From Disney to Toca Boca, maths to Despicable Me, The Dandy to Minecraft videos: this year's pick of the best children's apps on Google Play

Traditionally, most children's apps developers have focused on Apple's iPad and iPhone, as that's where they believed most app-buying parents would be found. In 2013, though, there's been a clear shift in those attitudes, with the result being more and better Android apps for kids.

It's something I've noticed in my day-to-day job tracking new apps for The Guardian, and also something that's come through when falling into conversation with fellow parents at social events. Android is dominating the smartphone market, so a lot of parents are downloading apps for their children to use on their phones.

But there's something afoot in the world of tablets too: a lot of parents buy iPads for themselves then let children use them, but a growing number of parents are buying a separate tablet for their kids – and often that's a more-affordable Android device.

This feature is for them: a collection of the most creative, educational and fun children's apps for Android released this year: hopefully a good starting point for parents with a new device and an expectant child or children waiting for it to be filled with apps.

One caveat: it's based on the Google Play store, rather than Amazon's Appstore – the latter is what's used for that company's Kindle Fire tablet, so if you own that, you'll need to search to check which apps are available.

Another caveat: the prices quoted below are for the initial download only: (Free) may sometimes mean (Freemium): in-app purchases used to buy additional content or virtual currency.

Bearing that in mind, read on for some of the best new kids apps for Android from 2013 – and remember that date range: apps released before this year (the excellent Minecraft: Pocket Edition being the obvious one) aren't included for that reason.

Also, see it as a starting point: there's a link for each app's developer, and companies like eduGame, Wombi, Tribal Nova, StoryToys, Oceanhouse Media, TribePlay, BeiZ and GiggleUp have plenty more apps to explore if you like the ones included here.

Finally, if you're keen to keep up with new releases, bookmark The Guardian's Best Android Apps series of weekly posts: it includes 20 new apps every Friday, and there's generally at least one or two children's apps.

Carnival of Animals

EDUCATION

10monkeys Multiplication (Free)

Monkeys and mathematics: together at last! This app stars, yes, 10 monkeys who are trapped, and need children to help them by working through times tables from two to 10. It's the first in a planned series of educational apps from the company behind it.

Developer: 10monkeys.

Carnival of Animals (Free)

This could just have easily have been in the Storytelling or Creative categories of this roundup, in truth. Aimed at 2-6 year-olds, it wants to teach children about music through a carnival of, yes, animals, exploring concepts like pitch, volume, timbre and rhythm.

Developer: Toothy Buddies

Gummies Playground (Free)

This collection of mini-games is aimed at 2-5 year-olds, teaching basic numbers, letters, shapes, colours and animals, among other lessons. Each of the 25 tasks is voice-narrated to ensure non-readers know what to do, and there's a single in-app purchase for parents to unlock the whole app.

Developer: Squink Games

Invasion of the Moon Monkeys (£0.69)

More multiplication and times tables here, with this action game that gets children defending the world with their maths skills. Influenced by classic arcade games, it gets kids to practise their 1-12 times tables before having a crack at the full game.

Developer: eduGame

Kids ABC Trains Game (£1.93)

Aimed at pre-school children, this uses trains and railways as a way to teach kids about letters and phonic sounds. They build a railway by learning each letter, before "driving the train" – tracing letter shapes – loading letter-sound boxes onto it, and matching upper and lower case letters to stop it running away.

Developer: Intellijoy

The Letter Monster (£2.79)

This fun and accessible app comes from Swedish developer Wombi, and stars a ravenous sea monster looking for letters to eat. Children drag the letters from the bottom of the screen to feed him, and learn the difference between upper and lower-case letters as they go.

Developer: Wombi

Little Learners Play and Learn (Free)

Designed for toddlers and even babies, this app focuses on early development skills, getting them to interact with a collection of colourful animals and toys. Cows moo, rocking horses rock and – if parents pay an in-app purchase to unlock the full app – crocodiles drive buses to boot.

Developer: Parragon Books

Madagascar: My ABCs (£1.92)

An alphabetical app based on the Madagascar movies, getting kids to practise letter names and sounds, as well as writing their upper and lower-case versions. As they go, they collect more than 400 digital stickers, with music and poems thrown in for good measure.

