Wildable is an exciting iPhone and iPad app that invites kids to enter a 3D natural world where they can become any animal they find and explore.

Have you (or your kids) ever wanted to swim like a fish, soar like an eagle, or climb like a squirrel?  Here’s your chance!

Want to try it for free?

How to enter

It’s easy peasy.  Just leave a comment below by Tuesday, January 31th, 2012.  The next day, we’ll choose 5 people at random and gift this app to them via email.

And the winners are…

Congratulations Laurel, Norma, Grace, Helene, Fay!  Check your email.

Like this?   Get our App of the Week newsletter and you’ll never miss a Free App Friday again.

Grade: B+ | Age rating: 6+| Price: $2.99/1.99/1.99

Jumbline 2 for the iPad, iPhone, and Android has finally solved one of the major stumbling blocks of online anagram games: typing answers.

Big fingers and small keypad don’t mix when speed matters.

How did they do it?  With a finger slide mechanism, of course!  Reorder a set of random letters as fast as you can by dragging and dropping them, then swipe your finger below to submit your words.

Why we like it:
Sometimes you feel like racing against the clock, sometimes you don’t.  With Jumbline2, it’s up to you.  You also get to decide whether you want your BIG word size to be 5, 6, or 7 letters.

You get points, but the heart of the game is continuing to advance to the next level.

There are a couple extra anagram games included (Cloud Popper and Star Tower).  They’re fine, just not as good as the Classic game.

Like this?   Get our App of the Week newsletter.

We tested version 1.81, which is compatible with the iPhone, iPod, and iPad. Requires IOS 3.2 or later.  Free versions available as well.  Developer: Brainium Studios LLC. Read our disclosure policy.

Grade: A- | Age rating: 9+| Price: $0.99/1.99

W.E.L.D.E.R. for the iPhone and iPad takes a little getting used to, but man, is it ever worth it.

The object of the game is to form as many vertical and horizontal words as possible on an 8×8 grid.  No backwards and vertical words allowed!  As you advance through the levels, you unlock new swapping skills, such as the ability to jump, reverse and group tiles.

Why we like it:

Gorgeous graphics and sound effects and a completely scalable and replayable game.   If you love Boggle, Text Twist, and Bookworm, you’re going to love this app.

Words with Friends gets lots of publicity these days, but you know what?  I don’t want to play with my friends.  But maybe that’s just me.

Like this?  Get our App of the Week newsletter.

We tested version 1.11 which is compatible with the iPhone and the iPad (OS 4.0 or later).  Developer Ayopa Games LLC.  Read our disclosure policy.

Grade: A- | Age rating: 3+| Price: $1.99

Doodlecast for Kids for the iPad and iPhone lets kids bring their artwork to life.  They narrate as they draw, then play the animated sketch back as a video — it’s ingenious!

The app starts kids with a series of 20 drawing prompts, which include themes (fast, yucky, messy, loud) and elements (water, park, mouth).  Kids draw with their fingers.  Then, things get interesting.

As your child is drawing, she can narrate.  Like this:  “The big…  angry… orange… dinosaur… in the flower hat… ATE MY DAD!”  The app records both the drawing sequence and the child’s voice, and the video playbacks (which can be exported) are priceless.

Why we like it:
It’s creative.  It’s unique.  It’s got the potential to be really, really funny (you should see my 9 and 12-year-old kids dueling with this app.  It’s a wonder they haven’t broken our iPad in their efforts to outdo each other.)

Like this?   Get our App of the Week newsletter.

We tested version 1.2, which is compatible with the iPhone, iPod, and iPad. Requires IOS 4.3 or later.  Developer: zinc Roe Inc. Read our disclosure policy.

After three weeks of voting, the polls are closed and the results are in.  While we like and recommend every one of these wonderful apps, only three could win.

