Apple released its new iOS 8 software earlier this week, in advance of the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones that went on sale this morning. And iOS 8 has some interesting new features for parents.

We wrote about its Family Sharing option earlier this year, when it was first unveiled. You’ll now be able to give your children their own iTunes accounts, linked to your credit card – but with firm controls to ensure you approve any purchase that they make. Plus, they can automatically share any apps, music, films and other content that you’ve bought.

But it’s App Bundles that we’re most excited about this week: another new iOS 8 feature that lets developers sell a bunch of their apps for one, discounted price. Several of our favourite children’s app publishers are already taking advantage.

You can see the full list here on the App Store, but here’s our pick of the early kids’ app bundles, with links where possible to our previous coverage of those apps, so you can see what we thought.

Toca Starter Box (£6.99)
Toca Boca’s collection of six stone-cold classics: Toca Hair Salon 2, Toca Pet Doctor, Toca House, Toca Kitchen, Toca Band and Toca Store.

Fox & Sheep Kids Apps HD (£3.99)
German developer Fox & Sheep turns out beautifully-crafted apps, including the three here: Nighty Night HD, Little Fox Music Box and Petting Zoo – Animal Animations.

Sago Mini Amazing Eight (£10.49)
Toca Boca’s pre-school studio is on a marvellous run of creative, playful apps, with eight of them here: Sago Mini Friends, Sago Mini Space Explorer, Sago Mini Music Box, Sago Mini Doodlecast, Sago Mini Bug Builder, Sago Mini Forest Flyer, Sago Mini Pet Cafe, and Sago Mini Sound Box.

Endless Learning Bundle (£20.99)
That is quite a startling price, we agree, but we love the three apps included in this bundle from Originator: Endless Alphabet, Endless Reader: School Edition and Endless Numbers: School Edition. As you may have guessed, schools are probably the main target for this bundle, rather than cash-flush parents.

Artgig Math Mysteries and Mazes (£5.99)
Artgig Studio’s apps combine education and gaming to great effect. This bundle includes Mystery Math Town and its sequel Mystery Math Museum, Marble Math and Marble Math Junior.

Tinybop Explorers 1 & 2 (£2.99)
Just two apps in this bundle, but there’s plenty of depth to them. The Human Body teaches children about their own biology, while Plants turns its attention to the natural world.

Spinlight Beginners (£7.49)
Spinlight Studio is another favourite educational publisher of ours, with this bundle’s six apps an excellent introduction to its work. AlphaTots Alphabet, TallyTots Counting, Swapsies Jobs, Gappy Learns Reading, Gappy Learns Writing and Swapsies Sports are all included.

Classic Fairy Tales – 3D Pop-Up Books (£10.49)
StoryToys has a thriving collection of fairy tales reinterpreted as (virtual) pop-up books, with storytelling and interactivity. 10 of them are in this bundle: Grimm’s Rapunzel, Grimm’s Red Riding Hood, Grimm’s Puss in Boots, Grimm’s Hansel and Gretel, Beauty and the Beast, Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Grimm’s Snow White, The Jungle Book and Thumbelina.

Curious George (£5.99)
Book publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has won us over to cartoon monkey Curious George with its series of app releases. The four in this bundle are Draw With Curious George, Curious About Letters, Curious About Shapes and Colors, and Curious George’s Town.

Inspirations for Real-World Play (£3.99)
Publisher Duckie Deck reckons its bundle will encourage children to get out into the world and play, not just stare at a screen. This four-app bundle includes Duckie Deck Huff’n’Puff, Duckie Deck Trash Toys, Duckie Deck Sandwich Chef, and Duckie Deck Family Photo.

Marvel Reads Super Heroes (£4.99)
One of several bundles from Disney, this focuses on comic superheroes: The Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers Origins: Hulk, Spider-Man AR Book HD and Avengers Origins: Assemble.

Montessori Maths by Trois Elles (£5.99)
More maths, this from creative French publisher Les Trois Elles. This is a five-app bundle featuring Montessori 1st Operations, Montessori Numberland HD, Montessori Geometry, Montessori Maths: Add & Subtract Large Numbers, and Montessori Maths: Multiplication.

These are just the first ones we’ve latched on to, but there are bound to be more: tell us if you’ve spotted some good app bundles for kids by posting a comment.