There has been a rush of apps in recent times showing that iPhones and iPads can be used by children to tell their own stories, not just read other people’s.

Sago Mini Doodlecast, Toy Story: Story Theater, Creativium - Paper Theater, Elmo the Musical – Storyteller, Toontastic Jr Shrek… Heady times for creative kids. Now FableScapes 2 is the latest app hoping to spark their storytelling instincts.

Published by Made with Marmalade, the app describes itself as “a virtual puppet theatre to play with”, getting children to choose characters, scenery and then expressions to tell stories. There are 30 characters and 15 objects – all animated – with three different scenes to use them in: pirate adventures, knights and wizards, and space journey.

Scenes can be saved to play with again later, and you can also save screenshots to send to friends and family. We like their suggestion that the app is ideal for parents and children to play with together, rather than just acting as a digital babysitter.

FableScapes 2 is a free download for iPhone and iPad on Apple’s App Store, and also a free download for Android on the Google Play store. Be aware that some scenery packs are sold as in-app purchases, though.