# ABC Animals — ABC letters for preschool kids

> Preschool app for learning letters, phonics, and handwriting with interactive flashcards. (iPhone/iPad app by Critical Matter, Inc..)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/abc-animals/id292402752 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Critical Matter, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/292402755)
- Category: Education, Lifestyle
- Price: $2.99
- Rating: 3.00/5 from 42 App Store ratings · 135 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 90 MB
- Languages: American English, French (France), German (Germany), European Spanish
- Released: 2008-10-05
- Data updated: 2026-08-27
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/abc-animals/id292402752/reviews.md

## What is ABC Animals?

Letters, phonics and handwriting for preschoolers. It's like having preschool in the palm of your hand! 

*** Discover why ABC Animals has been featured in television commercials by both Apple and Sprint!

"Best App for Learning ABC's"
-- O'Reilly Media, Inc

"Elegant in its simplicity."
-- Apple at Macworld

"ABC Animals provides a unique interactive teaching tool that makes learning letters fun."
-- AppCraver

"I love the fact the letters are sitting on 'lined paper' graphics and the clear directives on how to write letters had me imagining school classrooms full of children with iPhones..."
-- http://Geekdad.com 

An Apple "Staff Favorite" since 2008, ABC Animals provides a wonderful set of interactive flashcards that aid in teaching young children to recognize, say and print English alphabet letters. Intuitively swipe between cards with the flick of a finger. Fun and engaging animal illustrations help to keep learning ABC's fun! Audio accompanies each card providing a letter name, associated animal name and the phonetics for each letter.  

INSTRUCTIONS

Swipe between flashcards.  Press letter or animal images to repeat audio.  Tap the scribble icon in the lower left corner of the app to practice tracing both uppercase and lowercase letters right on the screen of your iPhone.   Tap the icon again to continue swiping between flashcards.

PREFERENCES

Preferences for ABC Animals are available by tapping the settings icon on the lower right of the app. Preferences allow a parent to choose the handwriting method best suited for their child, enable or disable any or all sound effects and prevent the tracing of letters if practicing writing skills or phonics isn't age appropriate.  For bilingual families and parents who want to teach their children ABC's in other languages, ABC Animals can also be used in English (both US & UK), French, German or Spanish.  Change your preferred application language for ABC Animals in iOS’s Settings application by selecting ABC Animals and then setting your Preferred Language.

SUPPORT AND FEEDBACK

Feedback, bug reports and suggestions are welcomed and encouraged! Please visit the Critical Matter website to provide any of the above or to receive support for your purchase. Thank you!

GET SOCIAL
Twitter:  @critical_matter

## Key features

- Interactive flashcards
- Letter recognition
- Phonics instruction
- Handwriting practice
- Animal illustrations
- Audio pronunciation
- Multilingual support

## What do users think of ABC Animals?

Overall sentiment: mixed

**Pros**

- 👨‍👧‍👦 Engaging for young children and toddlers
- 🎨 Cute and colorful animal illustrations
- ✍️ Letter tracing feature with writing practice
- 🔄 Randomized animals keep content fresh
- 🎵 Clear audio pronunciation of letters
- 📚 Educational tool for alphabet learning
- 🎯 Simple and intuitive interface for kids
- 🤝 Responsive developer support
- 💰 Reasonable price point for educational app
- 🌍 Multiple language options available

**Cons**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes on newer iOS versions
- ❌ Not compatible with latest iPhone updates
- 🔇 Audio quality issues and background noise
- 😴 Limited content and repetitive gameplay
- 🎮 Lacks interactive game elements
- 💸 Overpriced for basic flashcard functionality
- 🤔 Confusing UI with hidden settings
- ⚠️ Misleading app description vs actual features
- 🎨 Some animal choices are obscure for children
- 📱 Performance issues on older devices

**Commonly reported bugs**

- App crashes on iOS 5 and newer versions
- Crashes immediately after loading screen
- Shake to erase feature doesn't work
- Double-tap to flip cards is unresponsive
- Sound disappears after multiple uses
- App freezes when flipping between cards
- Settings not accessible from within app
- No feedback on correct letter writing
- Crashes when attempting to flip to next letter
- Audio volume too low even at maximum

**Most requested features**

- Ability to swipe between cards in tracing mode
- Direct access to specific letters
- Larger tracing area on screen
- Animal sound effects for each letter
- Numbers and shapes flashcards
- Shuffle/randomize letter order option
- In-app instructions and help menu
- Erase button instead of shake gesture
- Ability to draw on entire card
- UK English voice option with proper pronunciation
- Phonics teaching mode
- Reward system for correct letter writing
- Word building feature
- Letter practice review folder
- More variety of animals per letter
- Looping from Z back to A
- Mute button within app
- Uppercase and lowercase letter selection

## Recent user reviews (10 of 135)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/abc-animals/id292402752/reviews.md

### 5/5 — I love this app!

*2025-12-27*

This app has letters and animals on it. You could trace the letters with your finger.

