Bats! Furry Fliers of the Night is a joy to behold. School Library Journal praises this app, and Kirkus gave it a star. A 4+ rating is given by iTunes. Seven amazing chapters from Fliers with Fur, Bats of Many Kinds, and Bat Colonies plus more. The chapter on echolocation is stunning. The voice and sound effects can be turned off and on. The many interactive visual effects are amazing. The text is large enough to read, but not highlighted as read. However, a small portion of the text is not read aloud. The text is very informational and uses the correct terminology when needed. iPad only. Published by Story Worldwide. $3.99 (A) Expensive but well worth it.

The Strange and Wonderful World of Ants has a cool feature in which you can adjust the reading level from beginner to intermediate to advanced. The narration is only on the beginning level. The text is large. There is a little ant that looks so real crawling on the screen. When you click on him, you get a message from E.O. the ant. But the narrator does not read it aloud. The art is soft and a little erie. This book has a glossary, list of ant web sites, and ant books. Some reviewers critiqued this book harshly as it interprets the cooperative lifestyle of the ant. However it is a very informative lightly interactive app and well worth the price. iPad only. Published by Amos Latteier. $1.99 (aa)

The Three Pandas Animated Storybook is a sweet rendition of the three bears with an adorable little real Asian Goldilocks named Mei Mei.  Lovely soft music. Their bamboo home is loaded with bamboo furniture and Asian accents. In English and Chinese. Has read to me and read to myself options. Words are not highlighted as read, however, this is a lovely original version of the old story with full animation.  Love the ending as Mei Mei apologizes for her errors. Plus there is a small section giving information about Pandas. Works on all the idevices. Published by See Here Studios. $3.99  (AA) Totally Awesome

From time to time I will add apps that will go on all the idevices that are free or inexpensive. There are universal apps that will go on the iphone for $.99. If you have an ipad or itouch you can also install it on those devices. Sometimes the app is exactly the same as one that is on the ipad, but a lot less expensive. If you install an iphone or itouch app on your ipad it will come up as smaller, but at the bottom is a 1x or 2x that you can make it much bigger almost the same size as the iPad app for which you could have paid $3.99.

The icon says Bella the Great, but the title is Bella Goes Bump in the Night. It has a read to me and read to myself section. It is rated 4+ as it is a story about those imaginary monsters that show up in the dark of night. Each page is a short rhyme and the illustrations show creatures such a minotaurs, sea monsters, or vampire bats. No sound effects or animation. The pages look exactly like photocopy of a hard bound book. The creatures make it a fun little story. Published by Gramercy Consultants. $.99. (RR)

Hildegard Sings for iphone. Also works on the ipad. Music and sound which can be turned off and on. It is also rated 4+ probably because of the topic which is opera. Has a read to myself and read to me section, but words are not highlighted as read.  Hildegard has a problem singing which is fixed with an amusing idea.  For a Hippo, Hildegard has a certain amount of charm. This app has light amusing animation and will delight many young readers. Kirkus Star. Published by One Hundred Robots. $.99. (A)

Welcome to the Bartleby's  Book of Buttons, Vol 1: The Far Away Island. This is an unusual book and the price is great. It's a story and a puzzle, but not the usual kind of puzzle. Has music, sound affects, and unusual animation. Excellent illustrations. Listening or reading the story and pushing the right button gets you to the next page. Has a read to me on and off button. Even on the front cover of the book, you have to find the button that takes you to the next page. The button on the side turns green when all the correct buttons have been pushed. Occasionally this app will stick and not work on a button. Push the home button, wait 10 seconds, and open it up again. Then it will work. This app is best for ages 7 and up, or it's a fun read with a parent. There is some thinking involved. Recipient of the Children's Technology Review Editors Choice award and a Kirkus Star for 2010. iPad only. Published by Octopus Kite. .99 (A)

Sunday in Kyoto is described by School Library Journal as enchanting and delightful. It is much more than that. It is exquisite. The Japanese music and finely detailed illustrations bring the user into another world. The words show up individually as the song is sung. It has a non standard approach as there is animation but the user cannot start or stop the animation. The user does not have control of page turning during the singing. The story can be read by the user without the music. Here the user can control the page turning and the text can be made bigger. Sunday has an excellent menu and the story/song ends much too soon. iPad only. Published by Les Productions Folle Avoine. Secret Mountain. $3.99 (A)


The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is a spinoff app from the short award winning film. As a librarian this is a book lovers delight, but it is the ground breaking presentation that really sets this app apart from the thousands of book apps available. As Morris ages, 27 interactive pages are available for exploration. Some of the animation is fabulous. The side menu allows for read aloud, read to yourself, turning off and on music, and eliminating seeing the text. In the read aloud the text is not highlighted. Beautifully constructed story reminding us all that we each have a story to tell. A 2011 Kirkus Star app has a 4+ itunes rating meaning that the story is not for under 3. A 4 year old would love it. iPad only. Published by Moonbot Studios. $4.99 (A)

Astrid and Siri is a very nice FREE ipad only app if you have young daughters or granddaughters. It's not perfect, but fun for the girly girl. The illustrations are in a gorgeous Scandinavian design. Very detailed somewhat like Jan Brett but in muted colors. The animation is charming but not sophisticated. There is interaction on every page. There is way too much giggling and animal sounds, otherwise the story is unusual and fun. There is both a read to me and read to yourself section. Words are highlighted as read. Music can be off or on. The last page is a fashion page where the reader can change Astrid's outfit. Published by Artic Star. (free) (aa)

Although Christmas gone for this year, this is an iphone, ipad app to treasure from year to year. It uses the original Charlie Brown music and the original voice of Charlie Brown, Peter Robbins. Beautifully presented. Here is the title page. The opening page includes a store to buy more Charlie Brown videos and include a Christmas tree to decorate.


Here is the charm of the famous Charlie Brown videos. The very first page shows all the kids ice skating. The user can move the skaters across the ice with falling snow. The print is very small on the iphone, but the reader is reading it. You do not have the choice of reading to yourself or listening to story.

You can play Schroeder's Piano, but just listening to the music is fun. There is a lot in this app that might surprise and delight you. This would be the perfect app if not for the store and the small print on the iPhone. I don't care for apps that push more consumerism by kids. On the iPad the print is much easier to see. Published by Loud Crow. $3.99 (A)

A fun little app for kids and Grandma. No surprises here with no in app extra costs. Lots of variety in the choice of cookie. Only 99 cents and you get frosting, candy, sprinkles, and piping frosting. You get all the extras, including lots of colors you may need or want. You also get a choice of tablecloths and a variety of plates. Roll out the dough, cut the cookie, bake it, decorate it, eat it, or put it either in a cookie jar or on a plate. You can also photograph your cookies. Love how easy this is to use. Published by Shoe the Goose. (.99) (A)