Bottom Line: A fun "choose your own ending" premise for young app users consisting of video play and interactive features. Could use some additional content to justify the high sticker price. Check out the free lite version before you buy.
To download Teddy is Missing: A Story Shape Adventure ($3.99, iPad ONLY; free lite version available) use the links below to support Smart Apps for Kids:
Full version Free lite version
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This app contains external links in a protected parent section.
Lite version contains three scenes and two mini-games.
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Theo and his teddy are the best of pals who go everywhere and do everything together. That is, until one night in the middle of the night, a mysterious creature snags poor Teddy and whisks him away. Theo embarks on a mission to avenge his poor stuffed pal. Along the way, your kiddo chooses the path that Theo takes in order to find his friend and make some new friends along the way.
When your kiddo first opens this app, which is by developer Plus Point, she simply presses "play" and the video introduction begins, but this can be skipped by pressing the "x" in the bottom right corner of the screen when needed. From there, a map appears and your sweetie decides which direction the story should take. Each friend that Theo and your child meet along the way comes with a backstory and an interactive mini-game. I love that the interactions in this app are required for app play and aren't simply press-and-sound features. This helps engage the child and makes him feel like he truly is involved with the story. I also enjoy the fact that there are so many possibilities for stories tucked inside this app. Each time the app is played the story can begin and end in an entirely different way.
If you'd like to see the the inside of this app, watch this video from our fabulous Eleanor:
If I could change anything about this app, I'd add more content. With a $3.99 sticker price, the app is heavy on the video play and light on the actual child interaction. This doesn't help distinguish the app much from a cute video story that could be found elsewhere on the app store. The stretches of video play are also a bit long, especially for little attention spans. I'd love to see additional child interaction features beyond mini-games that break up the storytelling a bit more.
I'd also like to see the text highlighted on the pages as it's read, which is a great feature that I look for in any app with story text. This feature is helpful for a variety of levels of readers, and something I'd love to see happen in an update. The graphics, narration and sound for this app all work together nicely together for a good presentation.
All in all Teddy is Missing... is a nice, sweet app. A fun "choose your own ending" premise gives it some intrigue that is not normally found in storybook-type apps, but for the sticker price I'd like to see more content, and unique content at that, to make this app truly stand out from others in the app store.
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Rachel J. is not leaving her house until the temperature is greater than her age. SmartAppsForKids.com was paid a priority review fee to complete this review in an expedited manner.
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