Letter Buddies AlphaBooks App Review

If you’re a parent or educator, you know just how important it is to help children build a solid foundation when it comes to reading. Getting the alphabet down is a big, important step in the process. I have lost count of how many times a day different letters are a part of conversation with my preschooler and toddler.

Letter Buddies AlphaBooks is a wonderful little alphabet application. Well, maybe “little” isn’t a good word to describe it. This app boasts a digital book for each letter of the alphabet (with x, y and z combined). After opening app, your child will see each letter of the alphabet (each one with personality to match their sound) and be asked to choose a letter. Once they choose a letter, the AlphaBook for that letter will begin. The letter will introduce itself (there is a voice over that is optional), then as you swipe pages, a word that begins with that letter, then that word incorporated into a sentence. This continues for each letter of the alphabet (again, with x, y and z combined). Kevin, the co-founder of Cavallo Media states, “[Letter Buddies AlphaBooks] is perfect for kids 2-6 who are learning foundational vocabulary and starting to grasp simple sentence structures necessary for becoming independent readers.”

What I like:

•  The graphics are smooth, colorful and child-friendly
• In reading it with my daughter, I found it pleasantly educational and engaging for her
• The structure is ideal for parent-child interaction
• I like the characters incorporated into the letters (reminds me a bit of “Meet the Letters”)
• Predictable sentence structure for each book is a great aid for children learning to speak grammatically correct sentences
• I like that the sound/narration is optional – this is a great option especially if you are quizzing your child on the alphabet and want them to practice reading and/or naming the letters
• Easy user interface for kids to figure out
• I love that this app is written by a husband/wife team who have spent more than 8 years developing educational materials for the school markets in the U.S. and Canada

What could improve:

• The narrator’s voice isn’t bad, but could be a little more animated and fun
• I would love if in the “intro” page for each letter, the book addressed the sound the letter makes (it only addresses the letter’s name at this point)
• I guess some would say it’s not incredibly interactive, but in my experience, when a book is extremely interactive, it distracts from the point of reading and learning to read. I think the developers made a good choice in not going over-the-top with animation and silliness as that would distract from the point.

This is the official “trailer” for Letter Buddies AlphaBooks:

Letter Buddies AlphaBooks was lovingly developed by a husband and wife team who are experienced in education and know exactly what they are doing. This is a well-structured app that can be a great supplemental learning tool for parents building a strong reading foundation with their children. I give Letter Buddies 4 out of 5 stars. Please check it out in the app store for iPhone:  AlphaBooks – Cavallo Media Group, Inc. or here for iPad: AlphaBooks for iPad – Cavallo Media Group, Inc.