# Monster Music Factory

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

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/monster-music-factory/id1501387150 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Herbert Ginsburg](https://appshunter.io/developer/1500453251)
- Category: Education, Books
- Price: Free
- Rating: 4.00/5 from 1 App Store ratings
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 9.0 · 202 MB
- Languages: English
- Released: 2020-05-19
- Data updated: 2026-07-07
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/monster-music-factory/id1501387150/reviews.md

## What is Monster Music Factory?

Monster Music Factory is one of three interactive storybooks, along with Monster Birthday Surprise, and Monster Frog Pond, brought to you by Professor Ginsboo's Magical Math 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 Music Factory is designed to help young children, roughly ages 4 to 6 years, learn about number, specifically, different methods for determining the number of objects in a collection.

Monster Music Factory is the story of how three charming monsters-Oona, Tigga, and Marluk-are asked by another character, Zoller, to send musical instruments to the famous band, the Whirling Wailers, who are about to give a concert. The monsters are thrilled by the chance to help the Whirling Wailers, their favorite band. The monsters' task is to determine the number of the musical instruments that emerge from a chute in the Music Factory and then select the written numeral that shows the correct number. Once the child succeeds at doing this, a box with the correct numeral appears and the instruments pop into the box, which is then taken away to be sent to the Whirling Wailers. 

The first set of instruments are tambourines. Oona says there are three, but she is wrong. Tigga helps her to get the right answer-four-by counting carefully, one by one. Next, Oona (and the child) should press the 4 on the machine, which causes a box with 4 written on it to pop up and receive the instruments for shipping to the band. After this, the child is shown several different numbers of tambourines and can practice counting them, checking, and selecting the correct written numeral.

Trumpets are next on the list. But a complication arises!  The trumpets come out in a pile so messy that it is hard to see how many there are. What to do? Tigga shows how to count the trumpets by pushing aside one at a time until they are all counted. After that, more trumpets emerge and the child has the chance to drag and count one by one.

After the trumpets are all boxed and sent off, kazoos are next on the list. They do something new: as they emerge from the chute, they stay on the screen for only a second or two before descending into a box. To determine the number, you have to see it; you can't count. Psychologists call this "subitizing," seeing quickly ("subito" in Italian). This is hard to do. Young children might learn to see 3 or 4 and maybe even 5. Adults can subitize up about 7 or even 8 or 9. The child is given several opportunities to learn to subitize flying kazoos.

Next come ukuleles, the final instrument. There are more of them than the other instruments. But when they come out of the chute, they arrange themselves in a row of 5 and then another row beneath that. So if the number is 7, the child will see the row of 5 on top, and then a row of two just below on the left, like this:

X X X X X
X X

To solve the problem, the child can count, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and now 6, 7. There are 7 altogether."  After doing this, the child is likely to see that a simpler method is possible. Just start with 5 and count on from there: "5, and now 6, 7. There are 7 altogether."  In this strategy, the row of 5, which the child can learn to see, is a kind of foundation for the numbers 6 through 10. Another way of looking at it is that the child begins with 5 and then adds on some more to get the result.

After the child loads the boxes, in number order onto a truck, everyone goes to a concert given by the Whirling Wailers, who sing some wonderful original music by Chris Cerf.

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

## Key features

- Interactive storybook format
- Teaches number recognition
- Counting exercises
- Subitizing practice
- Playful monster characters
- Early math concepts


## Frequently asked questions about Monster Music Factory

### What age group is Monster Music Factory designed for?

Monster Music Factory is designed for young children, roughly ages 4 to 6 years old, to help them learn about numbers and counting.

### What specific math skills does Monster Music Factory teach?

The app focuses on teaching children different methods for determining the number of objects in a collection, including counting one by one and subitizing (seeing small quantities quickly).

### How does Monster Music Factory present math concepts?

It uses an interactive storybook format with charming monster characters who need help sending musical instruments to a band. Children help by counting instruments and selecting the correct numeral.

### What is subitizing and how is it taught in Monster Music Factory?

Subitizing is the ability to quickly see a small number of objects without counting. The app teaches this by presenting kazoos that appear briefly, requiring children to identify the quantity visually.

### Does Monster Music Factory have ads?

No, Monster Music Factory does not contain advertisements. It is a completely ad-free experience for children.

### What devices is Monster Music Factory available on?

Monster Music Factory is currently supported on iPad devices.

### How often is Monster Music Factory updated?

Monster Music Factory was last updated on May 19, 2020, with version 1.0. There have been no subsequent updates listed.

### What is the user rating for Monster Music Factory?

Monster Music Factory has a rating of 4.0 stars, based on a single rating provided.

## Version history (last 1 release)

### 1.0 — 2020-05-19

No release notes.

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## More apps by Herbert Ginsburg

- [Monster Birthday Surprise](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/monster-birthday-surprise/id1501387793)
- [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.*