Family movie night? There's an app for that
Download our new mobile app on iOS and Android.
Puku: Learn New Words
By Christy Matte,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Cute vocab builder with custom lists, some limits.
Add your rating
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this app.
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Puku: Learn New Words
Community Reviews
There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.
What’s It About?
PUKU: LEARN NEW WORDS from Merriam-Webster encourages kids to build their vocabularies by drilling them on groups of words, their definitions, and their spellings. For each group of words, kids will need to complete a series of activities like finding the word that matches the given definition, choosing a synonym, completing the spelling of a word, and fill-in-the-blank. They will need to correctly complete a certain number of activities for each word. When they answer correctly, in-game creature Puku grows a bit, and they fill some of his meter on the side of the screen. When his meter is full, he evolves and the meter is reset. It also has the option for creating custom lists of five or more words from the dictionary. Kids might use this feature to study for tests. The lists are shareable via link/email, but require kids to click on a link outside the app.
Is It Any Good?
Vocab flashcards are all grown up in this experience as kids help colorful creature Puku develop and evolve as they develop and evolve their own language skills. Puku: Learn New Words helps kids build their vocabulary with new words they may not be exposed to on a regular basis. But what makes Puku: Learn New Words most useful is the ability to create custom word lists using dictionary definitions. This allows kids to practice their own spelling words or vocabulary words from classes like science, art, music, and math. While the built-in definitions make it quick and easy to create custom lists, there's a limitation if you want to include words not in the built-in dictionary. The app would be even more powerful if it allowed user-added words and definitions. Teachers can create lists and share them with the class, but sharing/importing lists isn't as convenient as it could be. It requires users to click on a link outside of the app in order to add the custom list. Puku: Learn New Words doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, but it's engaging and easy to use.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the vocabulary they learn from Puku: Learn New Words. Why is it important to learn new words? How can that help you in the future? Try adding a family word of the day or word of the week that you learn together.
Families can talk about learning with apps. Do you think this is a good app for learning? Why or why not? What can you learn?
App Details
- Devices: iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad
- Subjects: Language & Reading : letter or word recognition, vocabulary
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning : deduction
- Pricing structure: Free to try (free trial then $1.99/month; $7.99/year)
- Release date: August 29, 2019
- Category: Education
- Publisher: Merriam-Webster, Inc.
- Version: 1.1001
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 12.0 or later
- Last updated: August 30, 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
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