Read Me a Story, iPad!

Apps We Love: Go Away, Big Green Monster! and Grimm’s Red Riding Hood – 3-D Interactive Pop-Up Book
Go Away, Big Green Monster! By Ed Emberley by Night & Day Studios is the app version of the Caldecott-medal winning storybook. I’m a big fan of Ed Emberley’s How To Draw series and this app works as both a reading and drawing “how to” experience.

This Show Takes the Biscuit: “The Biscuit Brothers”

TV Shows We Love: The Biscuit Brothers by Jan Hames
Not too far from Austin, Texas–the Live Music Capital of the World–lies a magical, musical farm where Old MacDonald created the Educational Institute for Every Instrument in the Orchestra, also known as E.I.E.I.O.

Honey! Help! I’m Stuck!

Our Mother’s Day Tribute to TV Moms Who Are Married to Peter Pans
It’s a familiar plot device: the competent, together mom married to the charming doofus of a “man child.” It’s particularly familiar if you’re under the age of forty. These television moms are more often seen in our post-feminist television culture. Decades ago, you’d often see the opposite pairing: the ditzy mom who’s continually gotten out of scrapes by her wiser, more centered husband. In both cases, the clash of “conservative” verses “wild and free” creates the laughs.

The Avengers

Movie Review by Jack Silbert
The Avengers smashed the all-time box office record for its opening weekend—more than $200 million—so there’s a good chance your kids have already seen this movie. In fact, you probably saw it as well. Hey, sorry for the delay; I was busy last weekend. Just in case you haven’t gone yet, or want to know what your kids are going to see six more times, here are my thoughts.

Apps We Love: “Gube” and “TeleTweet” by Shacked Apps

Every once in a while a product comes along that’s a game changer. I can’t imagine life without my cellphone, the gps for my car, my laptop, or my iPad. And now, I can’t imagine life without Gube.

Curiously Brilliant: Disney’s “Alice In Wonderland”

Disney’s Thirteenth Animated Feature - 1951
Disney’s Alice in Wonderland doesn’t open in the classic Disney fashion, showing the opening of an animated storybook; which is ironic, since Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland is arguably the best source material Disney had worked with to date. Carroll’s fantastical novel with its magical transformations and talking animals begs to be animated. In fact, Disney made his name as an animator in 1923 with a silent, black and white Alice In Wonderland in an animation where he combined footage of a child actor as Alice cavorting in a fanciful, animated world.

One Great App Deserves Another

Apps We Love: Stella and Sam Story Pack and Doodle Cast by zinc Roe
Have you noticed that when you discover a great app—well-designed, beautiful graphics, easy to use, fun—you’ll find other terrific apps by the same company? It makes sense. Talent, skill, and an uncompromising commitment to quality form the basis of the best companies and I’ll add zinc Roe Design to that list. Two of zinc Roe’s apps—Stella and Sam Story Pack and Doodle Cast—reflect top quality design and functionality in two very different incarnations.