Fraggle Friends Forever and Animal Planet Hide & Seek Pets

In Apps, Tech by Esther Carlstone3 Comments

FraggleFriendsForever

Fraggle Friends Forever Storytime

Remember the Fraggles of Fraggle Rock? While your kids may not remember them, most parents definitely will. And to celebrate their 30 year anniversary (what does that say about us?!), the Jim Henson Company and Cupcake Digital have released the delightful new Fraggle Friends Forever Storytime App. Similar in format to many of the enhanced book apps out there, the app takes you and your child through a Fraggle storybook with the option to read it yourself, have it read to you via the computerized voice, or a “read and play” option which really brings the e-book to life. Kids can touch various images within the pages to make them spring to life, laugh at the comical special effects and play mini-games like Marjory the Trash Heap’s recycling game and a radish maze. There’s even coloring pages starring our favorite Fraggle characters. For parents, the animation is sharp, the storyline is humorous and it’s a trip down memory lane to see old favorites like Boober, Gobo and Wembley.

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In the story, Boober comes face to face with a very big, very hungry, very ticklish Slurp, and he realizes that a Fraggle has to do what a Fraggle has to do. Can Boober save the Great Hall? And will his friends arrive in time to help?

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And lest you think it’s all fun and games, there’s an awesome “Grown-Up’s Corner” which offers parents questions to ask their children to spark discussions and enhance the reading experience. I also really appreciated the “Common Core Corner” which points out educational aspects throughout the app that can be used to help kids prepare for the Common Core State Standards that will be required of them in school. I can see this being an app we open time and time again throughout the years.

There’s guaranteed to be some Fraggle fans of a new generation after playing this app.

$2.99 at the iTunes and Android Store. Appropriate for kids 2+

Animal Planet Hide & Seek Pets

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Animal Planet Hide & Seek Pets is the first in a series of apps developed by Cupcake Digital in partnership with Discovery Communications. Designed for kids ages 4-7 (although my two-year-old loved it,) this interactive learning activity app features playful domestic pets including dogs, cats, birds, fish, rabbits and turtles interacting in their native environments as part of learning activities.

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This was the perfect app for my animal-loving two-year old daughter. And while older kids will enjoy it as well, I was especially appreciative of anything that could engage a young toddler (particularly on a long plane ride.) This jam-packed app comes with over 20 games and activities from things like simple matching games, to coloring activities to – my daughter’s favorite – the “hide & seek” portion where she gets to “pop” bubbles or move boxes to reveal a hidden animal. She also adored the adorable animal keyboard, and while still a bit young for this feature, I can see us using the tracing letters game quite often in the near future.

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I especially love how the homepage of the app gives you 3 options depending on the age/skill level of your child ranging from “easy” to “hard”. “Easy” was just right for a two-year-old. And like the previously mentioned app, this one also has a “Grown-Ups Corner” and “Common Core Corner” to really take the educational experience to a new level. All in all, it’s easy to use, easy on the eyes, no super-annoying music (you know what I’m talking about), and a crowd-pleaser for young kids. It gets two big thumbs up from this mom!

$0.99 at the iTunes and Android stores.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Cupcake Digital. The opinions above are my own.

Meet the Author | Esther Carlstone


Esther is the mother to a silly 20-month old daughter who hates wearing clothes. Born and raised in Southern California, she attended UCLA where she received her Bachelors Degree in English and continues to live and love Los Angeles many years after. After a decade-long stint as an event planner, she is now a writer/editor for various websites and blogs about all thing lovely at her site, A Lovely State of Mind. She's hates trolling through unorganized sales racks and is obsessed with fashion, food, travel, pop culture, Instagramming, good design, and too many TV shows to count. Oh, and coffee totally counts as a food group (the main one if you have a kid.) You can find Esther on her blog, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

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  2. My daughter really liked the Fraggle Friends app. If your child likes the Fraggle Friend app, too then they will also love the free Kona Ice app. My daughter and I just discovered the Kona Ice app over the weekend and she is crazy about it. Is full or color and cute animated characters. The app is a reader app like Fraggle Friends and also features a few games. I loved that the Kona Ice app is free, my child is having fun and learning, and at the end of the app you get a couopon for a free Kona Ice! So I don’t have to pay for an app or for a Kona Ice. It doens’t get much better than the Kona Ice app!!!! Check it out!

  3. Pingback: Savvy Sassy Favorite Kids Apps | Savvy Sassy Moms

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