It’s not every day that you’re given the opportunity to revisit old client-based projects, so what a treat it was that Michele Wong-McSween, the author of the Gordon & Li Li children’s book series contacted me last fall about making a “version 2.0” of an app I created for her back in 2012. And I’m happy to report that the new improved Gordon & Li Li: Learn Animals in Mandarin is available on the App Store and Google Play!

The first version of G&L was an iPad-only app. For this new version, we’ve made it available for almost any mobile device: it’s now a universal iOS app as well as an Android app that is optimized for both smartphones and tablets. While most of the beautiful animations by Nam Doan are still the same as they were in the 2012 iteration (“if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”), almost every “page” of the app now features fun interactive elements that really engage young users – this is the first app I’ve made that my own 19-month-old twins were really reaching for in a big way, which was a huge rush for me as a father and app developer. (In case you were wondering, Declan’s favorite page is the lion, who roars when tapped, and Sadie loves the pig, who jumps into a mud pile, leaving a satisfying “splat!” of mud on the screen.)

The 2015 version of G&L also features a much-improved tracing functionality for teaching children how to write Mandarin characters, stroke-by-stroke, and a new animated introduction by Jon Brzyski. There are also five new “bonus” words, featuring Gordon & Li Li’s favorite foods. Overall, I think we made significant improvements over the first version of the app, and opened it up to a whole new audience beyond just iPad users. I’m really pleased with it – I hope you’ll give it a try!

I’m happy to announce that in response to strong interest from teachers eager to implement Spanish School Bus into their curriculums, we have released an Education Edition of the app. The Education Edition is essentially the same as the free version, except all content is unlocked right away, without the need for any in-app purchase. By charging up-front for the fully-unlocked app, we enable teachers to take advantage of Apple’s Volume Purchase Program, which doesn’t extend to in-app purchases. Hopefully this new version will mean that more and more students get to learn with the help of Spanish School Bus. If you are a Spanish teacher looking for a fun and engaging way to boost your students’ vocabulary skills, please check out Spanish School Bus – Education Edition today!