Yeah, 30. One for every day in the month. Things were that busy in September, with a blizzard of creative, innovative and engrossing apps for children to write about here on Apps Playground.

We’ve got big names – Toca Boca, Disney, CBeebies, Lego, Winnie the Pooh, Dr Seuss and more – but also some of the best independent children’s apps with characters you may not have heard of, but who have great stories to tell, or fun digital play to share.

It’s been an exciting time, and we’re looking forward to bringing you more news, reviews and videos of the best apps for kids in the coming weeks and months. For now, read on for our 30 favourite apps from September.

1. Toca Band
“Toca Band is the latest app from Swedish startup Toca Boca… Previous apps have had children driving trains, cleaning houses, cooking, making robots and playing shopkeeper, among others. This time round, they’re making music with the help of a collection of colourful characters.”
Get it now or read our article

—

2. Dr Frankenstein’s Body Lab
“With Halloween on the way, what better time for your children to be messing around with body parts to create a monster? Virtual ones, obviously, on an iPad. Step (or rather lurch) forward Dr. Frankenstein’s Body Lab, a brand new app from books publisher DK that’s just come out for iPad.”
Get it now or read our article

—

3. Kapu Tickle Toy Camera
“It’s based around cartoon dolls, who can be changed by pulling their virtual strings. But the camera can then be used to put your child’s face onto the doll, or to see the character dangling in your real-world surroundings – a simple but fun use of augmented reality technology.”
Get it now or read our article

—

4. Fancy Nancy Ballet School
“Watching cartoon Nancy perform 11 ballet positions and steps, then stringing them together into a routine that your children can copy in the real world. And then the clever bit: you can record video of them dancing, and then play it back with cartoon Nancy joining in the fun.”
Get it now or read our article

—

5. Lil’ Red
“A new attempt to retell Little Red Riding Hood on iPad… with monochrome visuals enlivened by splashes of red. Its designer Brian Main says the app is aimed at kids aged “three and up” with animation, interactivity and sound – but no text or voice narration.”
Get it now or read our article

—

6. CBeebies Magazine
“It’s a digital version of the printed magazines that find their way into our real-world shopping trolley on a regular basis, usually due to whatever’s stuck to the cover. This being digital, the app will stand or fall on its mixture of games, learning and stories rather than plastic toys, crayons and googly eyes.”
Get it now or read our article

—

7. Lego Minifigure Ultimate Stickers
“Released by book publisher DK, it’s a digital sticker book based on Lego’s Minifigures range. You get more than 70 virtual stickers and 10 backgrounds to play with, with themes including Atlantis, City, Pirates, Train, Castle, Space, Adventurers and Agents.”
Get it now or read our article

—

8. Letters With Pooh
“The latest iPhone app from Disney, focused on helping children to learn their alphabet. Veterans of all things Pooh will be unsurprised to learn that honey plays a pivotal role, too… Children can use the app to record the letters of the alphabet in their own voices; create scenes with virtual stickers; and play matching games.”
Get it now or read our article

—

9. Scott’s Polar Trip
“A book-app: the follow up to last year’s Scott’s Submarine. The ‘Scott’ isn’t the famous polar explorer, though: it’s a boy called Scott, who heads off to the North Pole with his cat, Jazz. He stars in 32 pages of story, with a feature we haven’t seen before in this kind of app: two different reading levels.”
Get it now or read our article

—

10. Happy TV
“Happy TV isn’t a digital version of Anorak magazine. It’s “the happy TV for kids”, taking the ethos behind the print edition and applying it to a TV show… animated stories, documentaries, drawing sessions, games and of course, jokes.”
Get it now or read our article

—

11. Dr. Seuss Bookshelf
“Released for iPhone and iPad, it’s a free download that has two main roles. It’s a single place from which to launch any Dr. Seuss apps that you already have on the device, as well as being a way to browse the ones you don’t yet own that are available from Apple’s App Store.”
Get it now or read our article

—

12. Finding Nemo: Storybook Deluxe
“It tells the familiar fishy tale, adding animation, voice narration – including the dulcet tones of actors Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks and Willem Dafoe – puzzles, digital painting and mini-games. There’s also a fun-sounding Whale Chat with Dory mode, where your child can talk to the character and hear their words translated into whale-speak.”
Get it now or read our article

—

13. Little Monster at School
Living Books were the work of a company called Brøderbund Software in the early nineties. Now a US developer called Wanderful has brought three of them back, including Little Monster at School… accompanied by music, animation and interactivity, as well as voice narration to read to your child.”
Get it now or read our article

—

14. Montessori Geometry
“Aimed at 5-10 year-olds, it aims to explain geometry in a friendly and accessible way, covering 23 shapes with definitions, six mini-games and a pair of “globe-trotter twins” characters called Tam and Tao to give the learning a human face. Well, two faces.”
Get it now or read our article

—

15. Skullabones Island
“Based on the Ladybird range of Skullabones Island books, the emphasis here is firmly on piratical play for 3-5 year-olds. There are three mini-games to play, all of which have been designed for pre-schoolers. It looks very good fun, and you can never have enough pirates after all.”
Get it now or read our article

