The Archives
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05.17.13Bloomsbury launches Pirate and Princess Activity iPad appsBook publisher Bloomsbury has released a pair of new iPad apps for kids that promise piracy and princesses in equal measure. Bloomsbury Pirate Activity and Bloomsbury Princess Activity have similar features: puzzles, digital stickers and colouring, mini-games and animation, designed to appeal to kids with a yen for yo-ho-ho action and/or dressing-up fairytales. (Yes, you could say that the Pirate Activity app is aimed more at boys and Princess Activity at girls, but we know a fair few girls who'd rather play with pirates than princesses, and vice versa for a number of boys.) Continue Reading...
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04.04.13Disney Princess: Story Theater app gets creative for kidsChildren rarely want to passively read stories on touchscreen devices. They want to interact with them, and maybe even create their own tales. Disney Princess: Story Theater is one of a growing number of apps helping with the latter. It stars three Disney princess characters – Cinderella, Belle and Ariel – with their own stories, and tools for kids to make up their own. "Relax and watch or join in the fun as your child creates animated videos with Cinderella, Belle, and Ariel while learning how to tell stories along the way," as the App Store listing puts it. Continue Reading...
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02.11.13Kidomatic splits out its children’s camera apps for iOSLast December, we really liked the idea of Kidomatic, a photography app for kids that offered themed packs of digital stickers so children could customise their snapshots: Christmas, Police, Princess etc. You had to pay for those packs using in-app purchases (IAP), which it seems didn't go down well with some of Kidomatic's potential users (or rather: their parents). Now the company has responded to requests to remove the IAP. How? It has released the different packs as individual apps, each costing £1.49 with no more purchases necessary. So, you can buy Kidomatic Original Camera, Kidomatic Police Camera, Kidomatic Princess Camera, Kidomatic ...
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01.30.13Princess No-I-Won’t stomps onto iPad, iPhone and iPodThis interactive story-book app tells the story of a princess who starts saying no to everything – until she realises that no one wants to play with her and she is missing out. This is a charming, gentle tale, which we think would appeal to children aged 2 years and up. The illustrations are colourful and endearing, and there are lots of hidden animations and sounds on each page. Narration is provided by the author herself, and the words are highlighted as they are spoken to help with word recognition. Kids can also listen to and sing along with the princess’ song, ...
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11.19.12Usborne Sticker Dolly Princesses dress up on iPadHere's one in the eye for the idea that boys like certain toys or forms of play, and girls others. Our three year-old son will happily throw on a big princess dress, given half the chance, and lie on the floor in it playing with his cars. There are no cars in Usborne Sticker Dolly Princesses, it's fair to say. But it makes up for that with plenty of princesses (and dresses). The app is based on the book of the same name by Usborne Publishing, and follows previous title Usborne Sticker Dolly Dressing onto Apple's iPad. Continue Reading...
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09.10.12The Ogress stomps onto iPad with ‘allegorical tale’ for kidsFrench developer La Souris Qui Raconte is firmly on our radar thanks to its beautiful children's book-apps Thomas's Travels in Bookland and A Tale Off The Top Of My Head. Now it has a new app: The Ogress. Described as an "allegorical tale" for children aged six and up, it's about "the selfish and capricious Princess Occidiane" causing all manner of rumpuses for her two fairy godmothers. (Including devouring "hundreds of hamburgers", which is frankly a welcome departure from the usual fairytale-princess behaviour.) Continue Reading...
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05.31.12Princess Fairy Tale Maker app is stickily creativeOne criticism of Apple's iPad a while back was that the tablet was good for consuming stuff, but not so good for creating it. Actually, in 2012 a number of apps for kids are helping to prove that wrong. Princess Fairy Tale Maker is the latest. It's the work of Duck Duck Moose, one of our favourite kid-app developers, and costs £1.49 as a universal download for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. As its name makes clear, we're in big pink dress'n'wings territory here. The app is all about creating and telling stories, with 32 backgrounds, 192 stickers and virtual crayons and ...
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05.11.12Princess Petal adventures onto iPad – with CBeebies star Cerrie BurnellIntriguing book-app of the day is definitely Princess Petal and the Trapdoor, which has just launched on iPad from developer Attic Sound & Music. It's the tale of Princess Petal, who "doesn't want to stay in her room... she wants an adventure". That would be a rhyming adventure, with text, sound and interactivity spread across 20 digital pages. Voice narration comes from CBeebies presenter Cerrie Burnell, too – a familiar and friendly voice for a generation of children here in the UK. We love the illustration style in the app, and judging by the roars and howls in the screenshots, it'll be ...
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04.25.12Princess Poppy comes to iPhone and iPad with three storiesThe Princess Poppy books have sold more than 2m copies, so there's likely to be strong interest in the first official app based on them. Princess Poppy Picture Books is out today for iPhone and iPad. The app includes three stories: Ballet Shoes, The Birthday and Twinkletoes. The first of those comes free with the app, but the other two are available as in-app purchases for £2.99 each. We're really impressed with the app, which uses animation sound and voice narration – former Eastenders actress Tamzin Outhwaite for Ballet Shoes – as well as digital colouring and sticking, an interactive map and the ...
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04.13.12Sparkle on iPhone with The Very Fairy Princess appWith two boys, our house is more full of cars, wizard hats and diggers at the moment. No princesses allowed (except when our niece comes round). For that reason, getting them interested in iPhone app The Very Fairy Princess may be a stretch. A shame, because it looks good fun. It's the work of book publisher Hachette, it's based on the print book of the same name by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton, and features its heroine Geraldine. However, it's more a companion app to the book than a digital replacement. That means a glittery digital wand to wave around, and ...
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- Disney’s Perry gets new Where’s My Summer? mobile game
- Five iPad apps trying to teach programming skills to kids
- Wubbzy’s ABC Learn & Play app gets alphabetical
