Comparison

Ruff's Bone vs The Cat in the Hat Comes Back

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

Head to head
About

Ruff's Bone

An interactive storybook in English and Spanish where children can play along with an animated dog searching for his bone. It features tappable words and objects, with hidden surprises on each page to enhance language learning and reading skills.

Highlights
  • Interactive storybook in English and Spanish
  • Fully animated pages and objects
  • Tap words to hear them spoken
  • Hidden surprises on each page
  • Two reading modes: 'Read to Me' and 'Let Me Play'
  • Parental tips and teacher resources
Read full description

En inglés y español! • A truly unique App that tells the story of Ruff's search for his bone, on Earth and elsewhere! • Winner of a MOM'S CHOICE Gold Award • Winner of a PARENTS' CHOICE Award • Winner of the EDITOR'S CHOICE AWARD from Children's Technology Review • A fully interactive storybook for young and emerging readers • Based on the award winning title originally published by Living Books Review: "Ruff's Bone is an animated interactive storybook that follows Ruff the dog's zany hunt for his bone from the yard next door to another planet and back home again. Almost every object is animated and our kid testers had predictable fun searching for the hidden animated surprise on each page. Tension builds as users try to beat Ruff in finding his bone. This app is based on the gifted Eli Noyes' book of the same title. The developer is to be commended for advancing reading skill development in a well-crafted, extremely intelligent manner." - Jo Hunter ©2013 Parents' Choice Have you ever wished you could play inside a story and really interact with all the characters and words? Now you can! Ruff’s Bone is an imaginative and interactive reading experience with fully animated content loved by children, parents and teachers alike. Wanderful brings every page of this remarkable story to life. Read and play along as the Ruff searches for his bone – from the bottom of the ocean to another planet. Will he find his bone and bring it back to his master? KEY FEATURES: • Interactive storybook in English and Spanish • Change language from any page in the story • 12 fully animated and adventurous pages • Virtually every item on each page comes to life when tapped • All words are “active” for extended word play and language learning – tap on any word to hear it spoken • A hidden animated surprise on each page –can you find Ruff’s bone before he does? • Move between pages with the new scrolling page navigation • Multiple settings to customize the App for your child’s reading experience • Two modes: “Read to Me” and the fully interactive “Let Me Play” • Parental tips to help you get the most out of this Wanderful interactive storybook • Teacher resources include a 32 page overview of Wanderful interactive storybooks Classroom Activities and a free Preview of the Ruff's Bone Classroom Activities guide • The full 66 page Ruff’s Bone Classroom Activities guide is available as a premium in-app upgrade Wanderful’s goal is to bring outstanding interactive storybooks to a new generation of children. We hope Ruff’s Bone provides your family, children and students with hours of story play. Ruff’s Bone is written by Oscar-nominated Eli Noyes, whose work includes projects for Sesame Street, HBO, Scholastic, Nickelodeon, MTV, Pixar, Disney and Oxygen Media. Privacy Disclosure Wanderful creates engaging interactive storybooks for children that are educational, fun, and above all safe and appropriate. This app: • does not collect any information • does not contain ads • contains an in-app purchase • includes active links to websites or social networks, but ONLY from the PARENTS and TEACHERS pages, not from the storybook pages • uses analytics to improve our app experience, and only in aggregate and never with personally identifiable data

About

The Cat in the Hat Comes Back

Experience a beloved Dr. Seuss classic with interactive animations and engaging activities. This app helps young readers develop essential literacy skills through playful exploration and guided learning.

Highlights
  • Interactive animations and surprises
  • Spelling, phonics, and rhyming activities
  • Read along with highlighting narration
  • Explore new vocabulary
  • Parental tracking of reading progress
Features
Read full description

The best-selling Dr. Seuss classic “The Cat in the Hat Comes Back” comes to life with playful interactivity, delightful animations and fun activities! FEATURES - Tap and drag to find playful surprises throughout the book - Practice spelling, phonics, rhyming, and reading comprehension in new Learning Activities - Read along with highlighting narration, read it yourself, or enjoy auto play - Explore new vocabulary by tapping words and pictures - Track minutes spent reading, pages read, and more in the Parents section LEARNING ACTIVITIES - Hidden stars on every page reveal fun Learning Activities - Developed in collaboration with early literacy experts - Designed specifically for beginning readers - Aligned with kindergarten level English Language Arts (ELA) standards - Enjoy activities again and again, right from the main menu! -------------------- Download today! -------------------- Oceanhouse Media is proud to celebrate over 15 years bringing Dr. Seuss’s beloved stories to the App Store! Trusted by millions of families. Official Dr. Seuss licensed App. Dr. Seuss Properties ™ & © 2018 Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. All rights reserved.

Screenshots

Ruff's Bone4 screens
The Cat in the Hat Comes Back4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: The Cat in the Hat Comes Back at none against Ruff's Bone's 1. The Cat in the Hat Comes Back also leads on ratings volume (453 vs 15) and price ($3.99 vs $4.99). Ruff's Bone's advantage is update cadence (every 10 months vs every 22 months) and iOS requirement (6.0 vs 12.0). On rating, review sentiment, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Ruff's Bone costs $4.99 and The Cat in the Hat Comes Back $3.99 up front. Ruff's Bone sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. The Cat in the Hat Comes Back asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for Ruff's Bone against 4.5 for The Cat in the Hat Comes Back. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Cat in the Hat Comes Back has 453 ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of Ruff's Bone's written reviews are positive against 86% of The Cat in the Hat Comes Back's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ruff's Bone ships an update every 10 months, The Cat in the Hat Comes Back every 22 months. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Ruff's Bone versus The Cat in the Hat Comes Back: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRuff's BoneThe Cat in the Hat Comes Back
Price$4.99$3.99 — better
Rating4.3 (15 ratings)4.5 (453 ratings) — better
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews85.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings15453 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 months — betterEvery 22 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS6.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size105 MB56 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWanderful, LLCOceanhouse Media

Customer experience

Ruff's Bone

All ratings15 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral6.7%
Negative13.3%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral6.7%
Negative13.3%

The Cat in the Hat Comes Back

All ratings440 ratings
Positive86.1%
Neutral7.3%
Negative6.6%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Ruff's Bone

One-time1
  • Premium$2.99
None

The Cat in the Hat Comes Back

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Ruff's Bone free?
Ruff's Bone costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is The Cat in the Hat Comes Back free?
The Cat in the Hat Comes Back costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Ruff's Bone or The Cat in the Hat Comes Back?
The Cat in the Hat Comes Back is rated higher. Ruff's Bone averages 4.3 out of 5 from 15 ratings, while The Cat in the Hat Comes Back averages 4.5 from 453 ratings.
Do Ruff's Bone or The Cat in the Hat Comes Back have ads?
Neither Ruff's Bone nor The Cat in the Hat Comes Back shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ruff's Bone or The Cat in the Hat Comes Back?
Ruff's Bone ships an update every 10 months, and The Cat in the Hat Comes Back every 22 months. Most recently, Ruff's Bone was updated on November 6, 2026 and The Cat in the Hat Comes Back on November 6, 2026.

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