### 1/5 — Doesn’t work - not updated

*2018-03-06*

I recently purchased this app only to find that its no longer compatible with the latest iPhone updates - so I paid for this app which doesn’t work!! Unhappy!

### 1/5 — No iOS 11 support?

*2017-11-15*

Terrible that this still isn't updated when it's an important educational app.

### 2/5 — How do you get into handwriting?

*2016-01-15*

How do you get into the handwriting part? It's just flash cards

### 1/5 — Not worth it

*2016-01-04*

Don't bother buying. Just bought and it doesn't do all of what it says.

### 2/5 — Not many options

*2016-01-02*

For an app I paid for it doesn't do much. It should be free. My three year old got bored after 5 minutes because it's repetitive. I will not recommend spending for it. The free apps are much better and more interactive. Do they give refunds?

### 1/5 — Don't buy

*2015-08-13*

Can't use any other language with this app except for English.

### 3/5 — It works, but not worth it...

*2015-07-09*

This app does what it says, but double tapping doesn't come naturally for my preschooler. It doesn't have much sound/action for kids. I don't think it's worth the purchase price.

### 1/5 — ABC Animals

*2012-09-16*

What a rip off.  this should be removed as an offering. I gave it one star because the system would not allow me to enter less.

### 1/5 — Total ripoff!!!

*2012-06-29*

Don't buy it. Nothing to learn and not good at all It states in the description it has different languages, but it dos not. I don't know why Apple allows staff like that. I will contact app store for the refund.

## Frequently asked questions about ABC Animals

### What does ABC Animals do?

ABC Animals is an educational app designed for preschoolers to learn the alphabet. It provides interactive flashcards for letter recognition, phonics, and handwriting practice, making learning engaging with animal illustrations and audio.

### What are the key features of ABC Animals?

Key features include interactive flashcards for recognizing and saying letters, audio pronunciation of letter and animal names, handwriting practice for tracing uppercase and lowercase letters, and customizable preferences for sound effects and handwriting methods.

### How much does ABC Animals cost?

Based on the provided information, ABC Animals is a paid application. There are no mentions of in-app purchases or advertisements, suggesting a one-time purchase model.

### What languages does ABC Animals support?

ABC Animals supports learning in English (both US and UK versions), French, German, and Spanish. Users can change the preferred application language within the iOS Settings.

### Who is ABC Animals for?

This app is ideal for preschool-aged children who are beginning to learn their ABCs. It is also a valuable tool for parents and educators looking for an interactive and fun way to teach foundational literacy skills.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 3.0.0 — 2022-08-10

ABC Animals is back and completely rewritten from scratch to take advantage of recent versions of iOS and newer iOS devices.

### 2.1.3 — 2012-04-16

ABC Animals 2.1.3 adds the following functionality: 
- [fix] fixes non-audible animal names / phonics

### 2.1.2 — 2012-04-13

ABC Animals 2.1.2 adds the following functionality: 
- [fix] fixes shake to delete issues

### 2.1.1 — 2011-10-18

ABC Animals 2.1.1 adds the following functionality: 
- [fix] fixed audio related crashing issue on iOS 5.0

### 2.1.0 — 2011-01-12

ABC Animals 2.1.0 adds the following functionality: 
- [new] full Retina Display support 
- [new] iOS 4.0 and multitasking support 
- [fix] fixed shake to erase problems on iOS 4.0

## Apps similar to ABC Animals

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [ABC Animal Games for Toddlers](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/abc-animal-games-for-toddlers/id500099457) | 4.7 (23,885) | Free | Education |
| [Kids Games! Learning 4 Toddler](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kids-games-learning-4-toddler/id1447377766) | 4.5 (12,007) | Free | Education |
| [Kids ABC Phonics Tracing Games](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kids-abc-phonics-tracing-games/id1482752587) | 4.5 (6,498) | Free | Education |
| [Speech Blubs: Language Therapy](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/speech-blubs-language-therapy/id1239522573) | 4.6 (54,130) | Free | Education |
| [ABC Kids - Tracing & Phonics](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/abc-kids-tracing-and-phonics/id1112482869) | 4.5 (32,224) | Free | Education |
| [ABC Alphabet Games for Kids](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/abc-alphabet-games-for-kids/id1453443199) | 4.4 (6,566) | Free | Education |

## More apps by Critical Matter, Inc.

- [ABC Letter Tracing – Free Writing Practice for Preschool](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/abc-letter-tracing-free-writing-practice-for-preschool/id416326981)

All apps by Critical Matter, Inc.: https://appshunter.io/developer/292402755

## Related topics

[abc animals](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/abc-animals) · [abc animals learn letters apps](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/abc-animals-learn-letters-apps)

---

*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-27.*
