Wee Alphas is a very nice alphabet app for young children which hides each letter in a larger animal image, complete with whimsical rhyme, fun upbeat music and mild interaction.
This will be a delightful first app to share with babies or toddlers new to letters. Adults may need to help young users find each hidden letter, and they may need to explain some of the fun rhymes included, such as “Finnegan the Fox writes flippant film critiques,” keeping this app enjoyable for adults who will be spending a lot of time on letter apps such as this.
Part seek-and-find, young children will enjoy how the discovered letter lights up when found tucked with animal images - each bright, colorful and highly stylized with sound effects and animated moments, yet minimal as to not be distracting.
Another nice element is how when each letter is tapped and transforms as the focal point of the page in bold orange, the corresponding letter found in the included text also turns from black to orange - further highlighting the use of these letters within sentences.
The music included is upbeat and enjoyable, as are the interactions provided, often mild movements, but also including some witty interactions adults will smile at, such as moving iPad around to help Ingrid the Impala imagine deep sea diving, to tapping Jose the Jellyfish to see him glow in different colors and hear soothing chimes.
I also like how later in this app, multiple letter animals relate to one another, sometimes sharing the page, allowing “K,” “l,” and “M” to join together to become a singing trio as well as the other musical elements included, such as a break-dancing panda or a yodeling yeti.
Parents will notice that each of these descriptive sentences per each letter does not stand alone, but also rhythms within the larger context of this app as a whole.
Because of this, some of the wit which could be deemed odd for a kids' app, such as a teasing turtle, a raccoon with fat ears, or vulture with “good hair,” is worth noting, although I don’t think this is a major flaw within this app.
A section allowing children to choose a favorite letter to trace, as is included an end page full of the interactive animals found throughout, allowing children to explore these creatures again and again.
It is also nice that one has the choice of listening to included narration or not, as well as silencing the charming, sometimes circus-like and always upbeat music and other included sound effects.
I did have a serious crash on my iPad while enjoying this app, re-installing seems to have done the trick in rectifying this problem, but I hope this issue can be smoothed out soon.
All in all, this is a nice letters app that parents will enjoy spending time with alongside their children.
iPad Screenshots
(click to enlarge)
