Thursday, May 3, 2012
Unusual, Enchanting, Three Bears
Posted by SLC at 1:59 PM
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My alter ego from Library web 2.0 (2008). A retired school librarian with a love for technology. Always looking for a new and useful toy.TeacherLibrarianNing
Creativity Apps
Dr Seuss Camera - Cat Cam. Take pictures or pull in photos to arrange with the Cat in the Hat themes. Photo can be adjusted. Easy to use. Fun. $3.99. By Oceanhouse Media. (A)
Dr Seuss Camera - Grinch Edition. At this moment a Christmas app. Take pictures or pull in a picture into a Seuss frame. Easy for young ones to use and lots of creative fun. $2.99 and well worth it. By Oceanhouse Media. (A)
Photogene. Fabulous editing tool for photos. So easy to use an 8 yr old can do it. Perfect for on the road. Special effects, cropping, sharpen, custom frames, etc. Take, bring in, share, or copy photos. $1.99. By Omar Shoor. (A)
Sketchbook MobileX. A drawing/painting program. A 7 year old can use it with just a little training. The symmetry tool is fun & easy. Sophisticated with some great tools. Free. By Autodesk Inc. (A)
Touch Physics Lite. Try a little physics game. Very challenging for adults and children age 10 and up. Full version has 44 levels and music. Try the lite version first. Free. By Gamez for Touch(A)
Tibetan Singing Bowls. Sooth while meditating for children and adults. Calm and creative. Musically lovely with a variety of bowls, bells, and gongs. $1.99. By Oceanhouse Media. (A)
WeeMee Avatar Creator. Pick clothes, hair, jewelry, glasses, pets, backgrounds etc. Very intuitive. Send in email, post to blogs, or social networking sites. Lite fun. $0.99. By WeeWorld. (aa)Science, Math, or Puzzles
Geared Free. If you have someone who likes to see how things work, this is for you. The entire app is about moving gears into place to make it all work. The first few are easy. After that it's hard. At least it was for me. Has a menu to select levels, turn sound off or on etc. It tells you what size gear to use. Then you are on your own. It has 144 levels. Published by Bryan Mitchell. Free. If you like this then you can go to Geared at a cost of $2.99. (aa) Almost awesome because it gives no hints. 
Tanzen Lite. Move and rotate the shapes to make the animals. Takes some practice but 2nd graders on up should be able to master it. Requires thinking. Soothing music. It has options of music low or high, hints, piece color, and a masters mode. 50 puzzles. Free. Published by Little White Bear Studio. They also have Tanzen for $0.99 with 500 puzzles. (A)
Comic Books or Graphic Novels
Bone by Jeff Smith. Outstanding first chapter of the first book in the classic series. Beautifully illustrated just as the original. Very easy to read. Unfortunately each chapter is another $0.99. Expensive but for Bone fans possibly worth it. Published by uclick. (A)
Archie Comics. Four free comics when you sign up. These only stay on the shelf for a few weeks but get them again by going to free titles. Comic prices range between $0.99 to $1.99. Paid titles disappear after a few weeks, but get them back by going to settings; restore iTunes purchases. Each panel can be read horizontally, but there is also a vertical full page viewer. Excellent comic reader screens. A family safe app. No slasher comics, Betty & Veronica, Jughead, Sabrina, Young Salem etc. The app itself is free. Published by iVerse Media. (aa)Preschool
123 Color by Kid Cal. More than just coloring. Letter recognition and number matching. Use settings to change the activity, color pallet, sound effects, and songs. In English and Spanish. There is one setting for creative expression. Unfortunately the sound effects and music are not musically charming. Music can be disabled. Easy for the little ones to use. Published by Steve Glinberg. $0.99. (aa)
Classic 3 Little Pigs. No text just verbal narration. Illustrations not outstanding. Music throughout but too distracting with the narration. Can turn off sound but also turns off narration. Light animation. App store rating 3 & 1/2 stars. Too high a rating. Published by Once Upon an App. $0.99 (BB)
Goldilocks. Illustrations look as if they were deliberately made to look very child like. No text but audio. The reader has a slight accent. Written instructions on each page. Once kids figure it out they don't need instructions. No music or animation. However, Goldilocks can be moved like a paperdoll and she speaks. Very unsophisticated, but lightly charming. Since it's free & fun, if you have app space, give it a try. Published by Lokusi. $ free. (RR)
