Parents' Guide to

Monkey Word School Adventure

By Amanda Bindel, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 5+

Cute monkey guides kids through six early-reading games.

App iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android Paid Education
Monkey Word School Adventure Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

  • Monkey Word School Adventure App: Screenshot #1
  • Monkey Word School Adventure App: Screenshot #2
  • Monkey Word School Adventure App: Screenshot #3

Community Reviews

See all
age 5+

Based on 1 parent review

Beaulah
Beaulah Adult
April 21, 2020
age 5+

Overwhelming

Every game in this app is short and fast and then the next one begins without leaving space to breathe. There is no real sense of leveling or accomplishment. We noticed it creating addictive behaviour in our four-year-old. There are better reading apps out there.

This title has:

Easy to play/use
See all 1 parent review

What’s It About?

MONKEY WORD SCHOOL ADVENTURE takes kids through six phonics and word group activities to help kids master early-reading skills. Kids enter or select their name, and the app guides them seamlessly through the activities. Kids trace letters, go through a rhyming maze, find letters or sight words in flying objects, spell words (with or without hints), and find words in a word search. After each round, kids choose a plant or an animal to add to their terrarium. Up to three kids can have accounts. Good early-reading practice with fun rewards.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1):
Kids say: Not yet rated

Each activity on Monkey Word School Adventure is short and moves automatically to the next challenge, so kids won't likely get bored. What really sets this early-reading app apart, though, is the increasing challenge based on prior performance. If kids master finding letters in the dropping gems, the next round will give them words. If they master three-letter words, they'll quickly move to blends and digraphs. The six games may get repetitive, but the customized adjustments in difficulty should keep kids interested. Parents can manually adjust the challenge level and turn off certain games in the settings if they want kids to focus on specific skills.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Read to kids from a variety of text formats so they can be familiar with letters and words written different ways: in print, by hand, on logos, or on a screen.

  • Play rhyming games wherein kids contribute words that rhyme or end with the same sound, such as pig, big, wig, jig, and dig.

App Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate