I'm a full-time mummy

I was really really excited to be able to review this app! My 3 years old boy is very much into skeleton stuff at the moment and I know I just had to review this app with him when I saw the review pitch of this app with the icon of half a child and half a skeleton figure! And yes, this app does not disappoint, in fact, we love it so much that I started recommending it to other friends of mine! Anyway, my review as below...

* Title: This Is My Body (Anatomy For Kids)
* Price: $1.99
* Category: Education
* Released: Apr 21, 2012
* Version: 1.0
* Size: 38.5 MB
* Language: English
* Seller: urbn; pockets
* Rated: 4+
* Requirements: Compatible with iPad.Requires iOS 5.0 or later.

Description from the product page:

"Created by a team of medical doctors, educators and parents "This is my body - Anatomy for kids" features informations about all important aspects of the human body – all within in a beautifully designed and illustrated app! The main areas your child will discover and learn about:
* You are unique and yet we are all very similar to each other
* Growing - how fast do we grow and how long
* The skin - and how to protect it
* Senses - how do we see, hear, feel, taste and smell
* Digestive system - why are we hungry
* Respiratory system - your body needs oxygen constantly
* Circular system - your heart beats constantly
* Muscular system - exercise is good for you
* Nervous system - how are informations transmitted
* Skeleton - how do bones look like and why do you need joints

 This is my body - Anatomy for kids follows a playful yet working learning methodology that entertains children while learning."

What's good?

* I really, really love this engaging and interactive app! To be honest, I learned new stuff when I go through this app with my 3 years old boy!

* Firstly, kudos to the app developer for putting in the options for us users to select the gender of the child as honestly, I feel that my child relates himself to the character more if it is the same gender as him, so it is no surprise that my boy chose the boy character (with the blue shirt which is his favorite color at the moment)

* Another awesome thing to note is that we can adjust the setting of the app whether to show the child figure in the app wearing underpants or not as according to the app, there are parents who are not comfortable with letting their child see the genitals of the character. I for one, am very happy to be able to turn off this setting as I do want my child to learn and be exposed to learning this. Please don't get me wrong, my opinion is I would want my child to be comfortable with his own body.

* There are about 9 topics to be covered in this app, among our favorites are the senses, heartbeat, nervous system and skeleton topics.

* There are some pages which I also used the opportunity to teach my boy about manners, such as wiping his nose when he sneezes (or when he has runny nose) 

* I was actually surprised to see my 3 years old boy nodding, listening and watching intensely as I explained to him how the food we ate and what we drink goes through our mouth, throat, body and so on. At the sight of this, I did get excited about the future plans in our homeschooling lessons! So so so much potential and many more things to learn!

* My boy's favorite part of this app has got to be the skeleton puzzle game! I am surprised he can actually matched some of the bones structures correctly as I was only explaining to him about our skulls and bones in general prior to this!

Other Things to Note:

* It actually took me a while to figure out how to change the settings for the child figure's underpants - was looking for the setting all over the app until I remembered there is another setting on the iPad screen outside the app.

* I also have a bit difficulty reading the cursive style of text info on the pages so perhaps the developer can look into making the text easier to read?

You can purchase the "This Is My Body (Anatomy For Kids)  " app from the iTunes App Store.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the promo code to redeem the application for free from iTunes Store in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous iPad Apps reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My iPad App Reviews"

I received an email pitch asking whether I will be interested to review this cute app and upon checking out more info on it, I decided to review it, because, come on, look how cute is the illustrations! It looks simple and pleasing to the eye and yet the color is very catchy and interesting! Anyway, my review as below...

* Title: Saffy Looks For Rain
* Price: $2.99
* Category: Books
* Updated: Aug 02, 2012
* Version: 1.0.1
* Size: 36.7 MB
* Language: English
* Seller: Simply Read Books Inc.
* Rated: 4+
* Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Requires iOS 4.2 or later.

Description from the product page:

"The very first Simply Small book app is here, and it’s completely adorable! Based on a story from the immensely popular, award-winning board book series by Paola Opal, Saffy Looks for Rain will captivate children ages one to four (and their parents too!) with its bright colors, bold graphics, interactive animations, and charming story.

 It's a hot day and there isn't a cloud in the sky. Saffy, however, is determined to find rain. Her search ends when she finds something even better . . . a friend who helps her cool down. If you or your little one can’t get enough of Saffy Looks for Rain, look for the next Simply Small app, Saffy, coming soon!"

What's good?

* It is engaging and interactive and I love that we can also touch the objects in each page on the screen and there are also animations which catches our attention! My 3 years old boy had fun tapping the Ollie the elephant's trunk which then splashes water to Saffy the giraffe.

