# Monster Birthday Surprise

> Interactive storybook for early math learning, focusing on number representation. (iPhone/iPad app by Herbert Ginsburg.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/monster-birthday-surprise/id1501387793 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Herbert Ginsburg](https://appshunter.io/developer/1500453251)
- Category: Education, Books
- Price: Free
- Rating: 5.00/5 from 1 App Store ratings
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 9.0 · 158 MB
- Languages: English
- Released: 2020-05-19
- Data updated: 2026-07-07
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/monster-birthday-surprise/id1501387793/reviews.md

## What is Monster Birthday Surprise?

Monster Birthday Surprise is one of three interactive storybooks, along with Monster Frog Pond, and Monster Music Factory, brought to you by Professor Ginsboo's Magical Number Production Company.  Based on a decade of research at Teachers College, Columbia University, the interactive storybooks are a playful approach to early math learning.  Monster Birthday Surprise is designed to help young children, roughly ages 4 to 6 years, learn how number can be expressed in many ways-objects, dots, symbols. 

Monster Birthday Surprise is the story of how three charming monsters-Oona, Tigga, and Marluk-decide to get Oona's sister a present for her ninth birthday. Marluk goes to the balloon store. To make sure that he gets the right number of balloons, Marluk carries pictures-one of 6 red balloons and one of 4 purple ones. His job-and the job of the child interacting with the book-is to get the right numbers of red and purple balloons and then check to make sure that the number of balloons matches the number of balloons in the pictures, proving that the result is accurate. 

Oona goes to the supermarket to get the right number of Monster Mix Cartons, each of which contains worms, snozzleberries, slimeballs, and tentacles. She-and the child-can determine how many to get by consulting a picture showing 4 green dots in a row. Again, the child learns that checking the answer, by matching each carton with each dot, is essential. Oona next has to get the right number of cucamelon boxes, and is again helped by a picture of dots, this time showing 5 in a row. Each dot matches one cucamelon box in the cart.

Tigga goes to the bakery to get cupcakes for the party. He knows the number to get from consulting a picture of a numeral-that is, a written number. The child learns that 8 refers to eight cupcakes and helps Tigga get the right number. As the cupcakes fly in the box, they arrange themselves in a line of 5 and a line of 3 immediately below. This careful arrangement makes it easier for the monster, and the child, to check the result by counting the cupcakes. Next, the numeral 7 tells Tigga how many to get next and again the child helps to get the right amount.

After the monsters get their presents, they gather in the store to pick out a card for Neenee's ninth birthday. When they-with the child's help-eventually find it, they learn that it has the word "nine" in front, and inside is the numeral 9, and also nine stars in a row of 5 and underneath it a row of 4. The card summarizes what we want the child to learn from the story: that a picture of the objects, stars (or dots) standing for the objects, written numbers, and numerals, all can be used to indicate (symbolize) an amount.

After the monsters have obtained their presents and the card, they go to the surprise birthday party, where they have a scavenger hunt to find 9 objects (including boxes, candles, dots) deployed in different places around the room. What a wonderful party!

The other two books in the series, Monster Frog Pond, and Monster Music Factory, also help the child to learn basic ideas about number and strategies for solving simple, everyday life math problems.

## Key features

- Interactive storybook format
- Early math concepts
- Number representation (objects, dots, numerals)
- Problem-solving activities
- Playful learning approach
- Ages 4-6


## Frequently asked questions about Monster Birthday Surprise

### What age range is Monster Birthday Surprise designed for?

Monster Birthday Surprise is specifically designed for young children, roughly ages 4 to 6 years old. This age group is typically beginning to grasp foundational math concepts and number recognition.

### What math concepts does Monster Birthday Surprise teach?

The app focuses on teaching children how numbers can be expressed in various ways, including through objects, dots, and written numerals. It emphasizes understanding quantity and matching representations.

### How does Monster Birthday Surprise help children learn?

It uses an interactive storybook format where children actively participate in helping the monsters solve math-related tasks. This playful approach makes learning engaging and reinforces concepts through practice.

### Is Monster Birthday Surprise available on multiple devices?

Based on the provided data, Monster Birthday Surprise is currently supported on iPad devices. Compatibility with other platforms like Android or other Apple devices is not specified.

### How often is Monster Birthday Surprise updated?

The application was last updated on May 19, 2020, with version 1.0. There is no information available about the frequency of future updates.

### What is the user rating for Monster Birthday Surprise?

Monster Birthday Surprise has a perfect rating of 5.0 stars, based on a single review. This indicates a highly positive initial reception from its users.

### Does Monster Birthday Surprise have ads?

The provided data does not specify whether Monster Birthday Surprise contains advertisements. Therefore, it is not possible to confirm if the app is ad-supported or ad-free.

## Version history (last 1 release)

### 1.0 — 2020-05-19

No release notes.

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## More apps by Herbert Ginsburg

- [Monster Music Factory](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/monster-music-factory/id1501387150)
- [Monster Frog Pond](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/monster-frog-pond/id1501388171)
- [MathemAntics](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mathemantics/id1509464562)

All apps by Herbert Ginsburg: https://appshunter.io/developer/1500453251

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*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 2026-07-07.*