Animal Pieces

For grown-ups

Snap the right body onto each animal. Learn colors, letters and sounds.

Your child sees an animal from the side with its head waiting, and three bodies in a tray, each a different color with its own big and little letter. They tap the body the voice asks for, or drag it, and it glides on and snaps in place. The animal says its name and its sound. A body that does not fit settles back while the voice says what it was and what the animal needs; there is no losing, no timer and nothing to collect. A round is 5 animals, then it stops.

Child lock: tap the lock at the top right. The ways out hide and the back button stays in the game. To unlock, tap the lock and answer a sum.

Colors (ages 2 to 3): the voice asks for the body by color. Letters (4 to 5): the voice asks for the letter the animal's name starts with. First sounds (6 and up): the voice says only the first sound, and your child finds the letter.

Evening look (dimmer and warmer)

Why it's good for your child, what they learn, and how we designed it

Free, no ads, no sign-in. We count plays without names or anything that identifies your child, and your child is never recorded. Every picture is drawn in code.

Why it's good for your child

Snapping two pieces together is real hands-on play, and every piece here carries something to learn: a color, a letter pair like Ll, and an animal that makes its sound. The National Early Literacy Panel (2008) found that knowing letter names and sounds is one of the strongest early signs of later success in reading and spelling. The line on the "All done" screen takes it off the screen, where talking together helps most (AAP, Zero to Three).

What they learn

Naming seven colors (green, orange, blue, yellow, teal, red and brown), the big and little letters L, F, D, C, G, H and B with their names and first sounds, and what the llama, fox, dog, cat, goat, horse and bear say. Which of these is asked depends on your child's age: colors for the youngest, then letter names, then first sounds, which is the kindergarten standard RF.K.1.d (recognize and name upper- and lowercase letters).

How we designed it for ages 3 to 6

Your child sees the animal from the side, with its head waiting and three bodies to choose from, and a tap sends the body gliding on in one slow move, because precise dragging is hard under 5 (Hiniker 2015) and a fast cartoon lowered 4-year-olds' attention right after (Lillard & Peterson 2011). A body that does not fit settles back while the voice says what it was and what the animal needs, with no buzzer, nothing to collect and no "one more" prompt (Radesky 2022). The level comes from the age you enter behind the Child lock, and a round stops after 5 animals on "All done".

About the game

Animal Pieces is a free colors and letters game for toddlers and preschoolers, made like a snap-together wooden animal set. Your child sees a llama, fox, dog, cat, goat, horse or bear from the side, and taps the body that goes with it. The body glides on, and the voice says the animal's name and its sound: "Llama! Hmm!"

Three levels, set by age

  • Colors (ages 2 and 3): "Find the green body for the llama." The head and body are the same color.
  • Letters (ages 4 and 5): "Find the body for the llama. It starts with el." Every body shows a big and little letter, like Ll.
  • First sounds (age 6 and up): "The llama starts with lll. Find that body." Your child listens for the sound and finds its letter.

How a round goes

A round is 5 animals, then "All done" shows them lined up with a line for you to talk about together. Before you hand over the phone, tap the lock at the top right. More: how we build calm games, questions parents ask.

Questions parents ask

Is Animal Pieces free?

Yes. There is no sign-in, nothing to download and nothing to buy inside the game. It runs in the web browser on phones, tablets and computers.

What happens when my child picks the wrong body?

The body settles back and the voice says what it was and what the animal needs, for example: "That's the blue body. The llama is green." There is no buzzer, no losing and no timer.

How long is a round?

5 animals, then the game stops on an All done screen with the animals lined up and a line for you to talk about together. Nothing starts by itself.