Moshi Monsters is one of the biggest children’s brands in 2014, extending far beyond its original virtual world to encompass magazines, toys, music, an animated movie and a growing number of apps.

The latest is called Talking Poppet, and stars one of the best-loved Moshi characters. Released by developer Mind Candy for iPhone and iPad, the app is clearly inspired by the Talking Friends series of apps that has made Talking Tom Cat and his friends so popular with kids.

Just like those apps, this sees the star – cutesy character Poppet – listening to what your children say into the device’s microphone, then repeating it back to them a bit more squeakily.

“You can also poke, tickle and interact with her to bring her to life,” notes the App Store listing. “Explore the Fun Room, do a photo shoot or have a boogie in the Disco!”

There’s also a Moshling Garden to explore, and eight Moshling voices to try out. The production values look pretty good, with an instantly-recognisable Moshi Monsters look to the graphics, with bags of charm. We also like the feature that puts Poppet into your photos of the real world.

We suspect there could be more of these apps on the way, since there are plenty of Moshi Monsters characters who would suit the ‘Talking’ treatment well.

Talking Poppet is a free download for iPhone and iPad on Apple’s App Store, but it uses a one-off in-app purchase to unlock all its features. The free version has plenty to do, but paying £1.99 opens up the disco and garden sections.

Read about more Moshi Monsters 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