Appysmarts.com Best Apps for Young Brains


Best apps for kids about wild animals.


We picked the best, most educational and fun apps for all kids loving zoo & wild animals such as lions, tigers, giraffes, zebras, monkeys and other animals living in the jungle, in the desert or in the savannah.

You'll find here apps for creating safari scenes, teaching animal facts in a fun way, puzzles and coloring pages with the wildlife theme.

See also: Best apps for kids: Farm animals

Learning Tots Animals DX

Learning Tots Animals DX

Price: free

iPad

Overall Score: 94/100

version reviewed: 1.2

reviewed:


Best for: Interactive play, Attention & concentration, Eye-hand coordination, Interaction, Thinking & problem solving, Understanding of the world

What it is: a set of 3 activities (flashcards, puzzles, coloring) with animals.

What you do with it: learn the names and sounds of 15 animals, solve simple jigsaw-type puzzles (4 animals, about 10 pieces each puzzle), color animal pictures (in-line coloring) and learn the names of the colors.

What we liked:the concept, cute illustrations, very simple operation and navigation, visual guides in the coloring and puzzle activities, no distracting elements.

What we didn't like:some animations (especially in the flashcards activity) would make this app even more fun. In the coloring activity smaller areas in the pictures require too much effort (kids with poor hand-eye coordination may get frustrated). In the puzzles activity we would like to see a 'very easy' mode with just 2-4 pieces (better suited for the target age group). Audio instructions are only partially implemented. No option to turn the background music off...

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Over in the Jungle

Over in the Jungle

Price: 2.99$ (was 3.99$)

May contain `more apps` links
iPhone + iPad

Overall Score: 94/100

version reviewed: 1.1

reviewed:


Best for: Interactive books, Attention & concentration, Early literacy, Early math, Interaction, Language, Understanding of the world
Video

What it is: an interactive book (10 pages) with extra activities.

What you do with it: listen to the narration or read the book yourself (the book also can be used in the 'sing to me' mode where words are sung by the narrator). Touch the animals for simple animations and sounds.

The extras include: a seek-and-find game (find all baby animals hidden in the forest) and animal facts pages.

What we liked: the story/rhymes. Beautiful illustrations. Simple interactions complementing the storyline. The 'sing to me' mode. Good educational value (covers many subjects and skills at the same time). Narration, sounds and sound backgrounds. Good reading options (words are highlighted, it's easy to repeat a paragraph).

What we didn't like: the audio could be better quality.

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Wildlife Jigsaw Puzzles 123 - Fun Learning Puzzle Game for Kids

Wildlife Jigsaw Puzzles 123 - Fun Learning Puzzle Game for Kids

Price: free

May contain `more apps` links
iPhone

Overall Score: 94/100

version reviewed: 2.0

reviewed:


Best for: Brain teasers, Attention & concentration, Interaction, Language, Thinking & problem solving, Understanding of the world
Video

What it is: 7 wildlife scenes (forest, savanna, jungle, desert, nighttime, snow, woodland), about 40 animal puzzles (2-16 pieces each, depending on the difficulty level). 8 language versions.

What you do with it: pick a scene, then an animal then slide the pieces in place. When the animal is complete its name will be read out.

What we liked: number of puzzles, ease of use, 5 difficulty levels (the easiest - with just 2 pieces - is suitable even for the youngest kids), the 'visual hint' feature, 8 language versions.

What we didn't like: the illustrations are good but not great (sometimes it was difficult to recognize the animal in the picture). The pages are a bit static. On the main screen there is no indication which puzzles have been completed.

Free preview: if you are not sure, please see our 'See before you buy' video (below) or try the free version of the app.

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Wildlife Jigsaw Puzzles 123 for iPad - Fun Learning Puzzle Game for Kids

Wildlife Jigsaw Puzzles 123 for iPad - Fun Learning Puzzle Game for Kids

Price: free

May contain `more apps` links
iPad

Overall Score: 94/100

version reviewed: 2.1

reviewed:


Best for: Brain teasers, Attention & concentration, Interaction, Language, Thinking & problem solving, Understanding of the world
Video

What it is: 7 wildlife scenes (forest, savanna, jungle, desert, nighttime, snow, woodland), about 40 animal puzzles (2-16 pieces each, depending on the difficulty level). 8 language versions.

What you do with it: pick a scene, then an animal then slide the pieces in place. When the animal is complete its name will be read out.

What we liked: number of puzzles, ease of use, 5 difficulty levels (the easiest - with just 2 pieces - is suitable even for the youngest kids), the 'visual hint' feature, 8 language versions.

What we didn't like: the illustrations are good but not great (sometimes it was difficult to recognize the animal in the picture). The pages are a bit static. On the main screen there is no indication which puzzles have been completed.

Free preview: if you are not sure, please see our 'See before you buy' video (below) or try the free version of the app.

