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Apps to make Mother’s Day special

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Source: USA TODAY

Along with making Mom a homemade card and breakfast in bed, here are some fun apps to download on her phone or tablet. This list includes darling stories about moms and their children, activities for moms and kids to do together and a way for kids to share reading a special book with a distant grandma.

My Mom's the Best

Snappyant, best for ages 2-4, $3.99, iPad

Rating: 4 stars (out of 4)

Eleven different animals tell the reader why their mom is the best. What makes this book cute is that kids hear the reason first, and then see who was speaking. Frequently, kids will be surprised to find out what animal is speaking. The animal, presented with its mom doing the action just described, animates in a delightful manner and often will elicit a giggle from the reader. The illustration animates further when touched, usually in a surprising and humorous manner. A little bear thinks his mom's hugs are the best and is then shown being squeezed super tight and loving it. Another baby loves its mommy's kisses, so kids see a mother dog delivering a sloppy slurp to her adoring puppy. Kids will also discover dancing frogs, hula-hooping hippos, and showering elephants. The book ends by asking the reader to think about what makes his or her mom the best. What a great read on Mother's Day.

Just Me and My Mom - Little Critter

Oceanhouse Media, best for ages 2-5, Free, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android, Nook, Kindle

Rating: 3.5 stars

A fun read on Mother's Day, this app tells the story of Little Critter going on a city outing with his mom. The day turns out to be filled with misadventures, from Little Critter accidentally losing their train tickets to his handling things in the museum he isn't suppose to touch to his letting his pet frog swim inside the tanks at the public aquarium. In each difficult situation, Little Critter's mom remains patient and tries to find an alternative activity to keep her little boy out of trouble. While this story has light interactivity, it charms its readers because it is told from Little Critter's point of view; he doesn't realize how difficult he has been. It is a wonderful story about how a mother's love knows no bounds.

Miko - Mom Wake Up and Play

Auryn, Inc, best for ages 2-5, $1.99, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad

Rating: 3.5 stars

Baby mouse Miko wakes up very early one morning and wants to play with his sleeping mother. When mommy mouse asks Miko to wait until the alarm goes off, Miko discovers he can entertain himself while waiting for his best pal, Mom. He busies himself setting up all sorts of fun things for his mother and him to do when she awakes. And then he comes up with the best present of all: the gift of time, which Miko delivers in the form of wrapping up mom's alarm clock. Based on a book by Brigitte Weninger and Stephanie Roehe, this book app features an expressive narrator, three modes of reading, object and word association when touched and the ability to record and write your own version. Reading this adorable mouse tale might give moms a bigger gift than just enjoying a good story with their kids — it may motivate their kids to model Miko's behavior in the early morning.

PBS Parents Play & Learn

PBS KIDS, best for ages 1-5, Free, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android, Nook, Kindle

Rating: 4 stars

Designed to be a resource for new parents, this bi-lingual app (English and Spanish) provides 13 interactive games for parents and kids to play together. But it is more than games; it offers over 50 hands-on learning activities for parents to try with their kids away from the device. The fun activities are divided by age into babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. The app does a great job of explaining to new parents how to turn everyday events into teachable moments.

The app lets parents scroll through 13 familiar places — such as the zoo, the playground or the grocery store — to select one that is relevant to what they are doing in real life. The app then presents an interactive game, which can be played on two levels of difficulty, and based on the location selected. For example, if you select the zoo, the in-app game is about feeding a cute monkey bananas and learning to count. One of the hands-on learning activities suggests that parents turn looking at animals in the zoo into a game about finding the tallest and the smallest animals. This app makes it easy to turn a busy life with kids into one where everyday activities are a playground for learning about the world. Don't miss this terrific free resource from PBS.

Kindoma Storytime

Kindoma, best for ages 2-7, Free, iPad

Rating: 4 stars

This app provides Grandma with a meaningful way of sharing Mother's Day with her grandchildren — by reading a story together in real time while seeing each other in a video chat format. The app operates like Facetime in the sense that you see videos of each other In the right and left corners, but sitting between your video images is a book to read together. The concept behind this app is sheer brilliance. Each of the two participating readers can see the other touching the screen, so that Grandma can ask her grandchild to find things on the pages of the book or she can point to items or words as they read together. There are currently 27 books to choose from, including a wonderful rendition of the classic "Down By the Bay."

The research motivating this app revealed that kids under age 7 have a hard time sustaining a phone call or video chat with a distant loved one. But when you provide a young child with an opportunity to read a book, their interest stays focused. This app gives an absent parent or distant grandparent the ability to read a book together while laughing and giggling as if they were in the same room. What a wonderful service this free app provides.

Jinny Gudmundsen is the author of the new book: iPad Apps for Kids, part of the For Dummies series. Contact her at techcomments@usatoday.com. Follow her @JinnyGudmundsen.

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.


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