If you’re both the lucky recipient of a new iPad this holiday season and a parent looking for good apps for kids, we encourage you to check out our Best Kids Apps of 2011 and this list of the Readers’ Choice Awards finalists.

And now, the winners:

1st Place…

Al Yankovic: When I Grow Up, a digital adaptation of a wacky book for the young and young at heart, handily hooked first place with an overwhelming 27% of the vote.

Tons of interactive touches — like shaving a tarantula and massaging a gorilla — made this a hit with our readers.  Don’t feel like reading aloud yourself?  Not a problem.  Weird Al will do it for you.

2nd Place…

Indie hit, My PlayHome, takes home the silver medal this year.  Haven’t tried it?  You should.  It’s a sweet and simple interactive playhouse that’s good for girls and boys.

Parents like the non-violent, open-ended style of play the app encourages.  Kids enjoy making discoveries in every room (the toilet really flushes!  you can pet the cat!  there’s cold pizza to eat in the fridge!).

3rd Place…

In late voting, Bugs and Buttons surged ahead to narrowly beat out its closest competitor (the very worthy Toca Doctor, which we also love) to capture third place.  Your kids will use fine motor skills while learning to count, sort, and recognize patterns.  They’ll never realize this, of course.  They’ll be too busy picking apples, flying butterflies, and catching fireflies.

Congratulations to all our winners and nominees, and thanks for all you do.  Here’s to another great year of fun, wholesome, and educational apps for kids!

According to Nielsen Co., for the second year in a row, the most wished for holiday gift is the iPad.  The prices-starting-at-$499 iPad, that is.  Up until now, there haven’t been many good alternatives.

Until lately, I haven’t been very impressed with Android tablets.  I test drove a bunch of them, and briefly owned the Samsung Galaxy Tab, but returned it after two frustrating months.   Then, two weeks ago, I got a Kindle Fire.

I still prefer my iPad, but if I were buying my first tablet (or a gift, either for an adult or child) this holiday season, I’d totally go with the Kindle Fire.  Here’s why:

1.  It’s compact

I love how easy it is to slide the Kindle Fire into a purse or carry on bag.  At 7.5 x 4.5 inches, it’s about the size of a trade paperback and much, much thinner.  Even kids can hold it with one hand (though mine grip it with two, the better to prevent their sibling from grabbing it and running).

2.  It’s tough

The iPad screen is gorgeous, but glass.  The lightweight, chemically-strengthened Kindle Fire display is some kind of plastic that is allegedly 20-30 times stronger than plastic. I have no hesitation throwing it into a bag with keys, a phone, and all my other junk.

3.  It’s affordable

At just $199, you can buy two Kindle Fires for less than the price of a single iPad 2.  How many kids do you have?  If you have more than one, it’s a total slam dunk.  The Kindle Fire battery doesn’t last quite as long as the iPad’s, but it’s in the same league.  You can stretch it farther by turning down the brightness and turning off the wifi.

4.  The Amazon Appstore for Android is just so great

Amazon knows how to make shopping easy, intuitive, and fun.  It’s a real  pleasure to browse apps, games, and movies on this device.  And they offer one paid app free every single day, which is totally fun.  Who doesn’t like free stuff?

5.  It’s also got books, email, and web browsing

Of course you can also read on it, check your email, and browse the web.  I appreciate the versatility, but honestly I seldom get the chance to use these features when my kids are around.  I’d rather read on my regular Kindle anyway.  Since it’s not backlit, it’s a lot easier on the eyes.  Magazines are nice on the Fire though, since you can see them in color.

>>Read more about the Kindle Fire on Amazon

The nominations are in, and we’ve got ten finalists.  Now you tell us which of these apps deserve to take first, second, and third prize in the 2011 Best Kids Apps Readers’ Choice Awards.

We’ve enabled daily and multiple voting so that really big fans (i.e. your mom) can support more than one app and show their love more than once.

This poll will close on December 27, 2011 at noon PST and the results will be announced later that day.  Good luck!

