“10 terrific games, stories and more apps to download to kids' new iPads” plus 1 more

10 terrific games, stories and more apps to download to kids' new iPads

Posted: 28 Dec 2010 02:40 AM PST

Loads of inviting apps beckon for kids who got an iPad for the holidays this year. While this gadget is way more expensive than most toys, starting at $499 for the Wi-Fi version, it can provide an incredible range of activities for children of all ages.

Here are 10 apps that will keep kids engaged:

iBooks

"A Present for Milo" (From Ruckus Media, best for ages 2 to 6, $1.99)

This adorable story about a cat chasing a mouse has more than 80 objects within its illustrations that kids can tap to trigger over 125 animations. Mike Austin wrote and illustrated this book specifically for the iPad, so it is much more interactive than many books found in the iTunes Store. "Milo" raises the bar for interactivity within the book apps category, and its delightful surprise ending will have kids wanting to read it again and again. Austin narrates the book himself with masterful comedic timing.

"PopOut! The Night Before Christmas" (From Loud Crow Interactive, best for ages 4 and up, $4.99)

This is a magical interactive version of the 1902 classic by William Denslow, the original illustrator of the "Wizard of Oz." Throughout the 50 pages, kids will delight in touching illustrations that respond in different ways -- they move, pop out of position and sway when the iPad is tilted. There also are pull-tabs and wheels to spin that make new illustrations appear. The words are highlighted as they are read aloud to help beginning readers follow along. If you love this one, try "PopOut! The Tale of Peter Rabbit," another treasure by the same developer.

"Bartleby's Book of Buttons Vol. 1: The Far Away Island" (From Octopus Kite, best for ages 5 to 10, $2.99)

Kids move the story along by solving interactive puzzles on each page of the book. To help Barnaby, a collector of buttons, on his journey, kids will need to press buttons, rotate the iPad, pull sliders (as you would find in a pop-up book), flip switches and more. This inventive book will keep kids guessing as they explore the interactive pages.

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Games

"Cut the Rope HD" (From Chillingo, best for ages 7 and up, $1.99)

This puzzle game has been in the top 10 of all paid iPad apps in the iTunes Store since it was launched in October -- and for good reason. It has a simple premise (cut ropes anchoring a piece of candy to send it flying), an adorable main character (Om Nom, a candy junkie, to whom you direct the candy) and its solutions require out-of-the-box thinking. In each puzzle, you use your finger to cut ropes to make the candy fall into Om Nom's mouth and hopefully collect bonus stars along the way. With more than 100 puzzles, this is a game that all ages can enjoy.

"Pictureka! for iPad" (Electronic Arts, best for ages 7 and up, $4.99)

Based on the board game of the same name, this seek-and-find game is crammed full of objects hidden in crazy cartoons. It can be played alone or with up to four others. The goal is to quickly find requested objects or ones that fit a category (such as "items found in the kitchen"). It is a blast to play with others.

"Santa's Christmas Village 15-in-1" (EnsenaSoft, best for ages 7 and up, 99 cents)

For as little as a dollar, you can get 15 high-quality games, including classics like Reversi, Connect 4, Checkers, Solitaire, Mahjong, Minesweeper and Concentration. Some games even involve solving math equations and spelling words. This is a fabulous way to get a group of popular kid games onto your iPad. Some allow two players. All of the games feature holiday window dressing, so when playing Reversi, for instance, the traditional black-and-white game pieces have been replaced with holiday candies.

"Angry Birds HD" (Chillingo, best for ages 8 and up, $4.99)

Another very popular puzzle game, this one involves shooting angry birds out of a sling-shot at castles that are hiding the pigs who have stolen the birds' eggs. It is a silly premise, but the flinging-to-knock-down-structures part is amazingly well done. With 195 puzzles, each using realistic physics, this app is a hoot to explore.

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"Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4" (Warner Bros., best for ages 8 and up, $4.99)

You become a Lego version of Harry Potter and relive the highlights found in the first four books by J.K. Rowling, with a little cheeky Lego humor thrown in. This app is a delight to behold with crisp graphics, haunting music, great touch-control and 40 levels of adventuring. There are over 100 playable characters to unlock, including Ron, Hermione and Hagrid.

Educational apps

"Fish School HD" (Duck Duck Moose, best for ages 2 to 4, $1.99)

Kids learn letters, numbers, shapes and colors with schools of fish as their teachers. Little children will be mesmerized by how their every touch makes a new school of colored fish appear. The fish group into formations, so kids learn what a square is by seeing the fish swim into this four-sided shape. Ditto for letters and numbers. For colors, the screen fills with different colored fish; but when one is touched, the other colored fish vamoose and the screen fills with fish of the same color.

"Magic Piano" (Smule, best for ages 7 and up, $1.99)

By simply dragging your finger over the surface of the iPad, you can "play" the piano. If you trail sparkling dots on the surface, you can create such masterpieces as "Fur Elise," "Flight of the Bumblebee" or "Moonlight Sonata." But kids will also enjoy playing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "Happy Birthday." The app provides three different configurations of playable piano keyboards, including one that looks like a spiral.

Jinny Gudmundsen is the editor of Computing with Kids magazine, www.ComputingWithKids.com. Contact her at C1Tech@gannett.com .

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Kids tracking Santa get Michelle Obama surprise

Posted: 28 Dec 2010 06:50 AM PST

HONOLULU (Reuters) – Eight-year-old Juliana-Rose Hatcher had tracked Santa Claus all of Friday with the aid of NORAD's Santa hotline, before she got some unexpected help from Michelle Obama.

The U.S. first lady stayed behind when her husband, President Barack Obama, and daughters Sasha and Malia hit the beach on their Christmas vacation in Hawaii to answer calls from children trying to pinpoint Santa's whereabouts.

"She asked me what I wanted from Santa and I told her an MP3 player and she said her daughter wants an MP3 player too," Juliana, of Goose Creek, South Carolina, told Reuters.

Her mother Jennifer said at first they thought it was a joke or a prerecorded message but quickly realized "wow, it really, really is her."

The White House said the first lady spent about 40 minutes talking with children who called the line.

NORAD, a U.S. and Canadian military organisation for aerospace and maritime defence, says it uses radar, satellites, high-speed digital cameras and fighter jets to track Santa.

A global map showing his progress, along with links to satellite video of Santa's sleigh flying by and holiday games in seven languages, is at http://www.noradsanta.org/

Austin Futch, 10, from Memphis, Tennessee, said he quizzed the first lady about a few things on his mind concerning life in the White House.

He wanted to know how it felt to be surrounded at all times by Secret Service agents -- not too bad because they are nice guys -- and if it was hard being married to the president.

"No, he's a pretty good guy," Michelle Obama told him, according to a transcript of the calls released by the White House.

"I mean, it's a tough job and sometimes you want to do everything you can to help him, but it's pretty easy being married to him. He's kind of funny -- fun to hang out with."

(Reporting by Alister Bull; Editing by John O'Callaghan)

Kids Games

Tuesday, December 28, 2010