Common Sense Media Review
By Mieke VanderBorght
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Cute, simple letter games don't deliver on big promises.
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Learn to Read : Mario Alphabet Apps Phonetic ABCD
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
Hear letter sounds and match one word to its initial letter sound in LEARN TO READ : MARIO ALPHABET APPS PHONETIC ABCD. Kids drag their finger across the screen to roll a little creature along a path. At certain points, they meet an obstacle like a hole in the path and a block with a "p" in it. Tap the block to hear the "p" sound, drag it in the hole, hear the word "panda," and keep on rolling. Complete the level to unlock a new rolling creature and start the next letter.
Is It Any Good?
These leveled games offer some basic letter-sound practice, but they don't have enough depth to make it a stellar learning tool. The basic premise is fun with appealing graphics and some fun challenges. And, since the rolling creatures never "die" or fail in their journey to reach the end of a level, it's entirely age-appropriate. Yet, despite matching letters over and over again through the levels, kids will only ever hear one word with that letter sound. It would be nice to have some variety to start applying initial letter sounds beyond a single word. Also, controlling the creature can be a bit awkward at times, which may frustrate some kids. And the words are not always spoken very clearly, which can make it hard to understand what the audio is saying. Though having several languages available is a great addition, it's disappointing to see that the graphics and word choice don't always match up for the non-English choices. The developer's strong claims of how the app is inspired by Montessori and Piaget seem only concretely fulfilled by the order in which the app introduces the letters. Also, they promise the app will help kids read faster, but there's no evidence to support those claims; if parents aren't satisfied, however, the developers offer a refund. Overall, it's a fun concept but could use quite a few tweaks to make it stand out among all the letter-learning apps out there.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the letter sounds and add words to the ones included in Learn to Read : Mario Alphabet Apps Phonetic ABCD. Point out letters wherever you see them. Emphasize the beginning sounds of familiar words with songs, poems, books, and more.
Encourage and support literacy by reading, singing, and talking to your kids as much as possible. Reading is a superb way to help kids get familiar with letters, letter sounds, words, and other print concepts.
Play letter games such as "the alphabet game" in which you name a letter and kids have to think of a word that begins with that letter.
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android , Kindle Fire
- Subjects : Language & Reading : letter or word recognition , phonics
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Release date : November 2, 2016
- Genre : Education
- Topics : Numbers and Letters
- Publisher : 1tu
- Version : 1.1.2
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 6.0 or later; Android 4.0 and up
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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