**Thank you all for your participation — this poll is now closed.  Looking for the results?  Here you go:  Readers’ Choice Award Winners.

So, we’ve told you what we think are the 10 Best Kids Apps of 2011, and now we’re giving you a turn.

Because this is an experiment our first attempt at this, we’re keeping it simple.

Choose any kid-friendly app you like, even if it already made our list or wasn’t launched this year.  To nominate it for the Best Kids Apps 2011 Readers’ Choice Awards, simply leave a comment below with:

1) The complete and correct name of the app
2) A link to the app in the App Store or Android Market
3) A one-sentence description of the app

This time next week, we’ll comb through the comments and publish a list of  finalists.  Then we can all get busy voting!   Just to be seasonal, we’ll also randomly choose one nominator and give them a $50 iTunes gift card.

Thank you all in advance for participating — you make our job fun.

***Nominations are now closed.  Voting will begin 12/6/11***

It’s that time of year when we look back at the hundreds of apps that have come across our screens and pick ten favorites.   It’s not just iPad and iPhone apps either — some of the best games are available on Android now too.

Don’t agree with our picks?  Don’t despair.  We’re introducing the Best Kids Apps Readers’ Choice Awards this year –  you’ll get your chance soon.

1.  WORLD OF GOO
Help the curious goo balls explore the beautiful and bizarre world of goo.

iPad, iPhone |  Age rating: 4+ | Price: $4.99/2.99

An quirky and inventive physics game with haunting music and lots of challenges.

A group of adorable goo balls must work together to climb, stretch, and conquer the laws of gravity while exploring their strangely beautiful, dystopian world.

2.  PLAYTIME THEATER
An amazing portable puppet show theater for the iPad.

iPad |  Age rating: 5+ | Price: $2.99

A customizable, interactive castle play set that gives kids characters, props, and sound effects and invites them to create and record short shows.

This truly innovative app delivers what so many others promise (but don’t quite deliver): free play.

In a crowded field, this app stands out as one of the best uses of touch-screen technology that we’ve ever seen for kids.

3.  SLICE IT!
A fun puzzle game that will give brains of all ages a work out.

iPad, iPhone, Android |  Age rating: 4+ | Price: $0.99/.99/free

Divide various shapes into equal sized pieces.  Dividing a square in half?  Easy peasy.  Dividing a star into three pieces?  Therein lies the challenge for brains and fingers young and old.   This is not an app for the easily frustrated!

The crumpled graph paper graphics are gorgeous, the music is upbeat, and the navigation is seamless.  Also, you accrue hint points as you go…and guess what?  You’re going to need them.

4.  BUMPY ROAD
Guide a pair of Sunday drivers on an old-fashioned road trip.

iPad, iPhone |  Age rating: 3+ | Price: $2.99

A sweet, old-fashioned couple decides to take a Sunday drive — at least until they run out of gas or drive into a lake.  It’s your job (or your kid’s job) to keep them going by making the road literally rise up to meet them.

Hop up to platforms, avoid holes and water hazards as you toodle along Memory Lane…just like on a real road trip.  This is less a game than a fully-featured interactive work of art.

5.  ELMO LOVES ABCs FOR IPAD
A beloved classic character breaks down the alphabet for kids.

iPad |  Age rating: 1+ | Price: $4.99

Elmo Loves ABCs is a fun and interactive way for your child to learn the alphabet. Trace upper case and lower case letters to unlock 80 Sesame Street video clips. Touch the star and Elmo guides your child to touch letters and find visual word associations.

My two and half year old returns to this app over and over again. The number of different letter and puzzle/video scenarios keep her engaged for much longer than most apps. I call that good value. Keep unlocking videos to discover other Sesames Street characters—Elmo takes the lead, but Bert, Ernie and others from the gang are in there too.

