Puppy Pirates: Alphabet Match app for iPhone and iPad

Solid letter recognition is an essential prerequisite skill for children learning to read. With adorable pirates, firing cannons, and sinking ships, this simple, pick up and play application helps preschoolers develop letter recognition skills in an entertaining, game-like environment.

In Puppy Pirates: Alphabet match, players are presented with cartoon clouds containing randomly generated pairs of upper and lower case letters. By correctly matching the letter pairs, children clear the clouds to reveal a cartoon ship -- which is then sunk using a ridiculously powerful cannon. A child narrator recites each letter aloud as it is pressed -- allowing even the very young to jump right in, start pressing clouds, and learn through repetition as they play.

While containing some written text, the game is kept simple enough to be played independently by pre-readers. An expressive cartoon mascots provide visual cues -- gazing toward required button presses and occasionally peeking at the correct cloud if a player is struggling. The game also functions well as an engaging parent / child activity.

Scores are provided following each round of 15 letter pairs. A running tally of sunken ships along with fastest round time offer parents two concrete measures of performance to share with their kids for encouragement.