Peppy Pals Sammy Helps Out
By Amanda Bindel,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Sweet friends teach acceptance and helping others.
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this app.
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Peppy Pals Sammy Helps Out
Community Reviews
There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.
What’s It About?
In PEPPY PALS SAMMY HELPS OUT Sammy the horse and Reggie the dog are walking and come to a creek. Sammy jumps right across, but Reggie is afraid and falls in when he finally jumps. Sammy encourages him and helps him out of the water. This electronic book includes questions for parents to ask kids in the moment as they read or at the end of the story. Kids or parents can read the story themselves or follow along as it's read aloud. Images react slightly to kids' touch, and kids tap the arrow to advanced pages.
Is It Any Good?
With helpful, embedded questions, this simple story teaches an important social-emotional lesson in a storybook format without lots of distractions. Unlike some interactive books that include lots of animations, Peppy Pals Sammy Helps Out feels more like a book than a game. Since too many distractions can dilute learning, kids will stay focused on the narrative. The content is well-thought-out and easy to navigate, including switching audio narration on and off and changing between English and Swedish. Beyond that, options are minimal. Pages much be manually advanced, one at a time. The unexpected twist at the end where a rabbit hops across a nearby bridge adds a fun element as well as a lesson in different perspectives and paths. The best feature is probably the embedded questions that parents can access within the story or at the end. Since social-emotional learning is usually hard to apply and measure, talking through the characters' feelings and applying the lessons to the real world serves as an important bridge for little kids.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the differences in how Sammy and Reggie face crossing the water in Peppy Pals Sammy Helps Out. Ask kids if they've ever faced a challenge that was easy for a friend but not for them.
Ask kids what they can learn from Gabby's different path across the creek.
Talk to kids about their feelings and fears in general, and help them take others' perspectives to encourage empathy.
App Details
- Devices: iPhone, iPad
- Subjects: Language & Reading: reading
- Skills: Emotional Development: empathy, identifying emotions, labeling feelings, moving beyond obstacles, perspective taking, self-awareness, Communication: friendship building, Collaboration: cooperation, meeting challenges together, teamwork, Responsibility & Ethics: respect for others
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Release date: November 8, 2016
- Category: Books
- Topics: Cats, Dogs, and Mice, Friendship, Horses and Farm Animals
- Character Strengths: Empathy
- Publisher: Peppy Pals AB
- Version: 1.0.1
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 6.0 or later
- Last updated: October 18, 2019
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.
Suggest an Update
Where to Download
Our Editors Recommend
Best Empathy Games, Apps, and Websites for Kids
Books That Teach Empathy
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