5
Where to Buy

Planet Lettra App Review

App Info

Price: $3.99

Overview

Planet Lettra is a playground for word-building. Users are magically transported to the mythical Planet Lettra where letters float in bubbles in the sky. When the bubbles bump, the letters combine, and sooner or later, make words. The beings on the planet eat letter groups of various types. Together, the activities set the stage for productive letter play for prereaders, emergent readers, and experienced readers alike.

Features include:

  • Support for English, French and Spanish play
  • Over 100,000 possible words in each language
  • Emphasis on 1,000 high frequency words
  • Stress-free play environment with soothing sounds
  • Simple play designed for young children

Quality

Planet Lettra is a very high quality app that performs exactly as expected.  Developers put a lot of thought into the mechanics of the game, making it easy enough for young children to use and intriguing enough to interest older players. There is a tour of the app included that is suitable for parents and children alike, narrated in rhyming verse that sounds like it was written by Dr. Seuss.

Education

This delightful app encourages exactly the type of letter play that young children need to develop a firm grasp of phonics and word analysis skills as they grow into readers. Users have a screen full of floating bubbles that show one or more letters. When the bubbles bump, they can combine in various ways and with varying degrees of ease. It’s even possible to change the settings of the bubbles’ borders to control how they interact. The bubbles change color, depending on what is inside. Single letter bubbles are white, multiple letter bubbles (which usually make real letter clusters) are yellow, real words are orange (the app recognizes over 100,000 English words), combinations that do not lead to real words turn blue. Players can have hours of fun simply bumping bubbles into each other to see what will happen.

The planet also has creatures living on the surface that like to eat bubbles. Spin the planet to find more residents, each unique in its own way. Some seem to eat nearly any bubble while others only want to eat orange bubbles that contain real words. It takes the game to a whole new level to try to figure out which types of bubbles each creature prefers.  There are some creatures that “get dressed up” when they eat their favorite bubbles by sprouting clothing, beards, antennae, and other details.  At least one will actually eat non-word letter groups, then spit the letters back out one at a time as if they tasted bad!

Planet Lettra also supports learning with a variety of auditory cues as well.  Letters can be named, letter combinations can be pronounced, and words can be read out loud.  A few of the letter combinations are not pronounced correctly, though, such as “im” being pronounced “I am” and “un” being spoken with a long u sound instead of a short one.  However, most of the bubbles seem to have correct and predictable pronunciations, so these small lapses are quite forgivable in such a complex system.

The app supports play in three languages (English, French and Spanish), and even incorporates a few regional accents that can be changed by the user.  So if an English-speaking player wishes, the app can speak American English, Australian English, Irish English, or in the tones of Great Britain.

Entertainment

This app is as entertaining as it is educational. It’s perfect for young users, encouraging play in a non-competitive and relaxing manner.  It’s also intriguing for more mature readers, since there are several levels of complexity to explore.  The animations and sound effects are loads of fun, and the game play is outstanding.

Value

It’s tough to beat the value of this app, especially for beginning and emergent readers. It’s suitable for all ages, and adaptable enough to meet the educational needs for a wide array of students. The app is priced at $1.99 in the App Store, and it will provide hours of fun for preschoolers, young readers, special education students, and more.

Child Friendliness

This app is very child-friendly.

  • Parent area (contains no external links and is suitable for children or adults)
  • NO social media
  • NO in-app purchase
  • NO 3rd party ads
Planet Lettra
Planet Lettra
Planet Lettra is an outstanding app that will help young readers develop an intuitive understanding of phonics and word analysis skills in a playful, encouraging environment.
Quality
Education
Entertainment
Value
Child Friendly
5
Where to Buy