2011 Readers’ Choice Awards Nominations

Nominate your favorite kid’s app and win a $50 iTunes gift card

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***

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Best Kids Apps of 2011

10 of the year’s best iPad, iPhone and Android apps for kids

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.

Read more…

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Qvoid

A fun puzzle game for the iPad.  Like the Rubik’s cube, only easier.

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.

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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.

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Free App Friday: My Bird World

An educational iPad app that’s for the birds.  And the kids.

My Bird World is a lush interactive bird learning app for the iPad that will appeal to kids aged 6-12 or so.

Kids test their bird knowledge to win up to 24 birds, place them in one of six beautiful habitats, and play four fun games to keep them fed.  The photos are gorgeous and the bird songs are real — which is cool.

Don’t know much about the American avocet, the hummingbird, and the yellow warbler?  You will.  Lots of the questions are intuitive and you’ll learn fast.

Want to try it for free?

How to enter

It’s easy peasy.  Just leave a comment below by Tuesday, November 15th, 2011.  The next day, we’ll choose 5 people at random and gift this app to them via email.

And the winners are…

Ketan, Rhonda, Judi, Aisha, and Noel.  Congratulations and enjoy!

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

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Where’s My Water?

A fun, fast-paced physics game for the iPhone and iPad

Grade: A | Age rating: 4+| Price: $0.99

Where’s My Water for the iPad and iPhone reminds me a little bit of the popular and polished Toy Balls.

Deep under the city streets, an alligator named Swampy needs water for his bath.  It’s your job—or your kid’s job—to swipe away the dirt, drain away the poison, and deliver it.

If you can deliver some bonus items in the process (namely rubber duckies, loofahs, shampoo and snorkel gear), so much the better.

Why we like it:
Like Toy Balls (and Angry Birds, come to think of it, and Cut the Rope), this game is endlessly scalable.  Little kids can keep replaying the easy levels, trying to get all the duckies or improve their time.  Older kids can go on to high pressure hoses, fluid converters, and the like.

Tip:  Every drop counts.  If you mess up—and you will, hit the replay button right away.  There’s no need to wait to see things not work out.

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We tested version 1.1.0, which is compatible with the iPhone, iPod, and iPad. Requires IOS 4.0 or later.  Developer: Disney. Read our disclosure policy.

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