SUPER WHY!

As the father of a 5-year-old girl, I've become familiar with all kinds of kids programs.Yo Gabba Gabba, Dora the Explorer, Curious George, Handy Manny, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Ni Hao Ki-Lan...you name it, I've watched it. Many, many times.Some shows are just barelytolerable and others have me wondering what the heck thosegrown-upswere smokin' when they conceptualized this or that show (I'm referring to you, Yo Gabba Gabba!).Still others have me wishing I could claw my eyes out rather than watch even one more second of it.

Given that I watch all these programs, it would naturally follow that I would know about Super Why!, a public broadcasting kids show I've watched with my daughter on many occasions. I've always been impressed with the educational quality of PBS shows because they teach vital literacy skills.It's also one of the few networks where I genuinely don't have to worry too much about inappropriate subject matter.So when I heard that PBS Kids had released a Super Why! app, I just had to have my daughter give it a try.

The $2.99 app features all of the main characters- Super Why, Princess P, Alpha Pig, and Wonder Red- and allows the player to practice the alphabet, writing, rhyming, and all the other things children normally get to do on the show.

There are four components to the game, one for each character of the show.Wonder Red has a rhyming game, while Princess P has letter-writing exercises.Alpha Pig has a letter-recognition and sounding out segment and Super Why has sentence completion tasks that, of course, save the day.

With each completed exercise, the player collects virtual stickers- up to 50 different ones as rewards.The stickers can be placed on a series of virtual backgrounds as decorations.

All in all, this was a good game.It never failed to keep my daughter occupied whenever she played it.But for kids, the biggest factor in their enjoyment isn't necessarily whether they enjoyed playing a game once or twice, but whether they ask to play a game on their own by themselves.My daughter did just that more than once.In fact, she asked just last night whether she could play the Whyatt game.So if you're looking for a child-friendly app for your young son or daughter, check out Super Why!It is indeed Super Duper!

iTunes Link - SUPERWHY!

Version 1.0

Tested on an iPod Touch 3.1.3