Parents' Guide to

Barefoot World Atlas

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad Paid Reference
Barefoot World Atlas Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

Chris Morris By Chris Morris , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 6+

Delightful way to learn about animals, people, and more.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 6+?

Any Positive Content?

  • Barefoot World Atlas App: Screenshot #1
  • Barefoot World Atlas App: Screenshot #2
  • Barefoot World Atlas App: Screenshot #3

Parent and Kid Reviews

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age 6+

Based on 2 parent reviews

emoretti
emoretti Parent of 6-year-old
August 9, 2015
age 7+

it's ok

It could be better. My son is not learning very much from it
kellymorrison
kellymorrison Parent of 5 and 7-year-old
July 15, 2013
age 5+

Fun, colorful atlas gives younger kids a starting point for understanding geography

My five year old loves this atlas app--it's interactive, colorful, easy to use, and has voiceover on all the text so he can use it without help. It is by no means a "complete" atlas, but I think it's a great starter app, if you will, for younger kids to give them a sense of place in the world and fun (at times random) facts about different regions.
See all 2 parent reviews

Privacy Rating Warning

  • Personal information is not sold or rented to third parties.
  • Unclear whether personal information are shared for third-party marketing.
  • Unclear whether this product displays personalised advertising.
  • Unclear whether data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • Unclear whether this product uses a user's information to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Unclear whether this product creates and uses data profiles for personalised advertisements.
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What’s It About?

Children explore the globe by spinning and pinching to zoom in on objects of interest. By touching icons, they're able to access short descriptions, which they can read themselves or have read to them by BBC presenter Nick Crane. Most objects also include photos. Selecting country flags will show current conditions in that country, including time, distance (if you enable location-finding), and current weather. Barefoot World Atlas also has a sizable soundtrack that changes to appropriate music as you focus on different parts of the world.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (2 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

Barefoot World Atlas makes learning fun, with a thorough selection of interesting objects and real-time information that's applicable to the real world instead of a dry factoid (such as current weather and time, along with carbon footprints, of capital cities). The music is a nice background and the calm narration by BBC presenter Nick Crane is well done.

One annoyance: Some of the objects don't seem like they're in the logical place on the globe. Still, that's a minor annoyance. Curious kids will enjoy Barefoot World Atlas.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Encourage further research on items of interest at the local library or cultural fairs.

  • Track the weather or currency rate in another country, to show how things change in other lands.

  • Try out some of the activities shown, or visit the local zoo to see the animals the app discusses.

App Details

  • Devices: iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad
  • Subjects: Science : animals, geology, plants, Social Studies : cultural understanding, geography, global awareness
  • Skills: Self-Direction : academic development, personal growth
  • Pricing structure: Paid
  • Release date: March 15, 2012
  • Category: Reference
  • Publisher: Touch Press
  • Version: 3.0.12
  • Minimum software requirements: iOS 9.0 or later
  • Last updated: November 19, 2018

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