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Tuesday, May 1, 2018
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These are Carissa's app picks from the past month. You can see all of her picks on the Library's website and, if you want to learn even more, join us each month for a Tuesday evening program called The Supper Club at the Alicia Ashman Library. Check our calendar for dates and more information. Bring your family, bring your dinner and discover new apps... together!
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Reviewed on 04/29/18
Visit seven Sago Mini friends in each of their apartments and discover what they like to do at home! From cooking and gardening to building and exercise, each friend has their own favorite activity. In addition to the familiar Sago Mini characters, we’ll also get to know Astrid the garden gnome, Kiki the raccoon and Neville the penguin. Kids will enjoy taking the elevator between floors and discovering the silly surprises hidden within each activity. Do you think they’ll enjoy onion ice cream cones? What musical sound does a crab make? Subtle touches like jazzy nursery rhyme songs as elevator music are one of the hallmark touches of Sago Mini apps. Will your child zip through every floor first, peeking in on every different activity or pick their favorite character and never go back into the elevator again? There’s no wrong way to play with this app, so just sit back and enjoy watching your child make their own decisions about what to do.
Age group: Baby/toddler, Preschool
Platform: Android, iOS
Keyword tags: Amazon, Animals, Characters, Concepts, Google Play, Growing Up, Music, Nature, Puzzles
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Reviewed on 04/20/18
A charming, interactive book app that asks readers to help move the story forward. In the spirit of the Sesame Street classic The Monster at the End of this Book and Press Here by Herve Tullet, Don’t Wake Up Tiger is a print book that asks readers to interact with the pages to move the action of the story forward. These sorts of books lend themselves readily to being made into an interactive app and that’s just what Nosy Crow has done with this adorable story, with users being asked to stroke the tiger’s nose, blow the frog past the sleeping tiger and rock the tiger to sleep among other actions. Within the app, in addition to hearing the story and interacting with it (there is, unfortunately, no “read it myself” option), users can also hear a recorded song (and watch the accompanying video, related to the book’s clever ending), play a memory match game and play a “spot the differences” game. Be sure to check out the print version of Don’t Wake Up Tiger and enjoy both versions of the book. Which one does your family like better?
Age group: Baby/toddler, Preschool
Platform: iOS
Keyword tags: Animals, Book App, Celebrations, Favorites, Games, Music, Rhymes and Songs, Stories
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Reviewed on 04/16/18
Build an elevated aquaduct to get the water from point A to point B. Pieces of an aquaduct need to be arranged in such a way that the water can move into the reservoir. Players have either a finite number of moves or a finite amount of time in which to finish building their aquaduct. Play consists of tapping on each piece of the aquaduct to rotate it and connect it to the other pieces. Although the mechanics of the game are simple, solving the puzzles can be quite challenging. The music, colors and atmosphere are calming and restarting a level isn’t very stressful. This is a great one for kids and adults to play together. Hint: If you get really stuck, try working backwards from the end of the line towards the front!
Age group: Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12
Platform: Android, iOS
Keyword tags: Concepts, Engineering, Family Play, Games, Google Play, Nature, Puzzles, STEM
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Reviewed on 04/16/18
A theft has occurred! Look for clues and use them to identify the thief and recover the stolen goods. In this app, users play the part of the police officer (who can be customized to one of three different skin tones, 67 hairstyles and 17 facial hair styles, plus a wide variety of uniforms, earned by repeat playing). When you begin the app, a victim of a theft knocks on the door, then tells the officer what has been stolen (usually while sobbing). The spoken language is nonsensical (reminiscent of the adults who speak in Charlie Brown cartoons), but the report is accompanied by a speech bubble with an animation of a silhouetted thief tiptoeing in to steal the missing object (a ring, a phone, a teddy bear, whatever). Next, officer and victim return to the scene of the crime and search the room for 3-5 clues. These are often footprints, a comb with hairs in it (apparently these are all very grooming-conscious thieves), or an object they left behind like a concert ticket. Once all clues have been located, they return to the police station and compare the clues to a line-up of suspects. Once the user chooses a suspect (whether or not the clues match), the officer can go to their home and search for the stolen object. The object will only be found at the suspect’s house if they match the clues, but the search can often make quite a mess (luckily there’s a “broom” button that cleans everything up immediately). If they stolen object is found, there follows a car chase scene where the user must evade puddles and banana peels in order to catch the perpetrator (you can skip the car chase if you prefer). The stolen object is returned to its rightful owner at the end, no matter the result of the car chase. There are a variety of skin tones and ages represented in both the victims and suspects.
Note to parents: I have mixed feelings about reviewing this app because, while it does have great deductive reasoning skills and a nice gameplay design, it may not reflect every child’s experiences with and relationship to their local police and the car chase or the chaotic invasion of privacy while searching for clues might be upsetting for some children. Also, the accessories occasionally include feathers in a headband and a bun secured with chopsticks which often represent racial stereotypes. Consider using this app as a tool to start a conversation about these complicated issues with your child.
Age group: Preschool, Grades K-2
Platform: Android, iOS
Keyword tags: Amazon, Animals, Google Play, Growing Up, Things that Go
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