwater scenes.

Jörgits costs £2.49 on the App Store, and is iPad-only. Here’s a video demo:

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Developer GiggleUp is trying to plug the gap with its latest release, Dot-to-Dot Adventure. It includes 35 interactive dot-to-dot puzzles with a range of characters and objects to reveal, but it also throws in some educational ideas.

“Learn about numbers – progress from traditional counting to skip counting in multiples of 2 to 12,” explains its App Store listing. “All about letters – know the alphabet inside and out by practising with uppercase and lowercase letters.”

Also interesting: the way you can create up to four profiles in the app for different children (or, indeed, parents, grandparents…) so they can play individually, entering their age to ensure the difficulty level is right for them.

The app also awards virtual pin-badges for kids’ progress, giving them something to work towards. It looks good fun, with the advantage of the profiles being the fact that when different children log in, they’ll only see the badges they have earned, not those of their siblings.

Dot-to-Dot Adventure costs £1.49 on the App Store, and is iPad-only. There’s also a free trial version to see if you like it.

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They describe it as a “captivating, brain-twisting game designed to support and encourage mathematical development in your child”, designed for kids of varying ages and abilities.

The idea: children work their way through a series of symmetrical puzzles, using their spatial reasoning, problem-solving and visualisation skills to complete them.

PixelSoup is hoping teachers and parents will join in the fun, with printable exercises available to download to continue the learning, as well as an ‘Email Your Result’ feature for use if teachers are using the app in schools.

The app is also multilingual, supporting English, Irish, French, German, Spanish and Chinese.

Symmetry School: Learning Geometry costs £1.99 in the App Store for iPad only. It’s one of the best learning games for kids that we’ve seen this year so far.

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Released this week by publisher P2 Games, the app takes a magical theme as your children help Ben and Holly wave wands, brew potions, eat a picnic and investigate the intriguing-sounding “box of burps” among other mini-games.

The app includes music and sound effects from the TV show, and is narrated by the Nanny Plum character, so kids who love the TV show will find it reassuringly familiar.

Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom – Magic School costs £2.99 on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

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But Disney is hoping to bring some sun back into our lives with its new iOS game Where’s My Summer?, which is a spin-off from last year’s Where’s My Perry? game starring the platypus character from TV show Phineas and Ferb.

(And that game, in turn, was a spin-off from Disney’s Where’s My Water? game. It’s a tangled app-web we live in…)

Anyway, Where’s My Summer? sees Perry (aka Agent P) exploring 12 new beach-themed levels, with similar physics-based puzzles to the previous games.

“Cut through dirt to guide water to Perry’s power-generator, but keep an eye out for lasers, tricks and traps! Command water in all its different forms – ice, steam and liquid,” explains its App Store listing.

The app is free with in-app ads, and acts as a teaser for the full (paid) Where’s My Perry? game, which has 140 more levels to play.

Where’s My Summer? is a free download from the App Store, and runs on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Here’s a video demo:

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Bizarre though it may sound to kids today, my generation spent a fair amount of time copying programs out of magazines, typing them in character-by-character on our computers to make them run, and (in many cases) learning from this process in order to write our own programs. Stimulating fun for most of us, but an early start on the path to a career making games or software for some.

Fast forward to 2013, and children are using computers in greater numbers than ever, from PCs to games consoles, handhelds and tablets. There’s also a big demand for developers – programmers – who can make apps and games for them. But are children getting the same opportunities to cut their teeth at a young age to learn coding skills? Arguably not.

Or perhaps they are. We’ve noticed a number of apps emerge over the past year or so that want to get children thinking about and practising programming on iPad in particular, but iPhone too. Here are five that have stood out for us in particular:

Move the Turtle – Programming for Kids (iPhone / iPad, £1.99)
This was the first coding-for-kids app that we spotted back in 2012, released by a developer called Next Is Great. Aimed at children aged five and upwards, it teaches the basics of programming through a series of challenges, based on the Logo programming language that I remember from my childhood. “A friendly Turtle will introduce your child step by step to the basic concepts of programming in a colourful graphic environment,” explains its App Store listing. Read our original story.

Hakitzu: Code of the Warrior (iPad, Free)
Turtles are nowhere to be seen in this more-recent app from Kuato Studios. Aimed at older children, it “teaches the JavaScript language through controlling mighty battle robots in a dangerous sport of the future”. They have to plan their moves, create their robots using code, and then send them into battle against friends. “Nobody has done anything like this before. By the end of it, you will learn variables, functions, core construction of code, and syntax for JavaScript,” said the company earlier this year. Read our original story.

