Disney Buddies: ABCs
By Mieke VanderBorght,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Disney friends, simple games introduce alphabet.
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Disney Buddies: ABCs
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What’s It About?
Kids join popular Disney characters as they explore the alphabet in DISNEY BUDDIES: ABCS. Start from A and go in alphabetical order or choose letters at random at any time, and kids can choose to see uppercase or lowercase letters. Each letter is introduced with its name and the sound (or sounds) it makes. Then kids are invited to do something that starts with that letter, such as "Help Pluto dig up his bone" for D. When finished, the narrator gives an alliterative encouragement: "Doggone, great digging!" There's also a video to watch in which Mickey sings the ABC song.
Is It Any Good?
Kid-friendly graphics and clever mini-activities combine with beloved Disney characters to gently present the fun side of learning the alphabet. Just as the original, non Disney-fied AlphaTots Alphabet presents a playful way to explore letters, this is also simple and engaging. It's best for kids and families who love everything Disney, because kids will see characters from movies as varied as Beauty and the Beast to Big Hero, though kids just learning their letters may not know the characters yet. One significant downside is that the app is somewhat of a one-trick pony in that activities are short, and once kids complete the alphabet, they simply repeat the same things over and over. It's nice that target words are often verbs rather than nouns, but -- especially for younger kids -- it would be nice to see more emphasis on those target words, as kids can easily be confused about which word is the one that begins with the featured letter.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about letters. Point out the beginning sounds of familiar words, and emphasize the sound at the beginning of the word (for example, "B-b-ball starts with the letter B").
The target age for this app is young, but you can still talk to kids about branding. Do you think this game is more or less fun because it has characters you know?
Point out letters in your everyday environment: on street signs, on cereal boxes, in books, and more.
Sing songs, recite nursery rhymes, and read to your kids as much as you can! The more they play with sounds and the more they're exposed to language, the smoother their road to literacy will be.
App Details
- Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire
- Subjects: Language & Reading: letter or word recognition
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Release date: May 12, 2016
- Category: Education
- Topics: Numbers and Letters
- Publisher: Disney
- Version: 1.1
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 7.1 or later; Android 2.3.3 and up
- Last updated: July 11, 2020
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