Something we’re very keen on at Apps Playground is the notion that children are natural storytellers: yes, they’ll read other people’s stories, but they also create their own.

A number of apps are available that try to tap into this idea, with The Project Factory‘s Junior Storytellers the latest to appear for Apple’s iPad.

It’s described as “a storytelling app that lets kids animate and share their own stories with friends, family and other storytellers all over the world” in its App Store listing, which stresses its accessibility too.

“Set up the scene, tap the record button, move your characters and props around and tell your story in your own words!” as it puts it.

Designed around familiar story structures (“including the ‘hero’, wants, obstacles, secondary characters, travel and conclusions”) it encourages children to play with characters and actions, then share their creations online.

If that’s set off a warning in your mind, The Project Factory says that the sharing elements are completely under your control as parents.

We’re intrigued, anyway. Junior Storytellers is a free download for iPad from Apple’s App Store, although it does use in-app purchases. You can choose to buy extra story “packs” – Jungle Adventure, Pirate Treasures, Chinese New Year and so on.

A separate version will bundle all eight story packs into the initial download, for schools (who usually can’t use in-app purchases).