A thoughtful shelf of apps for curious kids.

Publisher-curated guidance for parents who want screen time to lead somewhere worthwhile.

A painted reading lamp beside a small stack of books and colored pencils

Three places to begin

Each review covers what children can do, where the app shines, and what parents should know.

App review

Seek by iNaturalist

Best nature identification app for kids

Children point the camera at organisms, receive computer-vision suggestions, read species facts, and collect observations/badges.

Shelf
Explore
Ages
4+
Best for
Identifying nearby plants, animals, and fungi
ReviewedOpen review
App review

Khan Academy Kids

Best free early-literacy app

Children select a profile, follow a recommended sequence of short activities, and earn progress across phonics/letter sounds, sight words, counting, addition, logic, drawing, books, and social-emotional stories. The library also includes read-aloud books and songs.

Shelf
Practice
Ages
4+
Best for
Independent literacy, math, and social-emotional practice
ReviewedOpen review

Keep looking around.

See the full catalog
App review

Stop Motion Studio

Best stop-motion app for kids

Users place physical figures or drawings, capture successive frames, and add titles, voice, music and effects to export a stop-motion movie. This is the vendor-described loop.

Shelf
Make
Ages
4+
Best for
Frame-by-frame movies
ReviewedOpen review
App review

Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab

Users answer identification questions, photograph birds, or record calls; Merlin suggests species and displays facts/audio. AP coverage describes Sound ID as widely used and useful for beginners, while noting it is an aid rather than authority.

Shelf
Explore
Ages
4+
Best for
Recognizing birds by sound, photo, or field marks
ReviewedOpen review
App review

PBS KIDS Games

Best free preschool games collection

Children choose a rotating collection of short games tied to PBS KIDS shows: for example, counting and shapes with Daniel Tiger, science/problem-solving with Odd Squad, literacy with Super Why! , and art/story activities with other characters. The catalog changes.

Shelf
Practice
Ages
4+
Best for
General early learning practice
ReviewedOpen review

Thoughtful apps deserve thoughtful reviews.

Read our review standards

Agency first

Can children make choices, test ideas, and create something of their own?

Clear tradeoffs

Privacy signals, ads, account setup, and adult guidance sit beside the verdict.

Publisher judgment

Our publisher selects coverage, category rankings, “Best” labels, and conclusions.