• Editor Rating

  • Rated 4 stars
  • Recommended

  • Quality
    Editor: 90%
  • Education
    Editor: 95%
  • Entertainment
    Editor: 95%
  • Value
    Editor: 75%
  • Child Friendly
    Editor: 90%

Review Summary:

Learn all about the classics and key character traits in these adorable puppy videos.

Price: [app 755882884] {price}
AppStore User Rating: {stars}[/app] Download on the App Store

Overview

Kids love puppies. Kids love movies. They get both with Puppy Plays the Classics an adorable app full of videos of a lovable golden retriever, Ollie, as he makes new friends and explores the world of classical music. Organized into chapters, kids can watch an entire movie of Ollie and his friends. Each chapter features a particular piece of classical music, such as “Theme from Peter Gynt” by Edward Grieg or “Sonata in C” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The action of each chapter centers around a character education lesson, such as “Treat Others as You Want to Be Treated” or “Don’t Judge a Book By It’s Cover.”

The videos themselves do not contain any words beyond the title scene. Instead, kids learn the lesson by watching the puppies as they interact and by listening to the music. Even without words, kids will find themselves transfixed by the adorable puppies as they interact with one another and explore the world around them.

Features include:

  • Cute Puppies
  • Character-building Stories
  • Classical Music
  • Puppy Puzzles
  • Bonus Videos

Quality

Kids may be surprised to see that the animated puppy who graces the main screen of the app does not star in the videos. Instead, they feature real puppy actors in scenes that illustrate character development lessons. Despite the lack of dialogue, the videos themselves are well-acted and well-directed. The video player and title screens, however, could use a bit of work. The title screens seem a bit low-budget compared to the videos themselves and the video players allow kids to pause, but lack the ability to fast-forward or rewind.

In addition to the videos, the app features a cute puzzle game. This, too, lacks a bit of polish. Each puzzle is simply a picture of a puppy scrambled into pieces based on the difficulty level selected. Kids then drag the pieces to the correct spot, but even if they pass over the correct spot without intentionally placing the piece there, it will fall into place.

Education

Puppy Plays the Classics combines two subjects into one. First, kids learn about popular pieces of classical music by composers such as Tchaikovsky and Mozart. As they listen to the pieces, they learn how classical music can express different emotions. These emotions are transferred into character education lessons. By watching the videos and listen to the music, kids learn about concepts such as accepting others.

Entertainment

What’s more entertaining than puppies running around on the screen? Kids will love watching the puppies as they interact with one another. If they need a break from the videos, they can put together a cute puppy puzzle before watching another one. Some kids, however, may also need breaks in the middle of the videos as they can be a little long for a young child’s attention span.

Value

These adorable puppy videos can also be found on YouTube and on their own DVD. The app allows kids to view each video individually, without being distracted by inappropriate YouTube videos or ads. It also includes bonus videos kids may not find for free online. That being said, many parents may opt to watch the YouTube versions of the videos with their kids simply because they’re much less expensive than the app.

Child Friendliness

Even though the videos are contained within a safe environment, the main screen contains links to social media. These links are contained within a parental gate and parents must solve a multiplication or division problem to access them. However, instead of typing in the answer, parents select from one of three answers, the third answer which is always “I don’t know.” Curious children may be able to guess the correct answer from the two remaining choices and gain access to Facebook or Twitter.

Learn all about the classics and key character traits in these adorable puppy videos.

Editor rating
Rated 4 stars