Hopscotch HD (iPad, Free)
Aimed at children aged eight and upwards, Hopscotch HD is described as an “easy-to-use visual programming language” that kids can use to code games and animations on the iPad. How? By dragging and dropping “method blocks” into scripts, before pressing a Play button to see how they run. “No other programming language has been designed to be used on a mobile interface,” claim its developers. Read our original story.

Kodable Pro (iPad, £1.99)
Released today – this is what triggered this article – Kodable Pro is the paid version of an existing app called Kodable. It teaches programming skills through dozens of game-like lessons, all based on the story of the ‘fuzz’ family who’ve crash-landed in a place called Smeeborg, and have to navigate their way through mazes. Logic, problem-solving and critical-thinking are among the skills it aims to encourage for children aged five and upwards. Read our original story.

Bee-Bot (iPhone / iPad, Free)
Bee-Bot is actually a real-world thing: a programmable floor-robot shaped like a bee, which has won awards and been used in a number of schools here in the UK. This is its spin-off app for iPhone and iPad, with 12 levels designed to help children “improve their skills in directional language and programming” as they navigate through 12 levels. It’s joined on the App Store by Bee-Bot Pyramid, which does the same thing with an Ancient Egyptian theme.

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The title gives a big clue about the content: pre-school literacy skills. Or, as they describe it: “An alphabet teaching adventure that promotes the fundamentals of reading and writing in three entertaining ways”.

The three: tracing the letters of the alphabet; playing letter-related mini-games; and playing with creative colouring pages and music videos, all based on Wubbzy and friends.

Cupcake has been working from the US Common Core State Standards to ensure the app is educationally up to scratch, and is one of the growing number of apps to use “gated” links to social networks and the App Store – meaning that they’re for use by parents rather than children.

Wubbzy’s ABC Learn & Play costs £1.49 on the App Store, and runs on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

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It’s called Grimm’s Bookshelf, and is pitched as a way for parents and children to sample all of StoryToys’ apps in one place, playing a free game from each storybook, buying apps that they like the look of, and launching every StoryToys app that they own from within the app too.

The company says it’ll use the Bookshelf app to let parents know about promotions, discounts and new/future apps as well. The games include searching the undergrowth with Mowgli and his Jungle Book friends, playing ping-pong against the Beast from Beauty and the Beast, rescuing a prince with The Little Mermaid and more.

It’s a good idea, and one that we’ve seen other children’s app publishers try too: Dr Seuss Bookshelf and Disney Carnival being two examples.

As children’s developers and publishers release more apps, parents are learning which ones they trust, and for whom they want to know about new apps as they come out. With the App Store an ever-more-crowded place, we wouldn’t be surprised to see more of our favourite app developers launching Bookshelf-style apps to keep in touch with parents.

Grimm’s Bookshelf is a free download on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. We understand it’s also launching on Android this week, so we’ll update this article with the link as soon as it goes live.

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It provides advice and answers to questions on 17 different first-aid situations that may arise, from asthma attacks and allergic reactions to broken bones, fever and choking.

“Videos, step-by-step instructions and animations make it fun and easy to pick up,” explains the App Store listing.

There’s also an Emergency section with more-urgent instructions on what to do in worrying situations, a  feature to find the nearest Accident and Emergency department, and tests to gauge how much you’ve learned.

The app also provides more information on what the Red Cross does here in the UK, including how you can volunteer or sign up for a real-world first-aid course.

Baby and Child First Aid by British Red Cross is a free download for iPhone, iPad and Android, and you can find the links on the charity’s website.

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This time round, a colourful bird named Robin is the hero. And yes, he’s flying through the forest, as you may have surmised from the app’s title.

“Discover the magical forest together as you soar through the sky, splash in the pond, do a little dance, and make new friends. This open-ended play experience is loaded with exciting surprises,” explains its App Store listing.

Sago Sago says there are more than 20 animations for kids to discover. But almost as important is the fact that there’s no storyline: encouraging children to make up their own (or demand that you do) for what Robin is up to.

With no in-app purchases or third-party ads – ‘third-party’ means other companies, so you may see promotions for Sago Sago’s other apps – Sago Mini Forest Flyer costs 69p on the App Store in a 50%-off launch offer, and runs on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

The company is actually part of popular children’s app-maker Toca Boca, and has made a strong start with its first two toddler-focused apps. We’re looking forward to seeing what else they come up with in the months ahead.

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Aimed at pre-school children, the app brings full-length episodes of shows on the Disney Junior channel to iOS devices, offering mini-games and interactivity around them.

The app includes one episode for free: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Road Rally, with others available as in-app purchases for £2.99 apiece.

Initially, that includes Mickey Mouse Clubhouse – Mickey and Donald Have a Farm and two Jake and the Never Land Pirates episodes: Hide the Hideout and Captain Hook’s Hooks.

