Cells (Kids Discover; Free for a limited time, then, $3.99; Gr 5-9) by Sean Price offers students an overview of animal, plant, and human cellular life. On opening the app, viewers can choose from 11 sections or scroll screen by screen through chapters that present both text and colorful illustrations under such headings as “The Stuff of Life,” “DNA Unraveled,” and “What Cells Do.” “Zooming In” offers a cut-away diagram with 10 clearly marked parts and functions of the cell from the nucleus to the role of the mitochondrion. When tapped, the corresponding part or parts of the cell light up (while the rest darkens), allowing students to see exactly what they look like or where they take place. “Incredible Journey” features a short, narrated video clip that takes viewers into the blood stream, zooming past red blood cells, and into the center of a single white blood cell to view chromosomes. “Engineering in a Better World?” mentions gene therapy, stem cells, genetic testing research, and  the “thorny issues” raised by genetic engineering. Music clips, animation, and interactive screens (such as a time line covering the years 1590 to 1997), are some of the additional enhancements found in the app. A maze, a simple jigsaw puzzle, and a five-question quiz are also available, but once they are tried it’s unlikely users will revisit them. There is no glossary or list of key facts. The last section contains short lists of print and web resources with live links (to Amazon, in the case of the books). Two of the four recommended books may be best suited to a slightly younger audience. Cells is also available in a Spanish language edition. —Elizabeth Kahn, Patrick F. Taylor Science & Technology Academy, Avondale, LA

Kids Discover has produced a number of high quality nonfiction offerings for iOS devices and Matter ($3.99; Gr 5-8) is another. The text introduces readers to the following concepts: atoms, elements, states of matter, mixtures, and physical changes versus chemical changes, as well as real-world examples of these states and their properties. The writing is clear and precise and well suited to those new to the subject. Because the app is both comprehensive and illustrative, it could easily serve as an interactive stand-in for texts of a more static nature. The bright, sharp visuals are stunning; each page is pleasingly arranged with an appropriate balance of information and illustration. Animations, sound effects, and short video clips are incorporated throughout demonstrating, for example, how a steam engine works and what happens when a piece of dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) is dropped into a glass of water. Accompanying the text is a vocabulary matching activity and a brief five-question quiz. Interactive activities include a step-by-step experiment guide and practice problems for calculating volume. Between the lucid writing and the beautiful visuals, this app will have many classroom applications. The brief, how-to section that appears when the title is first opened serves as a tutorial on how to use the app. A worthwhile addition to nonfiction collections.— Lindsay Cesari, Baldwinsville School District, NY

Three tabs, “solid,” ‘liguid” and “gas,” lead viewers to paragraph-length definitions and descriptions of each of the States of Matter  (Braahmam Net Solutions Pvt. Ltd.; Gr 5-8) in this free app. In addition, a list of properties is provided for each state, as well as an animated “demonstration” of its particle activity and forces. Finally, a quiz consisting of 10 simple true-and-false and mulitiple-choice questions is provided. The language of the text is awkward at times, suggesting a translation. Viewers can opt to read it or listen to the narration. While neither deep nor particularly exciting in presentation, the app may offer students an opportunity to test or review what they know about the topic.—Daryl Grabarek, School Library Journal

In Barry and Emma Tranter’s engaging Rounds: Parker Penguin (Nosy Crow, $4.99; PreS-Gr 2), a gregarious emperor penguin cheerily relates salient facts about his species and Antarctica. Readers first encounter Parker as a young fledgling standing expectantly against the frigid backdrop of the South Pole, with snowflakes falling gently around him. Soft, lullaby-like music by award-winning composer Robin Beanland plays in the background and complements the crisp, wintery illustrations.

Viewers track the bird through various stages of his development as he glides and swims in his icy habitat, hunts food, avoids predators, meets his mate, Penelope, and helps hatch their chick, Percy. Per the “Rounds” series title, the life cycle story begins again with Percy, followed by his son, Peter.

The jocund narration is charmingly voiced by British child actors. In the “Read and Play” mode, words are highlighted as they are spoken; with the independent reading option, children can manage the length of time the text appears. In both modes, users tap light blue dots that appear on the penguins and their surroundings to glean additional information about the animal’s habits and habitat.

Sweeping fingers across the screen will cause snowflakes to swirl; tilting the device propels Parker across the ice and into the water with a splash. Animation standouts include the lively penguin mating dance, and Parker’s age progression cleverly juxtaposed against the rising and setting of the sun.  The app has excellent sound design with realistic penguin vocalizations interspersed throughout the story.

Parker Penguin’s seamless presentation of nonfiction content in a captivating and informative manner makes it an essential purchase for burgeoning digital collections. A trailer is available.—Lalitha Nataraj, Escondido Public Library, Escondido, CA

Children learning about the continents are sure to appreciate Linda Scher’s Antarctica ($2.99; Gr 2-5) by Kids Discover. Jam packed with facts, figures, and stunning images (archival and contemporary), it’s both visually arresting and informative. Separate sections delve into Antarctica’s geography, climate, and “cold critters,” expeditions to the frozen land (current and historical), and its importance to research scientists. There’s even an interview with a support staff member on her first trip to the McMurdo Station. The app’s maps, quizzes, animations, and short video clips make it a valuable resource for a range of learners.

The app is user-friendly and navigation is easy—from the visual table of contents to the discretely placed tabs and arrows. One of the interactive highlights is the penguin egg that users can hatch by tapping the screen. Images are crisp and bright. A  five-question quiz culminates the storyline. Children who choose incorrect answers are encouraged to try again and rewarded with applause when they respond correctly.

