4 Apps for Early Learning & Reading

These educational apps are great for kids who are getting into reading and other learning.

Disney Princess: Story Theater

Disney Princess: Story Theater is a delightful storytelling experience for kids who love the Disney Princesses. The app has a structured storytelling experience and free play space allowing storytelling to emerge. In both areas you will find Disney princesses, their unique settings, supporting characters and props. Kids use an easy to navigate in app recording feature to share their own stories. The app provides freedom for exploration while supporting your child to tell the beginning, middle and end of stories. You will find unlocked buttons in the lower corner for a view of the collection of Disney apps that with a tap take you to the app store.

The Adventures of Puppup: Lost at the Zoo

The Adventures of Puppup: Lost at the Zoo is a dynamic tale of a pup who gets lost from his family on a visit to zoo. Kids meet a variety of animals and are exposed to rich vocabulary while listening to the story. The music, graphics and interactivity are all well crafted and kid-friendly. The story is quite long and integrates limited features. The words are not highlighted, there is no control to turn off narration or option tap to re-read each page or individual words. The story is perfect for asking questions, thinking through the details and practicing a variety of comprehension skills.

Pepi Tree

Pepi Tree is filled with mini games kids love to play, and just enough learning that parents will be happy too. Enter the forest and navigate between 5 levels to watch a caterpillar turn into a butterfly, play hide and seek with forest animals, feed squirrels till they are so full and fall asleep, and more. Each mini game is quick and doesn’t show a full science experience, but is just enough to get kids thinking and becoming familiar with science themes. Most of the activities are repetitive, but there is flexibility built into the interaction for kids to discovery in varied ways. You will find links in this app, but nothing aggressive.

Hippo Seasons

Hippo Seasons responds to your child’s touch for discovering the four seasons. This free exploration app feels more like a toy than a traditional kids app. In each season kids tap, swipe, shake and blow to reveal and create with the thematic seasonal scenes. Winter has snow play, spring blends water and colorful flowers, summer has an interactive lawn and fall is filled with leaves. A very good app that uses no timers or directions, just your child’s imagination!