* The coloring game is pretty simple to use and you can choose to use pencil or paintbrush, pick your favorite colors, erase or redo your coloring.

* I like the navigation option at the top where you can select which page to go to.

Room for Improvement?

* Maybe it's just my weird preferance but I would prefer if the book app ended with the "The End" words shown so that we can know that the story ended... I was actually staring at the last page, swiping my iPad screen a couple of times thinking there are more page to read...

* I'd love it if there are options to save the colorings that we did or email it out.

* I would also prefer if the puzzle pieces are the same size as the square boxes it is supposed to go to. Currently the puzzle pieces is a bit smaller and only became the exact size when you matched it correctly.

You can purchase the "Saffy Looks For Rain " app from the iTunes App Store.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the promo code to redeem the application for free from iTunes Store in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous iPad Apps reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My iPad App Reviews"

This app is freaking addictive!!!

There I said it...! Phewww... *breath in* breath out*breath in* breath out*

Now before I begin, I would like to mention that I am the one reviewing this app, not my boy though I tried showing it to him and got him to try looking for one of the hidden objects. He squinted his eyes, look at me, and ran off to play with his Lego. Bah... I think this game is too advanced for my 3 years old boy for now! Anyway, his loss hahahah...

Oh, did I mention I am a crazy fan of games like this? Looking for hidden objects and all? Me, me, me!!!! So of course I immediately replied with my interest to review this app when I received the press release!

It took me 1 day to solve all 12 screens! 12 scenes with more than 280 neatly hidden objects!!! Achievement or slowpoke? I don't know, I am just happy to be able to solve all the puzzles! So here goes my review:

* Title: The Smurfs Hide & Seek with Brainy
* Price: $1.99
* Category: Games
* Released: Aug 30, 2012
* Version: 1.01
* Size: 145 MB
* Language: English
* Seller: zuuka! GmbH © 2012 Peyo, Lafig Belgium/IMPS
* Rated: 4+
* Requirements: Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation) and iPad. Requires iOS 4.3 or later.

Description from the product page:

"There has never been a Hide & Seek game on iPad or iPhone as smurfy blue as this! Optimized for the new iPad “The Smurfs Hide & Seek with Brainy" is the ideal entertainment for all clever seekers, who like a tough ride. Your child will indulge in exploring this collection of tricky puzzle pictures for hours. And if one is stuck the implemented cheat functionality will help out three times on each screen. Entertaining music and crystal clear images will engage you while you can look for even the tiniest detail. Easy usability paired with challenging tasks to tackle are a guaranty for looooooong lasting gaming pleasure. But beware: once you have started it will be hard to stop!"

* I have to confess that I panicked right after solving the 1st puzzle screen as I couldn't find any buttons or links to go to the next puzzle or to the mainpage. I immediately emailed the sponsor asking for help and after a few emails exchange, found out that the navigation buttons are there all along! It's at the bottom of the screen, just need to tap the blue ribbon! Doh'!!!!!  My bad!

* You can go previous or next puzzle screen or listen to the narration or music on the screen, you can also opt to refresh the puzzles and do again. The icon with Brainy Smurf will allow you to tap up to 3 times per screen for hints to the hidden object(s) and at the bottom right of the screen is the object(s) which you need to find.

* I like that I am able to zoom in and enlarge the screen - else I think I'm going to be changing my glasses prescriptions soon hahaha... anyway, to zoom in or to enlarge the screen, you just need to use 2 fingers and slide it across your iPad to enlarge.

* This is my favorite thing that I love to see showing on my iPad! That I had finally smurfed everything on the screen! (meaning solved and found all the hidden objects)

* I like that when I exited the app and goes back again later, the app asked me whether I would like to resume back my object searching madness or restart everything again.

* If you think this app is easy peasy, think again! Some of the hidden objects are not what it seems to be! For example, look at the screenshot below where I am supposed to look for Baby Smurf. You can look at the pink arrow I included in the screenshot which shows the actual answer to the hidden Baby Smurf! Not easy right?!

Still not convinced and think this app is too easy? Again, look at the screenshot below where I am supposed to look for a billiard ball. You can look at the pink arrow I included in the screenshot which shows the actual answer to the hidden billiard ball! Mind you, the screen are zoomed to the max so you can see where it is actually located!

Now are you feeling a tad respect for my ability to solve all 12 screens (with more than 280 neatly hidden objects!!!) in 1 day?! Hahaha... again, I'm just happy to be able to try out this app, it is really addictive, fun and entertaining! Definitely the best so far that I get to try!

You can purchase the "The Smurfs Hide & Seek with Brainy" app from the iTunes App Store.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the promo code to redeem the application for free from iTunes Store in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous iPad Apps reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My iPad App Reviews"