We always like those mix’n’match books where pages are divided so that you can flip through them and end up with, for example, the head of a parrot on the body of a goat on the legs of a monkey.

Miximal is the latest app attempting to bring the idea of mix’n’match books to smartphones and tablets. It’s the work of developer Yatatoy, and the follow-up to the excellent Drawnimal, which we wrote about last year.

“Kids! Mix animals, mix syllables,” explains its App Store listing for the app, which has launched for iPhone and iPad. “Parents! Over 1,000 unique combinations filled with handcrafted animations and sounds.”

The latter aspect is what makes Miximal so charming: the animations are full of character as your children swipe between different animal bodybits to create their own strange creatures. When they find a match of all three sections, they get a special animation that’s sure to make them laugh.

Pure screenshots don’t quite do it justice, so here’s the promo video:

We’ve seen mix’n’match apps before: Nosy Crow’s Flip Flap Farm, complete with animal illustrations from Gruffalo artist Axel Scheffler, being one of our favourites. Miximal sits proudly among that kind of company: we think your kids will have lots of fun with it. The syllables also emphasise an educational aspect, as your children practise reading the sounds from the animal names.

Miximal costs £1.49 for iPhone and iPad on Apple’s App Store. And if it appeals, we suggest you also check out Drawnimal, which provides animal faces on your iPhone or iPad screen, but gets your kids to draw their limbs on real paper placed under the device. It’s free at the moment, too.

Read about more animal apps for kids on Apps Playground, and check out our 100 Best iPad Apps of 2013 e-book – £1.99 from Apple’s iBooks Store