Developer: Knowledge Adventure

Numbers & Addition! Maths Games! (Free)

Back to maths with this, one of a range of "i Learn With" educational apps that were released earlier this year for Android. Aimed at 3-6 year-olds, this is based around an adventure in the savannah, with colourful animals on hand to help with counting, ordering and addition/subtraction skills.

Developer: Tribal Nova

Squeebles Times Tables 2 (£1.49)

The Squeebles are the cartoon stars of a series of educational apps from developer KeyStageFun, with this the latest. It's a collection of six multiplication mini-games running from one to 15 times tables, with kids earning stars to use in a bonus bubble-ball game as a reward system.

Developer: KeyStageFun

Wombi Math (£1.85)

A second educational app from Wombi, this time focused on sums. It's structured around a wall full of equations and answers, covering addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Your child's job is to solve them.

Developer: Wombi

Cars 2 Read and Race

STORYTELLING

Cars 2 Read and Race (£0.64)

Disney recently launched its first eight storybook-apps for Android, featuring some of its biggest film brands. This Cars 2 app is part story with Lightning McQueen and friends, and part racing game, where kids get to customise a car and then drive it.

Developer: Disney

Chuggington Chug Patrol Book (£3.99)

Children's TV show Chuggington has been reinvented as a pop-up storybook-app by developer StoryToys. It features the trains from the TV show – Wilson, Brewster, Koko and co – and a series of mini-games including clearing logs, catching runaway wagons and laying track.

Developer: StoryToys

Fraggle Friends Forever (£1.96)

Something to make parents feel (even more) old: Fraggle Rock is now 30 years old. But the famous Jim Henson Company TV show was reborn this year as an app for children, with characters including Red, Wembley and The Doozers all featuring. Digital colouring and mini-games are included too.

Developer: Cupcake Digital

Grimm's Bookshelf (Free)

Another app from StoryToys, this is a good way into the company's other book-apps, based on some of the world's most famous fairytales. It gives parents a free sample of each app, and then helps you buy it from the Google Play store – acting as a way to launch the ones you've bought too. Thumbelina, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Puss in Boots, Snow White and Rapunzel are among the options.

Developer: StoryToys

Ollie the Cat (Free)

Based on a series of print books, this is a gentle story (with counting) for toddlers and pre-schoolers. Ollie wanders around his garden counting the animals he finds, with voice narration from a seven year-old, and the promise of more stories available as in-app purchases soon.

Developer: Chapman & Warnes

Red in Bed (£1.27)

This is a lovely piece of work: a story about the colours of the rainbow trying to cover for Red, who's lurking in bed ill. The twist being that children tap objects in the world to colour them in.

Developer: Josh On

The Butter Battle Book (£3.20)

In truth, I could have picked from dozens of Dr. Seuss apps released by publisher Oceanhouse Media: it's been working its way through the catalogue. This one is a good example though: a tale of the feud between the Yooks and the Zooks, as they try to outdo one another in an arms race of bizarre weapons.

Developer: Oceanhouse Media

Transformers Prime – Story Cube (Free)

Book publisher Egmont is behind this app based on the Transformers Prime TV show, offering individual stories (some as in-app purchases) based on the exploits of the robots-in-disguise. The stories are complemented by a Transformers encyclopaedia feature, with profiles of the various characters.

Developer: Egmont

Toca Hair Salon 2

CREATIVE

colAR Mix (Free)

Augmented reality technology can sometimes seem like a gimmick, but there's huge scope for it to be used in fun and educational ways in children's apps. This falls into the fun category: you print outlines from the colAR website, get your children to colour them in, then point your smartphone's camera at the paper to turn them into 3D objects.

Developer: Puteko

Disney Princess: Story Theater (£0.64)

Another book-app from Disney, but this time it's children doing the storytelling. Focused on the Cinderella, Ariel and Belle characters from Disney films, this gets kids to choose scenes, characters, props and actions, then records their voice telling stories about them.

Developer: Disney

FableScapes 2 (Free)

There's a mini-trend in children's apps taking the puppet-theatre idea and digitising it. FableScapes 2 is a good example: children choose characters and scenes, then change their expressions and create their own stories to share. Pirates, knights and wizards, and space are the three included themes.

Developer: Made with Marmalade

FriendStrip Kids Pro (£0.99)

This is another inventive idea for a children's app: it offers a library of 85 comic strip stories, and gets children to remake them by taking their own photos and replacing the individual cels. From pirate ships to superheroes, the range of themes gives plenty of scope for children's imagination.

