3 apps captivate kids with charming characters
Scooby-Doo, Very Hungry Caterpillar and Thinkrolls want to play with your kids!
With kids' apps, likable characters are the key to engagement. Wimpy doggie detective Scooby-Doo fits that bill, as does the Very Hungry Caterpillar, the titular character from Eric Carle's famous book. Another proven attention-getter is the group of roly-poly charmers called Thinkrolls. All have new apps. Here's a look.
My Friend Scooby-Doo!
Warner Bros., best for ages 6-9, $2.99, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android
Rating: 4 stars (out of 4)
Zoinks! Famous canine sleuth Scooby-Doo becomes your child's playmate in this brand-new virtual-pet app. And since this well-known wussy dog has sick detective skills, kids get to use him to solve fun mysteries. Joining the sleuthing is Scooby's owner, the cowardly slacker Shaggy.
As kids romp with Scooby — petting him, teaching him tricks like high-fiving, playing mini-games and, of course, feeding him Scooby Snacks — they earn clues to solve four mysteries set in two locations.
On a spooky beach with moaning ghosts and a scary graveyard, players solve the mysteries of disappearing yachts and looted boats. In a deserted Old West town, Scooby and the player unmask villains known as Miner Forty-Niner and the Spooky Space Kook.
The mini-games unfold slowly over time, and offer kids the opportunity to do things such as flinging horseshoes, jumping barrels, busting ghosts and solving hidden picture puzzles. Winning these mini-games earns players Scooby Snacks, which they use to feed Scooby and unlock kooky costumes for him to wear.
The app overflows with eerie sounds, music and special effects. With creepy spacecraft, aliens, abandoned mines, floating mummies and more, My Friend Scooby-Doo! offers spooktacular fun.
Bonus tip: If your kids love playing with their favorite TV characters, click here for a list of the best apps based on TV brands.
Thinkrolls 2
Avokiddo, best for ages 4-9, $2.99, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android
Rating: 4 stars
This sequel to the award-winning Thinkrolls lets kids play with 28 animated ball-like characters. Bubbling with personality, these roly-poly characters love to roll through vertical maze puzzles to chase their friends. While gravity pulls them down, the Thinkrolls can make it through a puzzle only if the player helps them. Kids use their fingers to start the characters rolling and then manipulate things in the environment to clear a path from the top to the bottom.
With hilarious expressions, the Thinkrolls egg you on as you try to open and close accordions to act as ledges and steps. If you drop barrels into water hazards to create floating platforms, the Thinkrolls zip over them. And if you direct a wiggling Thinkroll into sci-fi-like wormholes, they pop out in another part of the maze. There are also eggs to roll or break, electrical batteries to avoid, fans to turn on so Thinkrolls can fly and light bulbs that keep turning off.
The gibberish-speaking characters with their silly antics draw kids into playing. And the puzzles put players' minds to work as they help their new ball buddies navigate the 235 puzzle levels, divided into easy and hard levels. In addition to using logic, kids will experiment with physics, science and properties of matter.
Bonus tip: If logic puzzles are your kid's jam, check out these other top apps that promote logical thinking.
My Very Hungry Caterpillar
StoryToys Entertainment Limited, best for ages 3-5, $3.99, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Windows
Rating: 4 stars
If your children are big fans of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar book, they will adore this app. The beloved voracious caterpillar wants to have fun with your child in this 3-D playground. Children tap on the screen to make the caterpillar explore this big, open world filled with lots of white space and artwork that resembles Eric Carle's illustrations.
With no words or instructions, kids will discover that the caterpillar follows their touch. By plucking luscious fruit from trees, kids can feed this hungry, leggy larva and then watch as it visibly grows. They will also see a meter on top of the screen fill up to indicate the caterpillar is full.
In addition, kids need to keep their worm-like charge entertained. The possible activities include a visit to the toy box, the garden, a painting area, a music arena and a pond. Watching the little caterpillar inch through paint to create art is fascinating. This intrepid bug can even crawl onto a boat and sail around a small pond.
When your child has filled both the food and entertainment meters, the caterpillar is ready to be tucked into bed for the night. After five virtual days, a cocoon appears. Kids help remove the cocoon to discover the joy of awakening and welcoming a new butterfly friend. This butterfly now appears within this world to flutter around as kids hatch the new egg and nurture the next baby caterpillar through its metamorphosis. By giving kids control, My Very Hungry Caterpillar creates a special and magical realm in which to play.
Bonus tip: For other fun apps based on characters from classic children's books, click here for a rec list.
Gudmundsen is the Editor of www.TechwithKids.com and author of iPad Apps for Kids, a For Dummies book. Contact her at techcomments@usatoday.com. Follow her @JinnyGudmundsen.