PBS KIDS has just raised the bar in the educational gaming space with the launch of over 40 new cross-platform games designed to help children ages two to eight build critical math skills. Available for free on the new PBS KIDS Lab website (PBSKIDS.org/lab), each suite links a set of games across platforms — accessible through computers, mobile devices and interactive whiteboards — so that kids engage with the same characters as they move from device to device.

The game suites are designed to use whatever technology resources a child may have. For instance in “Curious George Monkey Jump,” the game can be played either with a webcam or without. “Cat’s Math Mayhem” includes mobile, interactive whiteboard or online versions.

PBS KIDS Lab also offers a myriad of resources for parents and teachers.  The site aggregates games by age and skill area. Additionally, the site helps parents and teachers learn how the games support learning by providing details on the games’ curriculum-based content.

While the games just mentioned are free, PBS KIDS is branching out to paid apps as well. Sid’s Science Fair App for iPhone and iPod touch supports learning focused on STEM – science, technology, engineering and math. The app, based on the animated preschool series “Sid the Science Kid,” from The Jim Henson Company, is for children ages three to six and includes three mini-games that build science and math skills. It’s available for $2.99 from www.itunes.com/appstore.

Continuing with games downloaded through iTunes, Funpark Friends by Tagplay is a freemium game that allows kids to build a theme park complete with roller coaster, Ferris wheel and other rides, shops, attractions and decorations. The game’s currency is called, “Stardust.” Kids can easily play the game through Level Seven by using free Stardust to build their park. After that, the developers are looking to make a profit and it’s much harder to earn free currency. Impatient players will be tempted to buy Stardust to build a bigger park faster. However, there’s plenty to do for free in the early levels and the theme park concept is very attractive to kids. The game does have a social aspect to it, which is through Facebook, but it’s up to parents to decide if they want their kids to use such features.

Moving to a larger Apple platform, Disney has combined real and virtual play in Disney AppMATes Mobile Application Toys. These toys come to life digitally when combined with an Apple iPad by allowing kids to use the tablet’s screen as a virtual play mat. The AppMATes toy line features miniature Disney•Pixar Cars 2 vehicles with sensors on the base of each toy that are recognized as a unique footprint by the free Cars 2 AppMATes app. Download it from the iTunes app store, place any AppMATes toy character on the iPad’s screen and enter the virtual world of “Radiator Springs.”

Kids can drive around the world of Radiator Springs to discover landscapes and hidden secrets by placing the Cars toy character on the screen and turning it in any direction. Each toy unlocks different features and content specific to the character within the app. Parents can download the Cars 2 AppMATes app and see how it works by simply using their fingers to drive a virtual car through the world, but the play experience is optimized to come to life with the AppMATes toy vehicles.

It’s not only large, established companies that are bringing out new children’s digital entertainment. Interactive Touch, founded in 2010, is changing the way children’s digital media is created and distributed. Using the company’s free online tools, authors can create and publish interactive books in a matter of hours, without writing a single line of code. Their work is then published through the Interactive Touch Books app, which has achieved 60,000 downloads since its April 2011 launch, and is available on iPad and iPhone.

The company is now hosting 30 kids iPad apps at www.interactivetouchbooks.com. A few of the titles are free for everyone to enjoy and others cost from $.99 to $2.99. The book titles are fully interactive, filled with touch-triggered effects such as sounds, animations, puzzles and peek-a-boo. The company has already signed over 100 authors for future work and expects to have many more titles available by the end of the year. Authors and illustrators with great ideas can sign up for a publisher account at the site. In exchange for making its tools available free, Interactive Touch takes a 30 percent commission for all work sold after third party fees, but authors maintain full rights to all content created through the interface. So, if you have a great children’s story idea, here’s your chance to create some digital fun to share.