Itsy Bitsy Spider vs Reading Train Christmas
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Itsy Bitsy Spider
An interactive and educational retelling of a classic nursery rhyme for young children. Features include hidden surprises, sing-along recording, and mini-games that teach counting and nature.
- Interactive illustrations with hidden surprises
- Record your own voice singing
- Learn about nature with Cloe the fly
- Counting activities with a squirrel
- Play peek-a-boo with a frog
- Watch a caterpillar transform
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An award-winning original tribute to a childhood classic, Itsy Bitsy Spider offers children a fun, interactive and educational experience. AGES: 2-5. OVERVIEW - 100% interactive illustrations with hidden surprises on every page - Easy navigation – just poke the spider to move to the next scene - Use the record feature to sing along CATEGORY: Nursery Rhyme ACTIVITIES - FOLLOW the spider on an adventure – up, down and all around - LEARN about the environment and nature from Cloe the fly - COUNT with a squirrel as he builds his house - PLAY peek-a-boo with a frog - SING along and record your own voice - LISTEN to classical music performed on a violin and cello - WATCH a caterpillar become a beautiful butterfly - COLLECT colorful eggs on the spider web AWARDS - Parents’ Choice Gold Award - Parents’ Choice Foundation - Children’s Technology Review Editor’s Choice Award for Excellence in Design ABOUT DUCK DUCK MOOSE (A subsidiary of Khan Academy) Duck Duck Moose, an award-winning creator of educational mobile apps for families, is a passionate team of engineers, artists, designers, and educators. Founded in 2008, the company has created 21 top-selling titles and has received 21 Parents’ Choice Awards, 18 Children’s Technology Review Awards, 12 Tech with Kids’ Best Pick App Awards, and a KAPi award for “Best Children’s App” at the International Consumer Electronics Show. Khan Academy is a nonprofit with a mission to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Duck Duck Moose is now part of the Khan Academy family. Like all Khan Academy offerings, all Duck Duck Moose apps are now 100% free, without ads or subscriptions. For kids ages 2-7, don't miss Khan Academy Kids, our new early learning app to help young children with reading, writing, math and social-emotional development! We’d love to hear from you! Visit us at www.duckduckmoose.com or drop us a line at support@duckduckmoose.com.
Reading Train Christmas
This app offers interactive Christmas-themed books, songs, and games designed to build foundational reading skills. It features multiple reading levels, professional narration, and a fun train game to reinforce learning. Parents can track progress through detailed reporting tools.
- Interactive Christmas books
- Multiple reading levels
- Sing-along Christmas songs
- Educational train game
- User recording of books
- Progress tracking for parents
- Built-in audio dictionary
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Listen, read, and record 10 fun Christmas books at 3 easy reading levels: 30 books in all! Sing along with 5 Christmas songbooks and 18 more favorite children's songs. Play the train game; win coins for the Music Store; collect and learn new words in the train yard. "Beautifully designed storybooks and related games that teach foundational reading": Appolicious.com Books, songs and games to build skills, self confidence and a love of reading. Real reading, for fun and information, right from the start. "A dynamic tool to augment any beginning readers program": Teachers With Apps Safe for Kids: The Learning Station is a Proud Member of Moms With Apps Kid tested and teacher approved. We are ad-free and take our users privacy seriously. View our Privacy Policy here: http://www.readingtrain.org * Listen, read and record books at 3 different beginning reading levels to grow as a reader. * Play the train game after every book to learn letters and words * Built-in picture/audio dictionary * 5 Christmas song books PLUS 18 more sing-along songs. * Professional narration- American English. All books can be recorded by users. * Unlimited user accounts * Powerful student reporting tools Books Kids CAN Read. Written by Libby Curran, a People Magazine Teacher of the Year, these engaging little books are field tested in real classrooms to get kids started on the path to reading independence. Books Kids LOVE to Read and Re-read. Children are naturally curious, so encourage them to explore our ABC books to learn new vocabulary and build the foundational knowledge they need to succeed in school. After reading stories they can play the train quiz game, explore the picture/audio dictionary and listen to song books. Give Your Kids the Tools to Succeed. Stuck on a word? Tap and hold to hear every word and access the built in audio dictionary filled with hundreds of words. Play a unique quiz game at the end of every book to extend the learning. The Reading Train Alphabet is packed full of tools to help children succeed, all on their own. Read to Learn- Meet Common Core Standards Read beginning level books with purpose and understanding. Develop the concepts of print: reading left to right and matching written words with spoken words. Learn letter names and sounds, build background knowledge and improve reading comprehension and foundational skills. Quizzes Disguised as Games. Play the train game after finishing every book, but don't tell them it's a quiz! Check progress on the parent's page to see all the books children have read and recorded as well as detailed scores on the quizzes. The Right Team For the Job Created by award winning master teacher and early literacy expert, Libby Curran, The Reading Train is the culmination of 20+ years of teaching experience. Backed by an all-star team of teachers turned iOS developers and a professional children's musician, The Reading Train is serious about making learning fun. Keep in Touch We welcome your feedback, to keep up with all things Reading Train check out: readingtrain.org facebook.com/readingtrain email: support@readingtrain.org We welcome suggestions on future books and curriculum. Contact Libby with suggestions about new content at: libby@readingtrain.org
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Reading Train Christmas at 5.0 against Itsy Bitsy Spider's 4.2. Reading Train Christmas also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 70%) and device support (3 vs 1). Itsy Bitsy Spider's advantage is update cadence (every 7 months vs every 32 months) and ratings volume (40 vs 2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Reading Train Christmas holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Itsy Bitsy Spider has 40 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Itsy Bitsy Spider's written reviews are positive against 100% of Reading Train Christmas's.
Itsy Bitsy Spider ships an update every 7 months, Reading Train Christmas every 32 months. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Itsy Bitsy Spider | Reading Train Christmas |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (40 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 70.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 40 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months — better | Every 32 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 11.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 26 MB | 653 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Duck Duck Moose LLC | The Learning Station, LLC |
Customer experience
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Reading Train Christmas
Bugs and requests
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Reported bugs
7 issues- App won't progress past opening screen after iOS 13 update
- App won't open at all after recent update
- Stuck on first page with no way to turn pages
- Sound not working despite troubleshooting
- Program crashes and requires restart to change pages
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- App incompatible with iPad HD version
- Freezes and performance issues
Requested features
8 requests- More nursery rhymes in similar format
- Additional screens and content
- Female or child voice option for singing
- More verses of Itsy Bitsy Spider incorporated
- Automatic music playback option
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- Multi-touch support for simultaneous screen touches
- Ability to switch singer voice
- More interactive activities and projects
Reading Train Christmas
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Itsy Bitsy Spider
No in-app purchases
Reading Train Christmas
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Itsy Bitsy Spider free?
Is Reading Train Christmas free?
Which has better reviews, Itsy Bitsy Spider or Reading Train Christmas?
Do Itsy Bitsy Spider or Reading Train Christmas have ads?
Which is updated more often, Itsy Bitsy Spider or Reading Train Christmas?
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