Parents' Guide to

Martha Speaks Dog Party

By Sierra Filucci, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 4+

Familiar PBS character hosts fun vocab games.

Martha Speaks Dog Party Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this app.

Community Reviews

age 4+

Based on 3 parent reviews

age 9+

Martha speaks dog party

Great

This title has:

Easy to play/use
age 2+

Speak Smart

A fine tool to be used between parent and child, especially if parent continues to apply and reinforce these vocabulary words in daily conversation with their child.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3):
Kids say (1):

With Martha the talking dog as this party's affable host, kids will enjoy playing the four different mini-games that all help teach vocabulary lessons. Pop a party ballon to choose a game and play dress up with a selection of adorable canines. Take a picture of your creation and learn that your dog's outfit is very "fashionable," plus exactly what that means in kid-friendly terms. Or play "Chow Time" and choose the dog plate that matches Martha's instructions; for instance: "Which is the checkerboard plate?" Then feed the dog his party food by swiping a finger around the plate to move the doggie's slurpy tongue.

The best thing about the app is how it integrates the learning into the game in a way that doesn't interfere with the fun while also offering lots of encouragement with "yay"s and "good job"s. Kids younger than 4 might have difficulty with some of the concepts (machine vs. nature) and vocabulary (nautical). One slight annoyance is that the volume controls seem buggy -- a player can control the volume of Martha's voice, but not some of the other sound effects, so they can be quite loud. Overall, this is a super fun party that's worth the RSVP.

App Details

  • Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
  • Release date: December 17, 2009
  • Category: Educational Games
  • Version: 1.0
  • Minimum software requirements: Requires iOS 2.2.1 or later
  • Last updated: August 23, 2016

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