Other in-app activities include a penguin word scramble and a cartoon figure to dress for the frigid environment (layers being key). A suggested extension activity involves making a glacier (with snow or shaved ice) in three quick steps. A short resource list of Web and print resources are appended. All in all, an app that is sure to please parents and educators as well as youngsters.—Morgan Doane, Kent District Library, East Grand Rapids, MI

Kids Discover has produced a number of apps based on their magazine series. Two of their recent offerings include the exemplary Galaxies (Free) and Space ($3.99; both Gr 5-9). The first focuses on the Milky Way and beyond, while the second covers our solar system.

Both productions do an excellent job of presenting information via a clear and engaging text and interactive features. In addition to navigation guides and visual indices, and a combination of pop-up texts and/or captions, notes on important figures, Q & A’s, and definitions, the apps include a range of easily accessed elements such as film clips, animations, narrated segments, and background sounds that beautifully illustrate and enhance the text. For example, the more interactive Galaxies includes a projection of the Milky Way that allows viewers to zero in on Earth’s location and view it from a variety of angles.

Along with some spectacular photography, the apps contain reproductions, artists’ renderings, and colorful cartoon drawings. The activities included at the end of the texts—a jigsaw puzzle, a connect-the-stars drawing feature, a memory game, and a quiz—are more appropriate for a younger audience, but these represent only a small portion of the otherwise stellar content. The apps don’t respond to zoom gestures, and there isn’t a strong text-to-speech feature, so they may have limited application for students with special needs. Overall, though, these are visually stunning, informative introductions to their subjects.–Lindsay Cesari, Baldwinsville School District, NY

Screen shot from ‘Brian Cox’s Wonders of the Universe’ (HarperCollins) 2013

Based on two popular BBC science series hosted by the renowned physicist, Brian Cox’s Wonders of the Universe  (HarperCollins/BBC $5.99; Gr 9 Up, co-authored with Andrew Cohen ) immerses viewers in an extraordinary look at the science behind our solar system and universe. It contains content from both television series with video clips, animated images, and infographics, alongside an incredibly rich and deep text.

Opening instructions guide users on how to navigate the app’s text and image gallery. The content is organized under the two broad subject areas (space and the universe), and both of these sections contains a number of subheadings or chapters. Chapters begin with a video clip introduction by Cox. Discussions start small—for example, sub-atomic and atomic particles expand to conversations on galaxies and the universe. A search box linked to a detailed index will help viewers locate specific information.

Cox is a great guide and the two-and-a-half hours of film clips of him discussing a variety of topics bring viewers to new levels of understanding. For instance, in considering the more than 2000 objects that circle the Earth (“400 of which could be on a collision course” with our planet), the author demonstrates what this “congestion” looks like with a clip of the identified asteroids in motion, and later, onsite at the Barrington Crater in Arizona where some 50,000 years ago a 300,000-ton “lump of iron and nickel entered the Earth’s atmosphere” creating a huge crater 4000 feet in diameter.

Also included are more than 50 high-resolution 3D images that illuminate phenomena such as black holes and nebulae. These images, along with artists’ renderings, can be saved, tweeted, emailed, or posted to Facebook. To describe the content of this app as multi-layered hardly does it justice. It’s a course in itself, taught by an engaging instructor, who, while imparting his vast knowledge, instills his students with the awe and wonder appropriate to these otherworldly topics and scenes. A Spanish-language version of the app is available.

With chapter tabs and images running across the bottom of the screen, viewers may be inclined to explore Wonders in a sequential fashion. There’s something about Solar Walk by Vito Technology Inc. ($2.99; Gr 7 Up), on the other hand, that makes it a browser’s joy. It may be that the app places users smack in of the solar system (to a sound track), viewing the cosmos from a vantage point that is both unreal and a bit thrilling, or it could be that feeling of soaring through space that it allows. Either way, viewers will find themselves traveling vast distances across the solar system with abandon. Solar Walk has been around for a while, and through a few updates.

For each planet there are screens of general information; figures (distance from the Sun, equatorial radius, volume, length of day and year, etc.); notes and visuals on the internal structure (layer by layer); an atlas (for the mapped planets such as Venus and Mars); a did-you-know fact; and a row of images to tap and examine close-up.

The visuals are truly exciting. Celestial bodies and spacecraft can be rotated 360 degrees and/or enlarged for a closer look. But to view the Earth and Moon spinning around the Sun as the bulge of Earth’s oceans form (causing tidal ebb and flow), or to see how and when the Sun and Moon align to create an eclipse viewed from Earth, makes these phenomena understandable in a way that static images and screens of text cannot. Some of these animated graphics are narrated, and might be used as mini-lessons in the classroom.

Beyond the nine planets (Pluto is included, but identified as a dwarf planet) there are also specific sections on and images of “Dwarf planets and asteroids” (six detailed in all); “Comets” (Hale-Bopp, Borrelly, Halley’s Comet, and Ikeya-Zhang); “Stars” (50 discussed); and “Missions” (the first 3 of the 12 listed ask viewers if they would like to purchase the information, offering several amount options, including “free”). Visuals can be viewed as 2D or 3D (glasses required), and a TV mode is also available. Settings allow music and sounds to be switched on or off. There’s also the ability to tweet, email, gift, or print text and pictures, or share them on Facebook. For a glimpse at the spectacular content and technology, download the free lite version titled Solar Walk–Saturn. If this review doesn’t convince you to purchase the app, that trailer may.—Daryl Grabarek, School Library Journal