Best apps for 9-year-old boys

My 9-year-old loves his apps as much as the next kid. Here are some of he enjoys using most, primarily on his iPod Touch but also on my iPad. Please share your child’s favorites — that's how us, parents, tend to find the best apps:

Minecraft Pocket Edition ($6.99): This app’s appeal with the kids, boys and girls, only seems to get stronger. Building with blocks has apparently gotten more fun since they kiddies. Why does my son, Harrison, love it? “Because you get to build stuff.” Virtually, of course.

Clone Camera ($1.99): With this app, you can literally clone an object in a photo. “It’s fun to multiply yourself,” Harrison says of this app, although he seems to have as much fun using it with his pet lizard, too.

Facebook (free): Speaking of pet lizards, Harrison has a Facebook page for his — Roughie McKenna is the bearded dragon’s name, and your child is welcome to friend him. For that reason, Facebook is an almost daily go-to app for Harrison, who uses it under close parental scrutiny. Harrison says he likes how simple it is to communicate with others, be it his uncles, mom’s friends or the random cat in Florida that friended Roughie the other day. “It’s faster than email,” Harrison adds.

Stack the States (99 cents): Play games with 50 animated states, stacking them and more. Harrison’s addicted to this app at the moment. “It’s just really fun,” he explains. “Answering questions about the states is fun. I like geography.”

Feed the Head ($1.99): This is a visually trippy app requiring the user to manipulate an animated head in order to get stuff to happen. “It’s addictive,” Harrison says of the app, a recommendation from another parent.

SloPro (free): “If you drop something in water, you can see it splash in slow motion,” Harrison says of this app, where you shoot video that is then slowed down. The possibilities are endless.