A dozen iPad apps to entertain a toddler

As a family that now has two iPads in the house, it’s only natural that we have an iPad-savvy (and indeed iPad-hogging) toddler in our midst. She’s been tapping away at touch screens since she first discovered my iPad does stuff when you whack it, and the arrival of her Daddy’s iPad mini this week has caused much delight.

While recommending apps for my husband’s new toy, it was inevitable that I’d end up picking a dozen or so of Georgie’s favourite apps for him to download for our little madam to play with too. Recently she has been very cute with the iPad, and has figured out how to swipe and tap like a pro – a lot of these apps have arrows or a swipe action to “turn” the page and she can now manage it herself, much to her immense pride. And so without further ado here is a round-up of her current top 12 toddler apps…

Animal SnApp: Farm

By Nosy Crow
Price: £2.99
Universal app? Yes

We just discovered this app last week and Georgie has been really enjoying it. After you load up the app, you can swipe between animal tops & bottoms to match them up.

Each animal has its own story, and once you have matched up an animal, their story begins… Lucky Lamb, Gobbly Goat, Cuddly Cow, Portly Pig, Diggity Dog and Higgledy Hen! Georgie loves to swipe the animal halves back & forth, and seems to really enjoy the lovely stories.

The illustrations are by Axel Scheffler, the stories well written and entertaining, with fun animations and well-read narration. I think it is definitely worth the £2.99 price tag, especially as you get 6 stories for the price.

If you like this app: Check out the Nosy Crow site to see their other apps

Mog the Forgetful Cat

By HarperCollins
Price: £2.49
Universal app? Yes

Mog is the star of many Judith Kerr* books, and a much-loved character from my husband’s childhood. When he discovered there was a Mog iPad app out and I loaded it up, I don’t know whether he or Georgie was more excited!

Mog the Forgetful Cat was first published in 1970, and has a timeless, charming story that is brought to life with this iPad app. You can either read it yourself, have it read to you with fabulous narration, or record your own narration. In the record menu, you can even record multiple narrations, and have video as well as audio recordings.

Each “page” of the book has interactive animation and the ability to show or hide the page text. There are some fun additions to this app, with a sweet game where you match Mog’s emotion with her face, and a really great “take a photo with Mog” feature where you can type your own message and have a snapshot with the adorable cat.

Ad disclosure: We were given a promo code by HarperCollins for this app, but would have been happy to pay £2.49 for it, Georgie really loves it!

If you like this app: Try out some of the other HarperCollins Publishers Ltd apps

In the Night Garden HD

By BBC Worldwide
Price: £1.49
Universal app? No (iPhone version available – £1.49)

This is a fun app for any toddler who is an In the Night Garden fan. Although possibly not as well designed as some of the other apps on this list, Georgie loves that she can recognise the characters from what is one of her favourite tv shows.

You can watch Iggle Piggle, Upsy Daisy and Makka Pakka have a dance and sing-song, or play one of a couple of games. The first of these is “Hiding”, in which you hunt for the different characters – including Upsy Daisy’s bed! The second is “Washing”, where you are in control of Makka Pakka and travel around the place washing everyone’s face for them. A little weird, perhaps, but have you seen the show?

If you like this app: Check out the others by BBC Worldwide

Peekaboo Barn for iPad

By Night & Day Studios
Price: £1.49
Universal app? No (iPhone version available – £1.49)

We have had this app installed a while, as well as most of the other Peekaboo apps by Night & Day Studios, and it has been a firm favourite for a while.

At the moment it has been updated with a Christmas facelift, although the normal non-Christmassy animations are great too. Narrated by kids, the whole series is really well done.

The basic premise of any of the Peekaboo apps is that something is hiding, in this case in a barn, and each time you tap on the hiding place it reveals a different surprise inside. This barn edition seems to be Georgie’s favourite of the series, especially as she loves the animal noises!

If you like this app:  Download Peekaboo Friends to preview some of the other Peekaboo apps from Night & Day Studios

Peekaboo Presents

By Night & Day Studios
Price: £1.49
Universal app? Yes

Another Peekaboo app has to be included in this list, with the recent release of this Christmas themed Peekaboo Presents.

Similar to the barn app above, this one features a present under the Christmas tree that contains a selection of toys. Each one has a cute animation, sound effect and the name is both displayed on the screen and read aloud.

These apps are simple but enjoyable and very well done, and never fail to amuse Georgie!

If you like this app: Browse the other apps by Night & Day Studios, Inc. – there are lots more in the peekaboo series!

