ABC Animals has a familiar tale: turn learning the ABC’s into a flash card experience that is ripe with illustrations and audio to match.

And yet the makers of the app, Critical Matter Inc, have thrown their own twist on the story.  Behind each card they have placed instructions for kids to draw letters.  As kids follow the helpful instructions and trace the letters, their little fingers are greeted with pink ink (digital of course) that they can splatter across the canvas.

The draw-the-letters feature of the app is fun and unique, but is also the source of my one complaint.  The app opens immediately on the flash cards, and does not offer instructions on how to get to and from the drawing feature.

When I first tried the app I accidentally found my way to the back of a card, began to draw and then stumbled back to the front of the card.  It took a minute to realize a double tap flipped the cards back and forth.  Sounds like a silly complaint but my near 3 year-old did not find it any more intuitive.

Zander did try out the app a bit and liked the illustrations, the audio and the most of all the drawing.  In short, my little guy liked the app. I believe it is an update or two away from showing its full potential…A pretty app, and a unique app.  Kudos to Critical Matter Inc.

Related posts:

1. App Review: ABC Animals – Talking Alphabet Cards for Kids
2. App Review: First Words: Animals
3. Review: Learn to Talk