Common Sense Media Review
By Amanda Bindel
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Mini-games go beyond core skills with a bit of engineering.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Dora's Great Big World HD
Parent and Kid Reviews
Privacy Rating Warning
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
What's It About?
DORA'S GREAT BIG WORLD HD takes kids to four worlds to learn preschool skills. In the rainforest, kids match uppercase and lowercase letters. In the garden, they practice counting and recognizing numerals. On the farm, kids identify rhyming word families. In outer space, they practice STEM skills by engineering a path into which a boulder falls. Dora throws in a bit of Spanish, too. As they play, kids earn stars that can be redeemed for stickers to decorate the worlds. Each device can host up to four players.
Is It Any Good?
Letter recognition, counting, and rhyming words are pretty typical in preschool apps, but the arcade-like space game exposes kids to increasingly important engineering skills in a very simple way. Each mini-game is short and engaging. Kids can choose to play again, redeem their stickers, or choose a different game. For the price, parents might expect some kind of progress report, but none is available. Another minor complaint: Usernames can be seven characters max, so kids with long names miss out on a chance to see their names in print and reinforce that important preschool skill.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Watch as your kid plays so you can have an idea of their areas of strengths and weaknesses.
Incorporate counting, pointing out letters, and playing rhyming games in your daily routine to reinforce those literacy skills. Let kids tinker and create to build STEM skills.
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad
- Subjects : Science : engineering , Language & Reading : letter or word recognition , phonics , Math : counting , numbers
- Skills : Self-Direction : academic development , Thinking & Reasoning : applying information , memorization , thinking critically
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Release date : July 1, 2013
- Genre : Education
- Topics : Book Characters
- Publisher : Nickelodeon
- Version : 1.1
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 5.0 or later
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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