Common Sense Media Review
By Mieke VanderBorght
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based on child development research. How do we rate?
Favorite characters lead kids through early reading skills.
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Read with Doc McStuffins: Letters and Sounds
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
READ WITH DOC MCSTUFFINS: LETTERS AND SOUNDS gives kids five games that explore the sounds letters make and their place in words. There's a suggested order to the games, though kids are free to play in whatever order they wish. One game explores upper- and lowercase letters on their own; a second has kids identify the beginning letter sounds of simple words; a third explores rhyming and alliteration; a fourth stresses how to listen for syllables; and the last has kids construct three-letter words. Each activity includes interactive play and has multiple levels that often get harder as kids progress.
Is It Any Good?
With five activities that address different pieces of literacy, kids have a lot to do, and parents will like the amount of content for the price tag. Games are varied, from tracing letters to making rhymes to segmenting syllables to picking out the individual letter sounds in short, simple words. The variety helps present a big picture of what letters -- and the sounds they make -- do in words. Letter work is nicely interspersed with fun little interactive elements, but some games work better than others: For example, the syllable music player is not entirely clear, but overall the activities are straightforward. One downside is that there's only minimal help for kids who don't get the right answer immediately, beyond giving them the chance to get there eventually through trial and error. Another is that sometimes single-letter sounds add unneeded emphasis, so when a block says the letter "b," it sounds like "buh," which isn't ideal when learning letters and sounds. Overall, however, the activities address the needs of preschoolers and offer a lot of content that kids will love.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about letters and their sounds in familiar words such as names, favorite foods, animals, and so on. Help kids sound out each part of the word and blend the sounds.
Have kids trace letters on paper, too, since tracing with a finger on a screen is different from holding a pencil or crayon.
Consider reading a literacy expert's guidance on choosing letter- and phonics-focused apps.
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad
- Subjects : Language & Reading : letter or word recognition , phonics
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Release date : January 14, 2016
- Genre : Education
- Topics : Numbers and Letters
- Publisher : Disney
- Version : 1.0
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 8.0 or later
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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