6.  DOODLECAST FOR KIDS
Finger sketch, narrate, and then animate your drawings.

iPad, iPhone |  Age rating: 2+ | Price: $ 1.99

Starting with a series of 20 drawing prompts, which include themes (fast, yucky, messy, hairy, loud, and so on) and elements (water, park, mouth, eyes,  and a plate for food, among others), kids draw a picture with their fingers with an intuitive palette of colors.

This is where things get interesting: as your child is drawing, she can narrate.  Like this: “The big…  hungry… dinosaur… in the flower hat…ATE MY DAD!”  The app records both the drawing sequence and the child’s voice, and the video playbacks (which can be exported) are priceless.

7.  TINY WINGS
Help a baby bird learn to fly before night falls and he dozes off.

iPad, iPhone, Android |  Age rating: 4+ | Price: $0.99

A sweet app in which you teach a baby bird to fly by helping him run down the hills to get enough momentum to soar, collecting coins along the way.

Touch the screen to “tuck” the baby birds’ wings in.  This helps him go faster downhill and gain momentum.  Don’t tuck on the uphill stretches though, or he won’t make it to the end of the level before nightfall. Speaking of nightfall, it’s no big deal.  The bird falls asleep.  No death or drama that will upset sensitive kids.

8.  MUSICAL ME
Learn about music, notes, and rhythm on your iPad.

iPad, iPhone |  Age rating: 2+ | Price: $1.99

Kids fly around with a little mouse called Mozzarella doing things like copying note patterns (by tapping singing planets), making animals dance to the beat,  moving notes up and down a staff to make their own music (under the sea, of course!), and picking an instrument to play along with a song.

For the activities with accompanying songs, kids can choose among a handful of the classics.  The graphics are perfect and everything is intuitive, replayable, and very fun.

9.  MY PLAYHOME
An amazingly interactive dollhouse for the iPad generation.

iPad, iPhone |  Age rating: 1+ | Price: $2.99/1.99

Kids as young as two (and as old as ten) will enjoy discovering the many interactive features built in to this seeming simple but multi-layered dollhouse app.  There are no scores, deadlines, power ups, or lives to lose.  Just four fun-filled rooms to explore in a sweet and simple house.

There are so many fun surprises in every room!  Put in a new CD.  Take a bite out of an apple.  Fry an egg.  Brush your teeth.  Pet the cat.  Get some cold pizza out of the fridge.  Your kids won’t get bored any time soon.

10.  MEMORY TRAIN
A sweet memory game that rewards focus and concentration.

iPad, iPhone |  Age rating: 2+ | Price: $0.99

Spacey the elephant is on a train on his way to the circus.  Out of his window, he sees objects on the passing landscape.  Kids help him remember characteristics of what he saw to earn stars, badges, and (of course!) peanuts.

What color was the object?  What was the number?  What three things just passed by?  No reading required and no voice over (everything is communicated with pictorial thought bubbles) mean that very young children can play in places where they need to be quiet.

Grade: B+ | Age rating: 4+| Price: $2.99

Qvoid is a very challenging and original rolling cube puzzle that reminds us of the solitaire marble game.  And of the Rubik’s cube.  It seems simple, but it’s not.

Kids must tumble a cute white cube around a board to solve the puzzle.  The cube picks up colors as its side touches them.  Once it has picked up a color, that side can only touch that color.

Still with me?  Good.

The object of the game is to collect all the colors in the least number of steps possible.

Why we like it:

The best part about this app is that the difficulty ramps up s-l-o-w-l-y.  Kids as young as four can enjoy it, and adults will quickly get hooked too.  Logic can be fun!  We also liked that you can’t “die”, only rack up lots of moves as you solve each puzzle.  Don’t like your score?  Try again.

Like this?   Get our App of the Week newsletter.

We tested version 1.0.0, which is compatible with the iPhone, iPod, and iPad. Requires IOS 3.2 or later.  Developer: Gavina Games. Read our disclosure policy.