Old MacDonald HD

By Duck Duck Moose
Price: Currently free for the holidays!
Universal app? No (iPhone version available – Currently free for the holidays)

Old MacDonald is an award-winning app, and it doesn’t surprise me at all. Georgie adores this and it comes packed with kid friendly features. You can set the song to automatically move on after a certain amount of time, and almost everything on the screen is interactive.

The app is full of tongue in cheek animations and amusement so adults will be almost as entertained as toddlers… I don’t think I’ll ever stop smiling at a cow being abducted by a spaceship!

If you like this app: Try out Itsy Bitsy Spider HD & Wheels on the Bus HD

Fish School HD

By Duck Duck Moose
Price: £1.49
Universal app? No (iPhone version available – £1.49)

Fish School is great fun and educational at the same time. Georgie really enjoys this app and it has plenty of different modes to keep her entertained.

With letters, the alphabet song, numbers, shapes, playtime, colours and a matching game, I love the fact that she will get more out of the app as she gets older. At the moment she really enjoys swiping between the different letters, and messing about in the playtime mode. The animation is fab and it’s a really attractive colourful app with great music and sound effects. Highly recommended!

If you like this app: Try out some of the other educational apps from Duck Duck Moose

Interactive Alphabet ABCs

By Piikea St
Price: £1.99
Universal app? Yes

Another educational style app, this one is dedicated solely to learning your abcs.

Each letter has at least one word associated with it, with nice narration and animation. There is a baby mode which auto advances the ‘cards’, or you can press the buttons at the top of the screen to go back and forth. Tapping the screen triggers the animation for each letter, and there are a variety of tunes in the background.

If you like this app: Try out some other Piikea St. apps

First Words: Toddler Touch and Say

By Penguin Books
Price: £1.49
Universal app? Yes

Toddler Touch and Say is a fun little educational app from the guys over at Penguin Books. Another simple but effective app, easy for Georgie to understand on her own, this app is basically a pretty “flash card” app which displays a picture with that object or animals name underneath.

There are four different sections with a total of 48 words to learn; vehicles, at home, animals and toys. When the picture is tapped it plays a sound effect and moves, and the word is read aloud if tapped. Georgie knows how to move between pictures using the arrows at the bottom of the screen, and will play with this app quite happily for a while!

One nice thing about this app for UK users is that it has a British accent instead of American, which so many of the best educational apps out there seem to have.

If you like this app: Check out Happy Babies: Ladybird Baby Touch & Peekaboo: Ladybird Baby Touch (both suitable for slightly younger kids)

Ladybird Classic HD Books

By Penguin Books
Price: £1.99
Universal app? Yes

I completely love this particular app, as it appeals to my nostalgic side! Penguin have brought the classic Ladybird books to life with fabulous narration and sound effects in this special ebook app.

You get three books with the app; The Zoo, The Old Woman and Her Pig and Robinson Crusoe. You can then purchase additional apps using the in-app purchases system for £1.99 each. Each page has hotspots for the narration and sound effects, and you can record over the supplied narration with your own.

I had a few of these books as a child, and I can attest that they have been reproduced perfectly with this app! Even down to the amazing illustrations at the start and end of the books, it’s quite eerie how well done they are. No other ebook app I’ve tried has reproduced the reading experience quite so well.

If you like this app: Try Me Books (free with one book free to try, plus 3 more books if you open a free account) or Peppa Pig Me Books (£1.99 with one book included)

Spot Goes to the Farm

By Penguin Books
Price: £1.99
Universal app? Yes

I was a BIG Spot fan as a child, so I am keen to make sure that Georgie knows all about the loveable little dog!

This app brings the classic flap book to your touch screen, with optional narration, sound effects, animations and three basic jigsaw puzzles.

The flaps wiggle a bit to let you know where to touch in order to reveal the page’s surprise, and if you tap the text on each page it is read aloud. Georgie really enjoys this app, and the story is really quite sweet.

If you like this app: Try Spot Goes to School

Little Charley Bear

By Studio Liddell
Price: Free!
Universal app? Yes

Another familiar face for any cbeebies fan, this app featuring Charley Bear is pretty good for a freebie!

You have 6 stories to choose from… each one has an intro video followed by a puzzle then a second video to conclude the story as your reward for completing it. Each one is narrated by James Corden as in the TV show, and the puzzle is simple enough for Georgie to do it with a little help from an adult.

Georgie really loves Little Charley Bear so this app was an instant hit in our house!

If you like this app: Download “Are You There Charley Bear?”, Ready, Teddy, Go!, Charley On Safari or Antarctic Charley from the iTunes video store

Well, there you go… Hope you find this list helpful!

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