Itsy Bitsy Spider. No text just song. Much to explore. Counting to 10. Watch a caterpillar turn to a butterfly. Drop hats on the spider. Put countless eggs in the spiderweb. Simple but complex. Published by Duck Duck Moose. $0.99 (aa)
KidCalc. Colorful. An exception to my no boring flashcards rule. Yes, they are here, but there is so much more: counting, tracing numbers, counting puzzles by 5 or 10, and even a calculator. Choice of settings is huge as to color, music, numbers, age, and operations etc. Ages up to 6 or 7. By Steven Glinberg. $0.99.(A)
Old MacDonald Had a Farm. One word text. Narration in song. Beautifully illustrated with child control animation. A delight. Can record yourself. Variety of languages and instruments. Published by Duck Duck Moose. $1.99 (A)
Wheels on the Bus. Complete text with song narration. Charming illustrations. Fun child control animation. Sound affects. Can change verbal sound narration, but text does not change. Another delight by Duck Duck Moose. $0.99 (A)Children's Books
Cat in the Hat. Classic Version. Read to me and Read to myself. Words highlighted as read. Music and sound affects. Not as good as their CD version. Animation consists of words flying in when a picture is clicked. Not their best choice for animation. By Oceanhouse Media $3.99 (aa)
Diary of a Fly. Video of the book with narration. Text with highlighted words as read. Although the illustrations are very small for group reading of the actual book, a librarian or teacher with skill can add warmth to the reading. The video format does not enhance the book. $1.99. Published by Tumblebooks. (BB)
Dr. Seuss's ABC. Read to me and Read to myself sections. Original illustrations. Text highlighted with narration. Sound effects. Music stops after 3rd page. Animation consists of words flying out when picture is clicked. Slide page turn. Good price now. By Oceanhouse Media. $1.99 (aa)
How To Train Your Dragon. Fabulous illustrations from Dreamworks and the movie. No animation. Text highlighted as read. Limited sound beside reading. Limited voice from main character. Published by iStorytime from FrogDogMedia. $1.99. (aa)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Read to me and Read to myself. Words highlighted as read. Original illustrations. Beautiful edition. By Oceanhouse Media. $3.99 (A)
Little Red Hen. Charming adaptation with read to me and read to myself section. Music only at the cover. Light animation and a fun edition. By Kidztory. $0.99 (A)
Peter Rabbit Touch Play. Delightful version direct from Beatrix Potter. Beautiful edition. Charming read aloud with easily readable text. Can turn sound off for read to myself. Sound spots help the characters come alive. Add characters to a scene and email or save them. By SnackLogic Studios. $3.99 (A)
Princess and the Pea. Text not highlighted during narration. Illustrations ordinary. Voice can be recorded for narration. Text size adjustable. Audio can be turned off. In English, German, & Russian. by MCB Mobile Children's Books. $0.99 (RR)
Purple, Green, and Yellow. Read to me and Read to myself section. Text highlighted as narrated. Very light animation. Slide page turn. Original illustrations. Not exciting. By Tumblebooks. $1.99 (BB)
The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Music on cover only. Read aloud and Read to myself. Light animation. Text large, but not highlighted as read. Illustrations in an acceptable but not lavish folk art style. Good Wolf. Touch control of boy and animal voices with just enough variety. Good voice over by child. Moral is at the end of the story. Published by Kidzstory an imprint of Stepworks Company. $0.99. (aa)
The Reading Bug. A lovely original story by iStorytime. Charming narration of text by a child. No words highlighted as read, but good use of repetition. Simple illustrations fitting the story. The ending is a little weak but my granddaughter loved the story and kept going back to read it again. $1.99 (aa)
The Three Little Pigs. Music on intro only. Auto read and read by myself. Good read aloud by a child. Text is large enough for kids to read, but not highlighted as read. Leaves out the apple forest and the fair, but an above average adaptation. Has the huff and puff in the text and even the "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin" Animation and sound effects enhance the story. The teeth chattering of the scared pigs adds to the charm. Published by Kidztory. $0.99 (aa)
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