Appysmarts


  • Graphic quality:
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  • 2
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Fingerfun HD - Kids Motor Skills Development, Preschool Educational Game for Toddlers

Fingerfun HD - Kids Motor Skills Development, Preschool Educational Game for Toddlers

Price: free

May contain `more apps` links
iPad

Overall Score: 93/100

version reviewed: 1.0.2

reviewed:


Best for: Interactive play, Eye-hand coordination, Interaction, Thinking & problem solving, Understanding of the world
Video

What it is: an app for developing fine motor skills with 4 themes (zoo animals, botanic garden, water world, farm) and about 80 illustrations.

What you do with it: place your fingers (1 to 10 at a time, depending on the difficulty level) simultaneously on the screen to match a button pattern displayed to reveal the hidden image. The name of the revealed animal or plant will then be read out.

What we liked: the concept, simple illustrations, very easy operation (just place your fingers on the screen), automatic difficulty adjustment depending on the child's competency level, 2 pronunciations (American or British English), sound backgrounds.

What we didn't like: the 'reward' animations are very simple. Some sort of scoring system would make this app more enticing to use (some kids may not find enough motivation to go past a couple of items).

Bottom line: an interesting tool for developing fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination.

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The Swamp Where Gator Hides - Android version

The Swamp Where Gator Hides - Android version

Price: 4.99$

Android

Overall Score: 92/100

version reviewed: 1.0

reviewed:


Best for: Interactive books, Early literacy, Understanding of the world

What it is/what you do with it: an interactive version of the book by Marianne Berkes. (about 12 pages long).

Listen to the narration or read the book yourself. Tap the animals/objects for simple interactions.

The 'Animals' section contains extra facts about animals presented in the book.

What we liked: the story. Great illustrations. Good reading options (text highlighting). Good educational value. Professional narration. Ease of use. No distracting elements.

What we didn't like: text layout is not 'young reader friendly'. The app could be more responsive. The included game is very basic.

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The Swamp Where Gator Hides

The Swamp Where Gator Hides

Price: 3.99$

iPhone + iPad

Overall Score: 92/100

version reviewed: 1.1

reviewed:


Best for: Interactive books, Early literacy, Understanding of the world

What it is/what you do with it: an interactive version of the book by Marianne Berkes. (about 12 pages long).

Listen to the narration or read the book yourself. Tap the animals/objects for simple interactions.

The 'Animals' section contains extra facts about animals presented in the book.

What we liked: the story. Great illustrations. Good reading options (text highlighting). Good educational value. Professional narration. Ease of use. No distracting elements.

What we didn't like: text layout is not 'young reader friendly'. The app could be more responsive. The included game is very basic.

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  • 2
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Rounds: Parker Penguin

Rounds: Parker Penguin

Price: 4.99$

iPhone

Overall Score: 91/100

version reviewed: 1.0.1

reviewed:


Best for: Interactive books, Attention & concentration, Early literacy, Eye-hand coordination, Interaction, Language, Understanding of the world
Video

What it is: an interactive book about the life cycle of a penguin (presented by a penguin called Parker).

What you do with it: listen to the narration or read the dialogues yourself. Touch Parker to make him talk about penguin facts ('walking keeps me nice and warm'), engage in dialogues with other penguins or perform simple tasks (jump, slide, hunt for fish etc.).

What we liked: the 'story' (the concept is well explained and easy to understand, lots of details included), simple illustrations and animations, easy operation, interactive elements complementing the story, good reading options (words are highlighted when read by the narrator), great educational value.

What we didn't like: we would prefer an adult narrator (as an option).

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Picture Book of Animals - for kids and toddlers

Picture Book of Animals - for kids and toddlers

Price: free

May contain `more apps` links
iPhone + iPad

Overall Score: 90/100

version reviewed: 1.2.3

reviewed:


Best for: Interactive play, Attention & concentration, Eye-hand coordination, Interaction, Language, Personal & social, Understanding of the world

What it is: a simple interactive app with 4 scenes and 31 animals.

What you do with it: choose the scene, then touch an animal to hear the sound it makes and its name. Touch the animal one more time to repeat. Swipe your finger to reveal another animal.

What we liked: simple and really nice illustrations, very easy operation (the app can be used even by the smallest kids), 10 language versions.

What we didn't like: the voices for some of the language versions could be better (more lively and more kid-friendly). The overall quality of the audio could be improved. No animations. Some of the animal sounds (e.g. koala,rabbit) were rather... strange.

Apart from the language versions listed above there are following options: Portuguese, Dutch, Norwegian and Danish.

Appysmarts


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Make a Scene: Safari (Pocket)

Make a Scene: Safari (Pocket)

Price: free

May contain `more apps` links
iPhone

Overall Score: 86/100

version reviewed: 1.0.0

reviewed:


Best for: Interactive play, Attention & concentration, Creativity, Interaction, Language, Understanding of the world

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 50 stickers (giraffes, lions, hippos, zebras etc), 5 animated backgrounds and 5 animated foregrounds to choose from. Created scenes can be saved and shared.

What we liked: the concept,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 object will be read out: 'giant tortoise', 'hippopotamus calf' etc.), 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


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