Purpose of the book
The purpose of the book, iPad Apps For Kids For Dummies, is to help parents find appropriate apps for their children. As a parent, I know how difficult it is to choose apps for your kid. Different things appeal to my 7 year old than what appeals to me, so it’s hard to figure out what she will like and what she won’t. There are thousands and thousands of available apps for kids, and I have to admit, I get tired of exploring them pretty quickly. But I don’t want to just set her loose to look for herself *shiver*. There are things out there!
How the book is organized
The “For Dummies” books are famous for their easy-to-use organization, and this book is no exception to that. The first chapter is about how to set up an iPad for your kids: passwords, security, covers, and more. After the first chapter, the rest are devoted to exploring apps by age appropriateness and by interest.
Chapter 2:Â Age Collection:Â Toddlers
Chapter 3:Â Age Collection:Â Preschool
Chapter 4:Â Age Collection:Â Kindegarten
Chapter 5:Â Art
Chapter 6:Â Book Apps: For Younger Kids
Chapter 7:Â Book Apps: For Older Kids
Chapter 8:Â Cars, Trucks, and Things That Go Vroom
Chapter 9: Co-Op and Multiplayer
Chapter 10:Â Creativity, Journaling, and Storytelling
Chapter 11:Â Dinosaurs
Chapter 12:Â Games: Angry Birds & Other Popular Games
Chapter 13:Â Games: Great for Kids
Chapter 14:Â Girl Power: Heroines, Fashion and Princesses
Chapter 15:Â Learning Apps:Â Language Arts
Chapter 16:Â Learning Apps:Â Math
Chapter 17:Â Learning Apps:Â Reference
Chapter 18:Â Learning Apps:Â Science
Chapter 19:Â Learning Apps:Â Social Studies
Chapter 20:Â Monsters and Aliens
Chapter 21:Â Music
Chapter 22:Â Puzzles
Chapter 23:Â Road Trips
Chapter 24:Â Special Needs
Chapter 25:Â Toy Add-Ons
Chapter 26:Â Ten Favorite Free Apps for Kids
Chapter 27:Â Ten Favorite Kid Apps
Author
Jinny Gudmundsen is the Kid-Tech columnist for USA TODAY and the Gannett newspaper chain. An authority on technology for kids, she also works for Common Sense Media, the nation’s leading nonprofit source of reviews on children’s media.
Our Take
One of our favorite games, Plants vs Zombies is reviewed in Chapter 12. I found it to be an excellent summary of the game and agreed with the author’s assessment. Each app review includes a “Best for” comment and the one for Plants vs Zombies was perfect – “Best for: Kids who like fast action, zombies, and/or tower defense strategy games. Playing with these zombies produces undeadly laughter and giggles.
We chose an app out of the book for my 7 year old daughter. She loves Math and games, so I went through Chapter 16: Learning Apps: Math. I read through looking for an age appropriate and fun game. Math Bingo was the winner! At 99 cents, I was willing to try it! One thing I liked was the flexibility depending on level. You could choose addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, or all. Then you could customize it to easy, middle, difficult. Rosie loved it!
The book is in full color and each page has an example from the app being reviewed. You get an excellent preview of the “look” of each app. It’s fun and easy-to-read. An excellent resource!
iPad Apps For Kids For Dummies is now available for purchase online and at retailers nationwide in both print and all e-book formats. For a full list of retailers, visit www.dummies.com/buy/9781118433072. For additional information about For Dummies, visit www.dummies.com.
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