Disney hopes kids will “touch, tap, swipe, tilt, shake and talk their way through their favorite Disney Junior episodes by watching and completing various fun-filled interactive activities”, with a firm focus on “developmental values” for children rather than just pure entertainment.

Is this just for Americans? Actually, Disney says that Disney Junior is the most popular pay-TV pre-school channel here in the UK, watched by more than half of 4-7 year-old British children.

Disney says more shows will be added to the app in the coming months, including Sofia the First and Doc McStuffins.

Disney Junior Appisodes is a free download from the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

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It was free with 30 lessons, and more available as an in-app purchase (IAP). Now its developer has launched Kodable Pro, a paid version of the app that includes “all current and future content” without any need for IAP.

Here’s the setup: “The fuzz family crash landed on Smeeborg and they need your help navigating the Technomazes! Use drag and drop commands to direct your fuzz through the colorful lighted maze. Don’t get lost, or your fuzz might not be too happy!”

By working through the levels, Kodable aims to teach children logic, problem-solving and critical thinking skills, while also teaching them about coding concepts like conditional statements, loops and functions.

It’s a fascinating idea, and the fact that it’s aimed at children aged five and up makes it even more interesting: a way to introduce children to computer programming as play rather than work, at a young age.

Kodable Pro currently costs £1.99 on the App Store for iPad only, although that’s a “special launch sale” with 70% off its price (so we’re thinking it’ll cost around £4.99 normally).

Kodable is also part of a bigger trend for apps that teach kids to code. See also: Hakitzu Code of the Warrior, Hopscotch HD and Move the Turtle.

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“He’s the Unicycle Champion of the 3rd Northern District, the world record holder for “ice cream sandwiches eaten in one sitting,” the reigning champion of continuous nunchucking and once won a bronze medal for simultaneous stomach rubbing and head patting. Meet KUNG FU ROBOT.”

It’s marvellous: an “interactive comic book, designed to engage young readers” that’s initially available as a free download with three chapters – and more chapters to come that you’ll presumably pay for.

The comic-book bits see you swiping down the screen to read the story. That story being ‘Peanut Butter, Jelly & Kung Fu Sandwich’, which “blends a robot’s love of kung fu, his conscientious sidekick’s fear of getting in trouble, android ninjas, a crazy rooster bent on world domination and the pursuit for the perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwich into an engaging adventure for children of all ages”.

(Like we said: marvellous)

The soundtrack is excellent, and there’s a whack-a-ninja mini-game and a soundboard of kung-fu sound effects to play with too. We think kids aged eight-ish and upwards will love it. Actually, adults aged any-age-and-upwards will love it too.

Kung Fu Robot is a free download from the App Store, for iPad only. We’re already looking forward to the next story – “The Evil Kung Pow Chicken: Terror has a ‘Fowl’ new name…” – and not just because we can’t resist a good poultry pun…

Here’s our video of the app in action:

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Microsoft is describing it as “the most advanced Xbox system ever designed for games, TV and entertainment”, stressing that while the console will be able to play bigger, better-looking games, it will also have a strong focus on TV. And, indeed, interactive TV.

Xbox One will also come with an improved version of Microsoft’s Kinect controller, which can track people’s gestures in the room, as well as understand voice commands. It’s this combination in particular that could spark a new wave of innovative software/shows aimed at kids.

Microsoft has form in this area already. Last year, we got very excited about Kinect Sesame Street TV, which was a joint project between Microsoft and Sesame Street. It got kids up and moving in the living room, interacting with their favourite characters.

Here’s a video we shot of Microsoft showing it off at a TV industry show last March:

If that was an early example of children’s TV and games coming together, we expect to see several more on Xbox One, which is designed around this kind of convergence (and for the grown-ups, there’ll be similar mash-ups of TV and interactivity too).

It’s an important and exciting development. Whereas consoles were once seen as something predominantly for young men, the last decade has seen them become much more mainstream. Xbox One and Sony’s also-upcoming PlayStation 4 are trying to move even further in that direction: entertainment set-top boxes for the whole family, not just one gamer.

Xbox One won’t stop thousands of children’s developers from focusing their attention on smartphones and tablets – it’s expensive to make an interactive TV show – but for bigger brands like Sesame Street it should spark more interesting ideas for making TV even more engaging, entertaining and, yes, educational for children.

Here’s the second video we shot of the Kinect Sesame Street show, as a further illustration of what’s possible with this kind of technology – and remember, we’re still in the early days.

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It’s a fun, well-crafted app that starts by taking a photograph of your child using the iPhone’s front-facing camera, thus making them the astronaut peering out of the app’s little orange rocket.

