Leo's Pad
© 2012 Kidaptive Inc.
Update April 2014 (now Version 1.6.0). In Appisode 6, you help Leo and Fusch catch the elusive Wishing Fish. A Parent’s Pad now offers “Beyond the Screen” from your mobile phone or computer via a web browser. [From the Feb 2013 issue of CTR for Appisode 1] Featuring beautiful Pixar-like 3D animation and an overly chatty lead character, Leo’s Pad is best described as an interactive movie, divided into "appisodes." After a short animated sequence, you participate in the story with four activities. You can tilt the screen to answer simple math problems, find letters in the stars to spell short words, put a jigsaw puzzle together, or make sketches with smooth, responsive lines. This first episode is free (to get you hooked) -- the following cost $1.99 each; sold at the end. So if you like the first one, you can buy more. The chapters are listed on the first screen without the price (so you don't know you don't have it installed). If you touch the icon, it says "buy" for $1.99, and the link takes you to the app store. So it's not an in-app sale, but close. We noticed a minor quirk in the story when it seems like you are looking for stars after just waking up in the morning; but all in all the story seems well synced to the activities. It is easy to jump around within the app, thanks to a table of contents, and a parental dashboard (not active in the first edition) tracks a child's progress. The second episode is “Rocket to the Stars,” and the third is "Catch That Question!" This is definitely worth the first download.
iPad (970 MB)
Teaches: math, creativity, patterns, matching (jigsaw puzzle), spelling
CTR Rating: 82%