We launched Apps Playground in 2010, but it was 2011’s The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore that convinced us there was something big going on with children’s apps.

Developed by Moonbot Studios, it was a beautiful interactive story based on their short film, which showed that kids’ apps could be more than just digital versions of print books.

Since then we’ve followed their work, including stylish alphabet app Numberlys and an augmented reality app for the print-book version of Morris Lessmore.

Now it’s time for something new from the company: a planned series of “Moonbeeps” apps that are less about stories and more about “fun, imaginative play” for children.

The first is Moonbeeps: Fireflies, which launched for iPhone, iPad and Android last week. It’s a lovely-looking digital toy that involves catching fireflies.

“Discover luminous fireflies buzzing about the forest. Collect them with a tap of your finger and fill up your jar. You might even catch the rarest of all the forest’s creatures: the brilliant Luna Moth,” explains its app store listing.

“Some fireflies are hard to catch and others will try to escape. Spend some time exploring the forest and taking in the beautiful landscape. Try looking backwards, up, down, all around.”

The idea: “open play” for children with no scoring, time limits or specific goals. And as a nice extra touch, the app also works as a nightlight: you can leave it running in a child’s room, and it’ll go to sleep after 15 minutes.

Moonbeeps: Fireflies costs £1.99 for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, and £1.83 for Android from the Google Play store. We’re looking forward to seeing what else Moonbeeps has to offer over the course of its forthcoming apps. We’ll keep you posted.