It then blasts off, and they steer it to Mars by tilting the device left and right to follow a dotted line – with no penalty for doing it wrong, which is an important touch for young children – and landing on the Red Planet. They can then tap to capture the moment as a photo, before jetting home.

It’s simple, and that’s its charm. Developer Paul Baron is promising “mission extensions” and new spaceships by Japanese animator Gaku Kinoshita in a forthcoming update, as well as music from pop band Lullatone.

He also suggests that the app is “designed to get kids up and moving”, including running around with the iPhone (tightly!) held in their hands. We think that could be a lot of fun, especially in groups.

PetitRocket Mission to Mars costs 69p on the App Store, for iPhone and iPod touch.

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We reviewed Justin’s World – Goldilocks and the Three Bears earlier this month. It’s the first app by CBeebies star Justin Fletcher, released for iPhone and iPad.

Here’s our video review so you can see the app in action, with its combination of video and interactive scenes to tell the famous fairytale. What do you think of it? Let us know by posting a comment.

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“After having analysed dozens of interactive book titles in the app stores, we prepared for 6-8 year old kids an interactive version of a well-known Hungarian folk tale, published by László Arany,” explains the app store listing for the result: Little Rooster and his Diamond Halfpenny.

Released for iPad and Android, it’s described as an “experimental interactive book” with highlighted words and characterful monochrome illustrations. It’s also free, making it worth a look.

Little Rooster can be found on the App Store for iPad and on the Google Play store for Android.

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He’s probably the most familiar face on children’s TV here in the UK, and now he’s making the leap onto iPhones and iPads with a planned series of ‘Justin’s World’ apps. Starting with Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Released last week, it sees Justin telling the famous fairytale through a mixture of video and mini-games, including dressing up as Goldilocks AND the three bears.

There are elements of both Something Special and Gigglebiz in the app. The latter comes from the dressing-up skits: Goldilocks could easily be a character in Gigglebiz. And the former in the staging of the videos, with their stark white backdrop and Justin on the left-hand side of the screen.

It certainly stands out from other book-apps we’ve seen: not better (or worse) than something like Nosy Crow’s marvellous Little Red Riding Hood book-app, but different in an interesting way. A reminder that there’s more than one way to tell an interactive story, you could say.

The app starts with Justin telling the story to your children, before moving into an animated scene where they get to sweep away leaves to reveal the bears’ cottage.

This pattern of video then interactivity continues throughout the app, with Justin regularly scooting off-screen to return as Goldilocks. The story has been tweaked a bit: here, she’s not naughty, but IS lazy. In theory she’s tidying up the bears’ house, but in practice, your child is doing it for her.

The mini-games focus on the tidying: dusting away cobwebs, mopping the floor, vacuuming the carpet, sorting out socks, putting toys in a box and so on. There’s education here – counting, matching and so on – but it’s lightly worn, as in Justin’s TV shows.

They’re all simple, and explained by Justin’s voice – ensuring pre-schoolers who can’t read yet know exactly what to do. For slightly older kids who are learning to read, there’s text for the mini-game scenes which is highlighted as it’s read out.

The theory behind this app is that your children sit and watch/listen to Justin’s video bits, then get to do something in the mini-games: rather than making it all action and no story.

We confess to not expecting this to work with our always-impatient four year-old, but the video really held his attention well (pictured). We think he took the story in well as a result. Sadly, the mini-games haven’t yet inspired him to tidy up his real-world mess…

There are risks for someone like Justin Fletcher in making apps: imagine the disappointment of parents and kids alike if he put his name to poorly-designed apps, or worse, apps that used in-app purchases (IAP) in a way that felt inappropriate.

Thankfully, that’s not the case, and not just because there’s no IAP here. Goldilocks and the Three Bears is a fun and finely-crafted app that will delight Justin’s fans, and perhaps find him some new ones around the world.

Download link
iPhone and iPad (£2.99)

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Wombi says it’ll make one of its apps free every day from Monday 20th May to Friday 24th, starting with the very-tasty Wombi Ice Cream, which gets your kids creating (virtual) icy treats.

We don’t know what the other four will be, but Wombi says it will announce them every day on its blog, Facebook and Twitter profiles, so keep an eye on those.

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The Jungle Book is the work of StoryToys – the latest classic tale to be turned into a virtual pop-up storybook by the developer.

Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera and the nefarious Shere Khan are all present and correct with 3D animated scenes, music and sound effects, and some simple mini-games to keep children interested.

They’ll be searching for baby Mowgli in the undergrowth; knocking fruit off trees into Baloo’s mouth; picking thorns out of a wolf’s paws and cooling down elephants with a mud bath, among other activities.

Judging by previous StoryToys apps, it’ll be great fun. The Jungle Book costs £2.99 on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and £2.99 on the Google Play Store for Android. Here’s a video demo:

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