Comparison

Duck Duck Moose Reading HD vs Pattern Shapes, by MLC

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Duck Duck Moose Reading HD

This app offers a zoo-themed adventure to teach phonics and reading skills to young children. It features word and letter activities aligned with Common Core State Standards, along with a parent reporting tool to track progress. Developed with educators, it's designed for ages 3-7.

Highlights
  • Zoo-themed learning adventure
  • Phonics and reading skill development
  • Word and letter activities
  • Common Core State Standards alignment
  • Parent progress reporting tool
  • Developed with educators
Read full description

An award-winning app based on Common Core State Standards, Duck Duck Moose Reading teaches phonics and reading skills in a fun zoo-themed adventure. With word and letter activities, kids learn by playing with flamingos, monkeys, lions and more. Keep track of progress through a new parent reporting tool. AWARDS: Parents’ Choice Gold Award; Children’s Technology Review Editor’s Choice Award. AGES: 3-7. PLAY CATEGORY: Early Learning/Curriculum ACTIVITIES 9 ACTIVITIES BASED ON COMMON CORE STANDARDS 
 - Letter-sound and word activities 
 - Recognizing and naming lowercase letters 
 - Demonstrating knowledge of letter-sound correspondences 
 - Isolating and pronouncing sounds in CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words WORDS & LETTERS: Teaches phonics through 9 different activities - Learn the letter sounds for all consonants, short vowels and long vowels - Practice spelling consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words PARENT REPORTING: Includes a new reporting tool so parents and teachers can see how a child is progressing DEVELOPED WITH EDUCATORS: - Developed in conjunction with Stanford University Educator, Jennifer DiBrienza, PhD in - Early Elementary Education and former NYC public school teacher (K-Grade 2) - Tested extensively in Kindergarten classrooms COMMON CORE STANDARDS: RF.K.1d, RF.K.2d, RF.K.2e, RF.K.3a, RF.K.3b ABOUT DUCK DUCK MOOSE (A wholly-owned 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 world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Duck Duck Moose is now part of the Khan Academy family. We rely on our community of volunteers and donors. Get involved today at www.duckduckmoose.com/about. Check out the Khan Academy app to learn and practice all kinds of topics for elementary school through college and beyond. We’d love to hear from you! Visit us at www.duckduckmoose.com or drop us a line at support@duckduckmoose.com.

About

Pattern Shapes, by MLC

This app allows students to explore geometry and fractions through interactive shape manipulation. Users can create designs, fill outlines, measure angles, and annotate their work. It's an open-ended educational tool for learning mathematical concepts.

Highlights
  • Explore geometry and fractions
  • Create custom designs
  • Measure angles with protractor
  • Duplicate, resize, and recolor shapes
  • Fill built-in outlines
  • Annotate work with drawing tools
  • Share creations via image or code
Features
Read full description

Students use Pattern Shapes to explore geometry and fractions, creating their own designs, or filling in outlines. As they work with the shapes students explore geometric relationships, think about angles, investigate symmetry, and compose and decompose larger shapes. Many of these explorations lead naturally to thinking about fractions as parts of a whole. This virtual version of pattern blocks is an open-ended educational tool, ideal for elementary classrooms and other learning environments that use iPads. Pattern blocks are a key model used in Bridges in Mathematics, second edition. Online preview available at: www.mathlearningcenter.org/bridges FEATURES • Rotate shapes in increments of 15 degrees. • Measure angles with the protractor tool. • Duplicate and change the color and size of shapes. • Fill the built-in outlines with shapes or create your own to share with others. • Choose between a triangular or square grid, or a blank background. • Hide and reveal work with resizable covers to create your own problems and model strategies. • Use the drawing tools to annotate work and show understanding. • Add equations, expressions, and descriptions with the math text and writing tools. • Share your work by saving an image or providing a share code to others. ABOUT US This resource is brought to you by The Math Learning Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to K-12 education since 1976. Our mission is to inspire and enable individuals to discover and develop their mathematical confidence and ability. www.mathlearningcenter.org This app was crafted by Clarity Innovations. We help improve teaching and learning by creating solutions that match promising technologies with the needs of education. Visit us: www.clarity-innovations.com

Verdict

The call

Duck Duck Moose Reading HD and Pattern Shapes, by MLC both sit at 4.1 stars, but that hides the real split: 70% of Pattern Shapes, by MLC's written reviews are positive against 43% of Duck Duck Moose Reading HD's. Duck Duck Moose Reading HD's advantage is update cadence (every 11 months vs every 26 months) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 14.7). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.1 for Duck Duck Moose Reading HD against 4.2 for Pattern Shapes, by MLC. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 30 and 17 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 43% of Duck Duck Moose Reading HD's written reviews are positive against 70% of Pattern Shapes, by MLC's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Duck Duck Moose Reading HD ships an update every 11 months, Pattern Shapes, by MLC every 26 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Duck Duck Moose Reading HD versus Pattern Shapes, by MLC: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDuck Duck Moose Reading HDPattern Shapes, by MLC
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (30 ratings)4.2 (17 ratings) — better
Positive reviews43.5% of reviews70.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings30 — better17
Update frequencyEvery 11 months — betterEvery 26 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPadiPad
Requires iOS9.0 — better14.7
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDuck Duck Moose LLCThe Math Learning Center

Customer experience

Duck Duck Moose Reading HD

All ratings30 ratings
Positive76.7%
Neutral10.0%
Negative13.3%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive43.5%
Neutral17.4%
Negative39.1%

Pattern Shapes, by MLC

All ratings17 ratings
Positive82.4%
Neutral5.9%
Negative11.8%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive70.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative10.0%

In-app purchases

None

Duck Duck Moose Reading HD

No in-app purchases

None

Pattern Shapes, by MLC

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Duck Duck Moose Reading HD free?
Duck Duck Moose Reading HD is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pattern Shapes, by MLC free?
Pattern Shapes, by MLC is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Duck Duck Moose Reading HD or Pattern Shapes, by MLC?
Pattern Shapes, by MLC is rated higher. Duck Duck Moose Reading HD averages 4.1 out of 5 from 30 ratings, while Pattern Shapes, by MLC averages 4.2 from 17 ratings.
Do Duck Duck Moose Reading HD or Pattern Shapes, by MLC have ads?
Neither Duck Duck Moose Reading HD nor Pattern Shapes, by MLC shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Duck Duck Moose Reading HD or Pattern Shapes, by MLC?
Duck Duck Moose Reading HD ships an update every 11 months, and Pattern Shapes, by MLC every 26 months. Most recently, Duck Duck Moose Reading HD was updated on October 15, 2026 and Pattern Shapes, by MLC on October 13, 2026.

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