—

16. The Ogress
“Described as an ‘allegorical tale’ for children aged six and up, it’s about “the selfish and capricious Princess Occidiane” causing all manner of rumpuses for her two fairy godmothers (Including devouring “hundreds of hamburgers”, which is frankly a welcome departure from the usual fairytale-princess behaviour.)”
Get it now or read our article

—

17. Thumbelina: Magic Story for iPad
“It’s the work of Ukrainian design studio Pogr Art, whose founder Alexander Pogrebniak has illustrated this interactive version of Thumbelina. It tells the tale over 24 pages, with lots of sound and interactivity, and the promise that it may just chill out your children in those hyperactive pre-bedtime moments.”
Get it now or read our article

—

18. Hippo Seasons
“Yes, hippos. We’re big fans of hippos generally, and that extends to apps. Here, they provide a friendly face for exploration of spring, summer, autumn and winter, with lots of inventive touchscreen interaction… Crunch in leaves! Roll a snowball! Plant bulbs! Mow the lawn!”
Get it now or read our article

—

19. My First Animal Games
It’s part of DK’s wider ‘My First…’ series, aimed at pre-school kids who are learning about the world. The focus here being animals, obviously… Four mini-games are included, with lots of animals to introduce. Your children will be dragging and dropping letters into animal names, matching mothers to their babies, piecing together digital puzzles, and painting animals with textures.”
Get it now or read our article

—

20. PHLIP
“An iPhone and iPad game that’s a bit like the popular Draw Something, but using photos that you take. The app describes itself as a ‘visual puzzle aimed at children and inquisitive adults of all ages’, which involves taking a photo of something around you, then dividing it up into tiles and then rotating them.”
Get it now or read our article

—

21. Tom Tell Me About The Human Body
“The first in a planned series of educational apps starring cartoon lion Tom, who will ‘explain life’s biggest mysteries to audiences both young and not-so-young’. This app focuses on the body: skin, muscles, skeleton and organs, as well as growth and ageing, viruses and even reproduction and pregnancy.”
Get it now or read our article

—

22. Piccadilly’s Circus
“Piccadilly’s Circus is the greatest circus in the world, until the day the troupe finds themselves arguing over whose job is the most impressive. How can they resolve their argument? For one night only they decide to perform each others’ acts, just to prove how easy it would be.”
Get it now or read our article

—

23. Band Cyw
“We often quote from the App Store listing for new apps, so here goes: ‘Mae anifeiliaid Cyw yn gwneud y sŵn rhyfeddaf, wel, pawb heblaw am Plwmp druan!’ Zoinks! Luckily, our deep knowledge of the Welsh language (*cough* developer Cube Interactive’s own translation) gives us a rough idea of the gist - it’s a new (bilingual) musical iPad app.”
Get it now or read our article

—

24. Crayola DigiTools [three apps]
“Due to be launched this side of Christmas, they’re physical packs of drawing tools, designed to be used on an iPad screen with companion apps. The first three apps have just been released: Crayola DigiTools 3-D, Crayola DigiTools Airbrush and Crayola Digi-Tools Effects. Each is a free download for iPad only.”
Get it now or read our article

—

25. The Very Itchy Bear
“You have to feel sorry for author and illustrator Nick Bland’s Bear character. He’s been cranky and hungry in previous book-apps, but now he’s suffering from itchiness… Expect lots of animation and sound, the option to record your own audio, and voice narration from Australian actor Angus Sampson.”
Get it now or read our article

—

26. Dumbo: Disney Classics
“It tells the story of the movie with a mixture of words, animation, voice narration, music and interactivity. You can record your own voice (or your child’s) reading the story. The interactive elements include digital colouring, puzzles and a nice-looking cartoon piano to tinkle on.”
Get it now or read our article

—

27. Magic Belles
“One of a crop of new music apps for kids that are encouraging tuneful creativity at the moment. It stars six colourful fairies, each with their own jingle, offering seven musical mini-games to play. Expect melodic numbers, magical-flower watering and musical rainbows, judging by the App Store description.”
Get it now or read our article

—

28. Peekaboo Trick or Treat with Ed Emberley
“Ed Emberley? Who he? A famous illustrator of children’s books in the US, of course. His artwork takes centre stage in this new app, which sees witches, werewolves, ghosts and a ‘friendly fire-breathing dragon’ all popping out to (gently) give your kids a fright.”
Get it now or read our article

—

29. Mike The Knight: The Great Gallop
“Released by HIT Entertainment – previously responsible for apps based on Thomas & Friends and Bob the Builder – this game sees the cartoon knight leaping onto his trusty horse Galahad to, yes, gallop. Well, other things too: helping fellow townspeople out and collecting treasure also figure in the gameplay, which has been designed to be easily grasped by young children.”
Get it now or read our article

—

30. Milo Martens
“Dress-up apps for kids are ten-a-penny on the App Store, and most of them are rubbish. Milo Martens looks like it’s cut from a different cloth, though. Hipster cloth… The game itself involves choosing clothes and accessories for different cities around the world, from New York and London to Rio de Janeiro.”
Get it now or read our article

That’s our selection, but tell us what apps your children have been loving this month by posting a comment.