My Beastly ABC’s Review

My Beastly ABC’s is a great new app for iPad that will be of interest to children of various ages.

An ABC app, My Beastly ABC’s tells the story about a boy who one day meets different beasts or monsters from A to Z.

Parents can attest to how many ABC apps are available through iTunes, and because a good deal of time will be spent learning letters, it behooves parents to find alphabet apps that will entertain themselves as well.

I really appreciate not only the colorful look of this app, complete with wonderful illustrations and mild animated moments containing both a vintage sense of style as well as a modern look and feel, but also the pitch-perfect use of suspenseful, jazzy music and perfectly realized narration by celebrated voice-over artist Jim Dale as well.

The choices of monsters used are also terrific, and I appreciate a great deal the global aspect of this app, as creatures from all cultures from the chupacabra to Quetzalcoatl are chosen to be represented.

The illustrations that accompany these creatures are cute and not scary from my point of view, but parents should decide for themselves if their toddlers will enjoy hearing about such characters as a two-headed Ettin that would not have fazed me as a young child but may put off others.

This app can certainly be used to teach the alphabet by the right family, but I also enjoy how older children will also enjoy these fantastical creatures as well.

The selection of monsters, also included in a monster index, is quite vast, and even the most seasoned monster lover may need to research a creature or two to read more about their mythology, allowing parents to use this app as a springboard for future reading.

Interactions are included which are often subtly highlighted when they propel the action of this story forward, but also be aware that other hot spots are available of a more generic nature that may distract a little from this story. Luckily this is only a minor note within a terrific application.