The Notable Children’s Digital Media list includes real-time, dynamic, and interactive media content for children 14 years of age and younger that enables and encourages active engagement and social interaction while informing, educating, and entertaining in exemplary ways.
To find out about more great digital media for children, visit the page for ALSC's Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media Award.
This list represents the titles selected by the committee for 2022-2023.
Art Adventure. App: iOS and Google Play. Younger. Middle. Crafts & Hobbies. https://www.foxandsheep.com/apps-for-kids/art-adventure/
Art Adventure is an app designed to encourage children and their caregivers to be creative with various shapes, colors, and texts as they design their own masterpiece. The collage art style differentiates this app from many of the other coloring and drawing apps for children. Available in English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish.
Audio Adventure. App: iOS and Google Play. Younger. Middle. Literature. https://www.foxandsheep.com/apps-for-kids/audio-adventure-sound-studio/
Audio Adventure is an app that allows children to create their own radio dramas, using their own sound creations and a selection of various sound effects and background music. Controls are intuitive and easy to use, making this a fun, creative storytelling experience. Available in English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish.
Daniel Tiger for Parents. App: iOS and Android. Younger. Parents/Caregivers. Songs, Music. https://pbskids.org/apps/daniel-tiger-for-parents.html
Daniel Tiger for Parents is a free app library of songs and videos from the PBS KIDS series Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. The content is simple, educational, and entertaining and includes songs on social-emotional topics and skills such as feelings, self-control, and responsibility. Also included are video clips, conversation starters, and tips for parents that model and help with how to use these songs with their children in everyday life. Available in English and Spanish.
Labo Doodle. App: iOS and Google Play. Younger. Crafts & Hobbies. https://www.labolado.com/
Labo Doodle is a step-by-step drawing education app for children where they can create their own characters and learn how to draw them. In addition to learning how to draw, they can use their imaginations and free-draw on the drawing board. Available in English, Arabic, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian Bokmål, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.
Light and Color by Tinybop. App: iOS. Younger. Middle. Science, Nature, Environment. https://tinybop.com/apps/light-and-color
Light and Color, a paid app by Tinybop, teaches about color and light by allowing children to explore these topics in a variety of ways. Children can mix colors, hunt for colors in their world, line up blocks in order of shades, tints and gradients, and play with color and light. Use the “Understand” section to see the world through a dog’s eye view, or “Connect” to think about how colors and emotions interact. Interactive labels can toggle on and off. Available in 50+ different languages.
Math Tango: Grades K-5 Learning. App: iOS. Younger. Middle. Math. https://www.originatorkids.com/mathtango/
Earn monster badges, complete missions, build unique worlds, and practice valuable math skills! Tango Math allows students (Grades K-5) to practice and build their addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division skills through engaging puzzles and activities. Available in English.
National Museum of African American History and Culture Learning Lab. Website. Younger. Middle. American History. Civil Rights. History. Social Sciences. https://learninglab.si.edu/org/nmaahc?
This interactive website shares resources from the National Museum of African American History and Culture organized in curated collections for a variety of age groups. Utilizing objects, documents, imagery, and videos that enhance historical content knowledge as well as the guided activities and lessons provided, users can hone historical thinking skills and be inspired to see themselves as agents of change. Available in English.
Ology: Science for Kids. App: iPadOS. Younger. Middle. Natural History, Science. https://www.amnh.org/explore/ology
Created by the educators at the American Museum of Natural History, the free Ology app allows school-aged children to play fun interactive games, watch videos, and read articles about all kinds of science. The interface is bright and eye-catching, and content areas are well organized while also creating plenty of opportunity for discovery. Available in English, with some videos also available in Spanish.
Rebel Girls. App: iOS. All Ages. Literature. History. Social Sciences. https://www.rebelgirls.com/audio
Kids of all ages can listen to over 150 engaging stories, soundscapes, and activities featuring a variety of amazing women. The Rebel Girls App features stories of present day heroes and historical figures from the award-winning podcast "Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls." Listeners can browse based on interest or length of story. Each story is 10-20 minutes in length. Available in English.
Sago Mini First Words. App: iOS. Younger. Parents/Caregivers. Language. https://sagomini.com/first-words/
This paid, subscription-model app, created in consultation with speech-language pathologists, provides learning games that create opportunities for young children to practice speaking skills such as articulation and pronunciation. Activities - updated monthly - center around topics that children are naturally interested in, helping to build vocabulary and create curiosity. Available in English.
Sesame Street in Communities. Website. Younger. Parents/Caregivers. Crafts & Hobbies. Health & Medicine. https://sesamestreetincommunities.org/
A free website that provides activities, videos, and tips for parents in family interactions and conversations, from the everyday to the more difficult. Topics include grief, divorce, daily routine, eating well, family bonding, and more. Each video or activity is accompanied by a helpful list of opportunities and suggestions for conversation. Available in English and Spanish.
Spellie. Website. Middle. Language. https://spelliegame.com/
This free website is a simple spelling guessing game for kids that has been compared to "Wordle." Spellie has three modes: easy (4-letters with one hint given), medium, and hard. You "unlock" an emoji for that word for your "collection" (in easy/medium), the website gives hints if needed, and there are some options in the settings (capitals vs. lower case, keyboard layout or alphabetical, high contrast). Available in English.
Swift Playgrounds. App: iOS. Middle. Computer Science. https://www.apple.com/swift/playgrounds/
Swift Playgrounds is a free app created specifically for iPad and Mac that teaches users how to use Swift, a programming language created by Apple. Fun activities and interactive walkthroughs show beginners where to start, while advanced users can learn to create their own, real-life apps. The interface is user-friendly and intuitive, creating a fun learning experience. Available in 14 different languages.
Teach Monster: Number Skills. App: iOS and Android. Younger. Science. https://www.teachyourmonster.org/numberskills
Teach Monster: Number Skills is a free app designed for children to practice number recognition, counting, and simple addition through various games. The focus is up to number 5. Participants have opportunities to revisit favorite games and build their skills. Available in English.
Thinkrolls Play & Code School. App: iOS. Younger. Middle. Computer Science. https://www.avokiddo.com/
Thinkrolls Play & Code School is a paid, subscription-model app where children can solve various logic puzzles, play memory games, create their own puzzles, play puzzles created by others, and more. The wide variety of activities are fun and help to build computational thinking skills. Available in English, Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, and Swedish.