Developer: PhotoInPress

Gomma Friends (£0.76)

This is a great example of digital play extending into the real world. The app gets children to dress up virtual characters and explore scenes, earning digital gifts as they go ("a basketball hoop, a little cottage, themed coloring pages, a cake..."). The twist being that you can then print these out and make them in the real world.

Developer: Gomma Play

Magic Belles: Magic Music (Free)

More music here: an app about six magic fairies, each with their own musical mini-game to play. The app is aimed at 3-6 year-olds, so it's light on dry music theory, focusing instead on having fun manipulating sounds.

Developer: Luma Creative

Mickey's Paint and Play (£0.64)

More from Disney, but this time it's about colouring rather than reading or telling stories. The app presents kids with a digital colouring book featuring Mickey and Minnie Mouse in a selection of scenes. Once a scene is coloured in, tapping on a magic-wand button turns it into a 3D version.

Developer: Disney

Mr Bean Color & Paint Book (£0.69)

Rowan Atkinson's Mr Bean has already been reinvented as a kids' cartoon character, and it's that version that provided the source material for this digital colouring app. It offers three difficulty levels with 12 images in each to paint, with social sharing and the ability to save pics to print out.

Developer: Jam

Toca Hair Salon 2 (£0.81)

Probably the first app I'd recommend any Android-owning parent to download, this is a marvellous piece of work, putting kids in the shoes of a hairdresser sorting out the barnets of a collection of cartoon characters. Cutting, dyeing, washing and combing are all included, with simple, intuitive controls for younger kids, and impressively-deep scope for creativity for older children.

Developer: Toca Boca

Toy Story: Story Theater (£0.64)

This follows the same pattern as the princesses app described earlier, just with Buzz, Woody and Jessie from the Toy Story films. Children pick scenes, characters, props and actions, then record their own voices telling the stories that ensue.

Developer: Disney

Despicable Me: Minion Rush

GAMES

Cut the Rope: Time Travel HD (£0.74)

Cuddly monster Om Nom has become a favourite character for millions of children over the past couple of years. This is his latest game, following the format laid down in previous titles: cut ropes to guide sweets into his mouth. This time round, there's a time-travelling theme, and a second monster to feed on every level.

Developer: ZeptoLab

Despicable Me: Minion Rush (Free)

Also Known As the game that was downloaded 100m times across iOS and Android in its first three months. This has been an enormous hit among children and adults alike, with its Temple Run-style endless gameplay seeing one of the film's Minion characters dodging enemies, leaping obstacles and collecting bananas. In-app purchases are included.

Developer: Gameloft

Max's Pirate Planet (£0.62)

This is a family-friendly multiplayer game that takes its cues from board games. Up to four players compete to sail the high seas searching for treasure and fighting duels, with sea monsters thrown in for good measure.

Developer: Slant Six Games

Mr Shingu's Paper Zoo (£1.99)

A game that should be much bigger than it is on Android, this gets children folding a colourful menagerie of origami animals, then keeping them happy with items and activities. Its virtual currency is only earned by playing rather than in-app purchases, while the origami aspect can be used to learn how to make the animals in the real world too.

Developer: Stormcloud Games

Skylanders Cloud Patrol (£1.28)

Activision's Skylanders has been a big hit on console (and a sizeable dent in many parents' wallets due to its physical toys element). It's also made its way to mobile devices, with this action shooter getting children to blast troll characters off the screen. It works with the Skylanders figures too: they can be unlocked to help in the gameplay.

Developer: Activision

Temple Run 2 (Free)

The original Temple Run game was a big hit with children: I once saw a startling video at a children's conference of a four year-old playing it with about three times the skill and speed that I've ever had. This sequel bumps up the graphics, adds a mine-cart racing section, and more power-ups. As before, it uses in-app purchases.

Developer: Imangi Studios

Toy Story: Smash It! (£0.64)

If Angry Birds was in 3D, and starred Buzz Lightyear, it might look something like this. Kids control Buzz as he runs around more than 90 structures lobbing balls to make them fall over, with other Toy Story characters making cameo appearances along the way.

Developer: Disney

Where's My Mickey? (£0.64)

If your children have ploughed through Disney's Where's My Water? and Where's My Perry? this is the next place to point them. Like those games, it's a physics-based puzzler where you guide water through more than 100 levels, except this time the hero is Mickey Mouse. An in-app purchase unlocks additional levels starring Goofy.

