Playing with Hudson Puppy can be dirty! My son has gotten him a little dirty a few times – we either use a baby wipe to wipe him off or a spot of blue dawn and a tiny bit of water. Due to the electronics – Hudson should not be submerged or go in the water.
We read to my son every night before bed – and have started using Hudson Puppy to read to us before bedtime using the “autoplay mode” of some story apps with Bluebee speaking as the voice. My son loves to snuggle him while we sit in the chair listening to the story and at times interacting with it.
The Berenstain Bears’ BIG Bedtime Book by Oceanhouse Media
When Mama and Papa Bear go out for the evening Brother Bear, Sister Bear and Honey Bear are in good hands, as their favorite babysitter Mrs Grizzle looks after them. Mrs Grizzle always has a good bedtime story to tell, each one is her own unique take on a classic fairytale. Each tale is a story within a story, as you hear the tale of the bear cubs’ evening and you hear the bedtime story Mrs Grizzle tells them. Read the full review
My toddler loved watching April the Giraffe – so I knew I had to introduce this app which was a favorite of my older son when he was little. This is an app where we had Hudson help us do the different “routines” and practice counting! My son holds Hudson Puppy and the two of them work on the different routines and get ready for bed. This is a great app to encourage kids to clean up their toys, and getting ready to snuggle into bed. Bo’s Bedtime by Netherland’s based Heppi Apps is their second universal app (and also available for Android) featuring the lovable giraffe Bo! In this app, Bo is getting ready for bed and starts his nighttime routine which features cleaning up toys, sorting his dirty clothes, taking a bath, brushing his teeth, picking out pajamas, finding his lost teddy bear, hearing a bedtime story and finally goodnight kisses. This is a great app for practicing bedtime routines, sequencing, fine motor, listening and visual matching skills. Read our full review
Butterfly Kisses is an adorable interactive book app based on the print book of the same name by Australian author Cathy Lane. The illustrations have been completely re-done for the app and are based on paper sculptures. The app has ‘Read by Myself’, and ‘Read to Me’ options. It is narrated by Australian actress Tracy Mann, with word highlighting as it is read. Background noises and animal sound effects can be switched off in settings. The app is totally child-friendly with no external links, adverts or in-app purchases. Read our full review
Twinkle Twinkle Hear My Prayers is the third children’s book app for iPad and iPhone from author Alexis Purcell, joining The Turkey Who Forgot How To Gobble and Twinkle, Twinkle Nighty Night. The app also includes a song, information about the Five Finger Prayer, and a simple game- spelling “peace” using lettered stars. It story has optional narration, there is no word highlighting as it is read. It includes no adverts or in-app purchases, external links are in a locked parents area (with a gate that requires division skills!). The story is accompanied by calming music, which can be switched off on the home page. It is a very calm, relaxing story. It’s night time, the fireflies and stars are out, and a little girl named Leni is getting ready for bed. Leni is saying her prayers as she prepares to go to sleep. The story is told in rhyme, and Leni’s prayers are sweet and simple, giving children ideas on how they too can talk to God in their prayers. The app uses the five finger model to teach kids about prayer. Read our full review