High-quality apps you can feel good about using with your child.
Librarians have been giving advice about how to make choices in media forever! Books, music, movies... Apps are simply another form of media to hit the market and for families that are choosing to use apps with their kids, it can feel overwhelming deciding which apps to choose.
There are a number of great resources about using apps with kids. Here are a few favorites:
- Family Time with Apps
- Apps en Familia
- iPad apps and your Pre-Reader
- Tips for using screen media with young children from Zero to Three
Read to start browsing apps? Check out our most recent app reviews below:
A totally free game to download and play from the New York Hall of Science. In this app, you explore a Minecraft-like world (the land and water are made of squares), seeking seeds and new creatures to add to your "pack." Each creature has a unique skill and over the course of the game you learn to combine those skills to achieve your goals. As the online description points out, "…
Although Sago Mini already had an app called "Planes," this newest app in their collection focuses on a different part of the air travel experience -- not the flight itself, but the airport experience. When kids fly for the first time, they may have lots of questions about airports. Why do you have to put your bags on a moving belt that goes into that mysterious tunnel? What'…
If you liked any of the previos Thinkrolls apps, you'll love this one too! In Thinkrolls, players must use logic to help a cute rolling character work their way through a vertical maze. There's lots of logic involved (which step do I need to do first to make sure this works?) and lots of silly action (this particular version begins with a little round monster that eats giant blocks…
Looking for some great podcasts for kids and the whole family to listen to together? Try the Pinna app. It includes both podcasts that are Pinna originals made expressly for this app and only available here plus a few apps that were created by others and are included in this app.
Breaking words down into individual syllables is a key literacy skill and this app gives players a lot of practice with that concept! In this game, users search for familiar words within a pile of circles each containing a single syllable. When they find the syllables for a particular word, they tap on the circles in order to spell the word (ex. ba + na + na = banana!).
Build your own gnome village in the woods!
Have you ever been on a nature walk and seen a plant or bug or fungi that you'd never seen before and thought, "I wonder what that is?" Good news! There's now an app for that! To be fair, there have been a number of apps over the years that have tried to offer similar functionality, but this is the best one I've ever used so far. All you need to do is open the app and point…
Have you ever wondered how hot you'd have to melt gold to get it to evaporate? Or whether you can freeze helium? Play around with liquids, solids and gasses at different temperatures and in different containers (a jar with a lid, a bear-shaped container, a colander -- all have different properties!) to see what happens! You can add labels to identify the different substances that…
This app, based on an Italian children's book, features the adventures of two cats -- one big and one little! They're on a journey and along the way they encounter obstacles big and small. Choose the cat that you think will best be able to conquer each obstacle. You might be surprised! This wordless story app is perfect for younger users. If they choose the "wrong" cat for a job, the cat…
In this app, based on an Italian picture book, a group of animal friends tries to have a picnic, but keeps getting interrupted by a hungry wolf! Help them escape from the wolf by drawing a line through a maze to get them to a new picnic spot to try out! There are multiple paths and multiple solutions, so there's some variety in the game play, but the results (the wolf always finds them!) are…
Balance as many animals as you can in the boat -- or just let them swim in the ocean. Cute illustrations, open-ended play and a free price point are the high points of this app. If you're really focused on balancing animals in the boat, you might find it frustratingly challenging as these animals all seem to weigh as much as a feather and don't stay put very well. Sea creatures (clams,…
Billed as "playable TV" this app has a unique feel. Watch as genius inventor Billie explains to her animated avocado friend, Avo, her latest creations, then she often tells Avo of some objects she needs. Players then can draw a line on the screen wherever they'd like Avo to walk. As he walks along, he gathers up pink beans, the necessary objects and finds hidden bonuses. You can…