Developer: Disney

Talking Angela

PLAYFUL

Disney Fairies: Lost & Found (£0.65)

Tinker Bell and her fellow fairies are the heroines for this game, which falls into the hidden-objects genre. Children explore a selection of scenes from Pixie Hollow hunting for items hidden on-screen, unlocking a storybook chapter-by-chapter as they progress.

Developer: Disney

Dr. Panda's Beauty Salon (£1.29)

Again, one app chosen from a much larger catalogue from the developer: if your kids like this, it's well worth investigating the other Dr. Panda apps. This is a virtual beauty salon that gets children painting (faces and nails), dressing up customers and, er, plucking nasal hairs. 11 activities are included.

Developer: TribePlay

Talking Angela (Free)

Developer Outfit7's Talking Friends apps are huge, having done more than 1bn downloads so far. And while Talking Tom Cat, Talking Ginger and others are all worth investigating, Talking Angela is the most recent of the major characters in the series. Talk to her, and she talks back, while there are other ways to interact via text and gestures.

Developer: Outfit7

I Spy with Lola (£1.49)

BeiZ is another developer running with a panda theme for its children's apps on Android: in this case, a character called Lola. This app sees her travelling the world, with children completing tasks to unlock new locations. And if your 3-8 year-old(s) like this, there are plenty more where it came from.

Developer: BeiZ

Lego Duplo Train (Free)

This entirely free app acts as a showcase for Lego's Duplo range, themed around trains. Aimed at toddlers, it sees them loading and driving a cargo train, but also refuelling it and laying new tracks.

Developer: Lego

Toca Kitchen (£1.25)

Toca Boca has a fervent fanbase of parents (and children) on iOS, so it's encouraging to see the company targeting Android too. This is its virtual cooking game, where children slice, dice and cook 12 ingredients for four characters, who aren't slow to express their unhappiness if the food isn't up to scratch. It's tactile and fun, and may well encourage kitchen experimentation in the real world. For better or worse!

Developer: Toca Boca

Wildlife Jigsaw Puzzles 123 HD (£1.99)

This app teaches children more than 40 animals' names through jigsaw puzzles, reading their names aloud as it goes. Puzzles can be played as two, four or nine-piece jigsaws to suit different ages, with hints and voice narration to encourage children along the way.

Developer: GiggleUp

Zappie (Free)

This is new and interesting: a nursery rhymes app that uses augmented reality technology. It includes eight rhymes, including Wheels On The Bus, Row Row Row Your Boat and Twinkle Twinkle, and involves buying products like wall stickers and greetings cards, then pointing the camera at them to trigger the musical videos.

Developer: Expectar

Toy Story: Andy's Room

UTILITIES / MEDIA

KicVidz - Minecraft (£0.64)

Millions of children love Minecraft, whether on mobile devices, computers or consoles. And there's a burgeoning cache of Minecraft videos on YouTube too, except some are more suitable for kids than others. Enter KicVidz: an app that offers a curated selection of child-friendly Minecraft videos in categories including parkour, music videos and how tos.

Developer: Shane Keller

PlayKids TV (Free)

Launched out of Latin America by mobile firm Movile, this app collects a range of children's cartoons, TV shows and games, with the ability to download shows to watch offline. It charges a monthly subscription after the seven-day trial ends.

Developer: Movile International

Shrek Alarm (£1.29)

This alarm-clock app is based on Shrek, the friendly green ogre of movie fame. Good for children with an Android device by their bedside – yes, admittedly a niche market – it wakes up with Shrek sounds or their own music, with additional animations to make fans chuckle.

Developer: Blitz Games Studios

The Smurfs 2 Keyboard (£0.79)

Yes, it sounds like a rubbish idea, and I'd be concerned for adults installing this. But if your children are bang into the Smurfs, this app might make their eyes light up. It's a keyboard-replacement app, skinned around the recent Smurfs 2 film.

Developer: Cellfish Studios

Toy Story: Andy's Room (Free)

One last Toy Story app, in a busy year for the film franchise on Android. This is less an app, and more a live wallpaper based on Andy's bedroom in the Toy Story movies. Five characters appear, with many of the items in the room interactive.

Developer: Disney