What it is: an interactive book about a boy who embarks on a journey under the sea (about 37 pages long, 4 language versions included in the price).

What you do with it: listen to the narration or read the book yourself. Touch objects on the pages for interaction (sounds or simple animations). Some of the pages contain simple 'seek and find' game (the task is to find some 'hidden' objects on the page).
There is also an option to take a 'snapshot' of a part of the page. If there is a sea creature in this snapshot, additional facts about this creature will be displayed, along with a real-life photo.

What we liked: wonderful 3D illustrations, ambient sounds, the 'seek and find' activity, additional content about 17 sea animals (nice 'educational' touch), 2 versions of the text (simplified for 2-3 year olds and 'regular' for 4+ year olds), 4 language versions built-in.

What we didn't like: the story could be a little bit more 'polished'. The navigation could be more intuitive (we recommend you read the instruction first). Limited reading options. The 'interactive' elements don't enhance the story (we would prefer to see the 'sea animal facts' embedded in the main story instead of these simple interactions). The octopus character may be too scary for younger kids.

Bottom line: visually beautiful but in our opinion at this price the story and navigation need some polishing to make this app a perfect recommendation.

Appysmarts

What it is: 5 minigames for strengthening sorting, matching and fine motor skills.

What you do with it: depending on the activity match the objects with the silhouettes (basic geometric shapes, sea creatures), match by the color or by the size or solve a simple (6 large pieces) puzzle. After you complete the task a simple reward animation will be played.

What we liked: bright, colorful, kid-friendly illustrations and animations, very easy operation, all objects are very easy to handle (maybe apart from the puzzle game). Very clean interface, with no distracting elements.

What we didn't like: the app would have even more educational value if the names of the objects or colors were spoken.

Appysmarts

What it is: a simple counting app with additional musical features with the 'sea animals' theme.

What you do with it: open the door to see the sea creatures, and count along with the narrator. Touch the creatures to play music notes.

What we liked: very easy operation, the illustrations are simple and nice. The main educational feature (counting real objects) is good, especially for younger kids. We liked the music effects (when you touch the creatures).

What we didn't like: the idea of the 'underwater hotel' and the shark in the room was too abstract for us. We didn't like the 'child' pronunciation (adult voice even as an option would be better). The animations are very simple.

Appysmarts

What it is: an interactive book about a boy who embarks on a journey under the sea (about 37 pages long, 4 language versions included in the price).

What you do with it: listen to the narration or read the book yourself. Touch objects on the pages for interaction (sounds or simple animations). Some of the pages contain simple 'seek and find' game (the task is to find some 'hidden' objects on the page).
There is also an option to take a 'snapshot' of a part of the page. If there is a sea creature in this snapshot, additional facts about this creature will be displayed, along with a real-life photo.

What we liked: wonderful 3D illustrations, ambient sounds, the 'seek and find' activity, additional content about 17 sea animals (nice 'educational' touch), 2 versions of the text (simplified for 2-3 year olds and 'regular' for 4+ year olds), 4 language versions built-in.

What we didn't like: the story could be a little bit more 'polished'. The navigation could be more intuitive (we recommend you read the instruction first). Limited reading options. The 'interactive' elements don't enhance the story (we would prefer to see the 'sea animal facts' embedded in the main story instead of these simple interactions). The octopus character may be too scary for younger kids.

Bottom line: visually beautiful but in our opinion at this price the story and navigation need some polishing to make this app a perfect recommendation.

Appysmarts

What it is: an app for creating virtual sticker scenes.

What you do with it: choose the background, drag the stickers from the menu, flip or move them around to create your scene. There are over 80 stickers, 5 animated backgrounds and 6 animated foregrounds to choose from. Created scenes can be saved and shared.

What we liked: the concept, simple but really nice illustrations, good selection of stickers, lots of tiny fun details (many stickers are animated), good educational value (when you grab a sticker the name of the animal/object will be read out: 'angelfish', 'great white shark'), sounds and sound backgrounds, ease of use.

What we didn't like: no instructions (it took us some time to figure out how to remove a sticker from our scene). We would like to see an option to resize the stickers manually (they are resized automatically when you move them around). Prominent links to Twitter and Facebook (on the starting screen and in the 'share' menu).

Appysmarts

What it is: 5 puzzle activities for strengthening sorting, matching and fine motor skills (shapes, sea creatures, underwater scene, sizes and colors).

What you do with it: slide the pieces into correct place (shapes, sea creatures, sizes and colors activities). The Underwater Scene: complete the jigsaw puzzle with 12 pieces.

What we liked: bright, colorful, kid-friendly illustrations, very easy operation, no distracting elements.

What we didn't like: the app would have even more educational value if the names of the objects or colors read out. The navigation could be a bit more consistent.

Appysmarts