Four different seasonal palettes are available, and children will quickly learn that the blobby fruit-colored pals are easiest to find in winter. It's a simple app, yet repeated play reveals unexpected details. Each character, though largely pre-verbal, exhibits distinct personality and physical traits. There are 30 objects to find along with the friends, and once all those items are discovered, the kids get to wear party hats. Sound effects vary by season, with whistling winds in winter, twittering birds in spring, and a distant barking dog in autumn, among others. Reminiscent of Teletubbies in its wordless, gentle play, and Yo Gabba Gabba for its cheerful use of color and music. Elegant and warm, this is a winner, with a broad age appeal.     WHIRRRRR! Wah-wah-wah-wah! Bzzzzzrtt! Kids make crazy noises during imaginative play all the time, and now—there's an app for that! Gizmo (Moonbot Studios, LLC, iOS, $.99; PreS-Gr 1) works as a dashboard for imaginary spaceships of all types. Buttons, sliders, switches, and levers produce sound effects, flashing colored lights, and animations. Combinations of controls vary these effects—or don't. There are no instructions, no tutorial—this is an app that rewards adventurous, experimental users with interesting results. Tapping a control does one thing—what happens when you press and hold? Since this works on the iPhone as well as the iPad, don't be surprised to see a toddler reenacting the Kobayashi Maru simulation from her shopping cart cockpit next time you're at the supermarket.   Imagine a moonlit walk in the woods on a summer night, the stars above, a Mason jar clutched in your hand. Night sounds surround you—frogs,buzzing insects, an occasional owl, and the wind in the trees—or is that a rushing stream? Luckily, a multi-member symphonic pop band The Polyphonic Spree is accompanying you on your walk in Moonbeeps: Fireflies (Moonbot Studios, LLC iOS, $2.99; PreS-Gr 1), providing celestial synthesizer chords and a patter of percussion as a soothing soundtrack. Catch the glowing orbs that represent fireflies, or leave them alone. Look around, and all you'll see are more trees, more stars, maybe a little mist. The developers suggest using Fireflies as a nightlight—it switches off after 15 minutes of inactivity—but it would also do good service as a soporific cool-down after a busy day or stressful episode. One warning, however, those fireflies can be darned hard to catch, more difficult than real fireflies, in fact. The quick-draw reflexes it takes to chase them down (they practice avoidance strategies) are a bit at odds with the otherwise relaxing user experience.—Paula Willey. @pwbalto, unadulterated.us