| Night & Day Studios, Inc. (all apps) |
| Peekaboo Barn (Age 1+) | |||||||||||
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| Peekaboo Barn Lite (Age 1+) | |||||||||||
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I was looking for an app for Little-J, my 1yo boy. I had quite a few apps for Big-T (3yo boy), but wanted something that Little-J could enjoy. I came across Peekaboo Barn. I think this is a wonderful first app for very young children. Older children (a few years old) may enjoy it too, but I think for a limited time before they get bored.
This review targets one year olds, not the older age groups. I also appreciate there is a lite version you can try before purchasing the full version.
The Application
A barn shakes and you hear a muffled animal sound. You touch the barn and the doors open and the screen zooms in to reveal the animal inside with a full volume animal sound. The name of the animal is then spoken and show written onto the screen. You are then returned to the barn for the next animal to pick. The lite version has 3 animals, the full version 10. The full version also has some additional sequences (barnyard band and a night time sequence).
The video I found on youtube – a 9 month old (!) playing the app.
The Good
- Very nice simple interface – useable by a 1yo.
- Good quality graphics, sound, etc. Nicely put together.
- You get to guess the animal from a muffled (reduced volume) sound clip.
- The animal’s name is spoken and the written form (lower case – yay! Sorry, but so many apps seem to think that all capitals is best. BUT HOW MUCH DO YOU READ IN ALL CAPITALS?).
- Pretty clear to touch the barn as it jumps around when the sound clip plays.
- Full version has a bit more variety (barnyard band and night time sequence), as well as the additional animals.
The Bad
Not much to complain about really – especially if you consider the target age group for the app.
- At time of review, the full version was priced above the bottom price in the store, but still cheaper than a cup of coffee. I wonder how many people pause after trying the lite version simply because there are so many cheap apps out there so anything above the bottom store price makes the user pause. My recommendation: get the full version. The app is still very cheap, and buy buying apps you encourage the developers to produce new apps for you!
- Probably less interesting to older children.
- More animals and sequences would be nice.
Educational Value
For the very young, this has good educational merit. It teaches recognition of animal sounds and animal names. It does also show the animal names written down for older children to use to learn how to read. The names are in lower case (which I think is best as that is how most writing is).
My Score
4.5 stars. I rate this highly for the very young. It has good educational merit (teaching animal sounds and names). It also encourages the development of a sense of anticipation, and the idea of cause and effect (tap barn and doors open). Yes, this app is pretty limited, but for a one year old you are not after an app that is too complex. If for older children I would drop the score a bit.
Get it in iTunes
More information, screen shots, and user reviews can be found in the iTunes store.
Other Suggestions
- Animals: Elephant Song, I Hear Ewe – Animal Sounds for Toddlers, Preschool Adventure, Animal Farm, I See Ewe – Animal Sounds for Toddlers, Clara
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