Baby's First Monsters: 123 is a unique approach to a children's counting book. Instead of the traditional objects found in counting books, like toys and cute baby animals, this title has an assortment of "legendary creatures and mythical monsters". There is even a complete wiki-sourced glossary to help out those less familiar with the mythical world. The creatures range from an 'Abada' (mythical animal similar to a unicorn in the Kongo language) to a Yeti (ape-like creature said to live in the Himalayas of Nepal, India & Tibet).

The app is separated into 3 sections plus the glossary of terms. There is the "Rhyming Bridge" which contains 20 pages with each animal representing the numbers 1-20. Then there is the "Counting Mountain", which contains the same 20 creatures but in multiples of 1-20 to represent each number. Finally, there is the "Multiples Mine" which contains creatures in multiples of 10, up to 100. If you tap on any of the numbered pages, the numbers appear as you touch each image, reinforcing counting skills.

This is a very fun app and I am delighted to see narration added in this new update, especially to get pronunciation right for some of the unusual names. There is still no way to navigate within the book (beyond the home button) so a page guide would be a nice thing to see in a future update, but just the addition of crisp & clean narration makes this title feel much more complete for young readers. 

Overall this is a well-made app with solid page turn (by arrows) and an easy to use, intuitive interface. The illustrations are colorful and engaging and above all unique in a rather crowded field of digital counting books. For lovers of legend and myth (and their kids) this app is sure to be a hit.

[Re-Review - Originally reviewed on July 20, 2011]

All reviews are of the app, not the platform/device. Based originally on iPad versions. Minor technical details may vary.