Best iPhone and iPad Apps for Kids: Dragon Brush

My family has stories passed down from generation-to-generation for so long that you could almost say they are folktales. These are stories my mom and dad heard as kids and then I heard as a child and one day I'll probably tell my kids. These stories define my family and provide valuable life lessons. So I was excited to find and feature an app about a Chinese folktale. This week's Best iPhone and iPad App for Kids is Dragon Brush and has a 100 AppScore (that's also part of why I picked it) - the interactive ebook app centers around the adventures of a young Chinese boy who loves to paint. The boy is given a magical brush and must use the brush to make his artwork come to life and to beat the evil Emperor. Dragon Brush also features narration and music from the members of the band The National and USA Today called it "a fascinating story filled with its unique drawings-become-real mechanic, making it one of the top book apps in iTunes." I could even see this app and its story becoming part of the folktales I tell my kids. So check it out and let us know what you think.

As always our iPhone and iPad game rankings are objective and based on aggregating independent professional review scores from around the web.

		Dragon Brush	100
		$2.99: iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch (Universal App)
		From the app description: In Dragon Brush "readers can: help Bing-Wen’s [the young Chinese boy] drawings come magically to life, create their own drawings with Dragon Paint, find special ink pots in the story and add them to Dragaon Paint and discover interactive elements and tap, swipe, or tilt on every page. Check out a quote from PadGadget: "Dragon Brush deserves a spot on every family’s digital book shelf. This colorful app will be read and re-read by parents and children alike. Gift Dragon Brush to your favorite young hipster-in-training. The book’s well-designed GUI and indie rock soundtrack mean you’ll never have to buy another ironic onesie from WryBaby or Threadless Kids T-shirt again" (May 29, 2012). Also, see what Appolicious has to say: "That said, both the story and the illustrations are charming, sometimes deliciously silly, and will appeal to adults almost as much as to children. Perhaps, then, save the extra reading modes for Dora and Disney books and let the best narration for Dragon Brush be a parent’s voice at bedtime" (May 28, 2010).