My children are veteran travelers. We hop in the car after school in Cleveland and make it to Chicago by dinner time - driving for hours has become second nature to them. After completing a roadtrip to Disney and conquering over night flights to Europe, anything is possible with these kids only because travel was introduced from the very beginning.

As the children grow older, roadtrips grow easier. They can read! And color! They can rip open their own snacks! And wipe their own noses! There's hope for all of you with younger kids - keep trucking those kiddos around getting them used to the open road. With three kids ages eight, six and three most things deemed a no-no at home are okay during travel. Junk food! Gaming systems! Television! I let them indulge in things they normally don't, while I selfishly dive into a novel. I want traveling to be as stress free as possible, getting us to the final destination without all.of.this.

Recently we dipped our toes into the world of smart phones. And iPads. All of the settings on our devices are locked (which do not allow the children to "surf" or purchase) and not one app (application) is downloaded without having me thoroughly inspect it. There are thousands upon thousands of apps out there, many of which are free. Some loaded with horrible ads and others with terrible graphics. I've invested hours, seriously hours of my time, researching the best free apps for children and apps that are worth paying for. Here's our list.

Top 15 (free or cheap) apps our children love for the 2010 - 2011 holiday road-trip season:

1. Alice in Wonderland Lite (on iTunes) - Free. The developers used the original illustrations and on the iPad these images pop out. There's no audio but there are words to be read. My children love flipping through and I'm amazed by the graphics each time. If you have readers, this app is a no-brainer.

2. Toy Story Read-Along (on iTunes) - Free. Not sure why this is free because the graphics are amazing, the voice that reads along with the highlighted words is delightful and the pages are so easy to flip through. No ads either! There are so many extras too, like coloring and games. Consider this, dear friends, my holiday gift to you... and download it for free.

3. Intro to Letters, by Montessorium (on iTunes) - $4.99. Is so worth the five dollars for a preschooler. It came highly recommended by a handful of sources on twitter and I had to buy it too see why. I think it's developed by Montessori and the app is very simple. Simple graphics. Simple sounds. Simple finger tracings of letters on the touch screen, for letter recognition. Simple and smart.

4. How The Grinch Stole Christmas (on iTunes) - $3.99. An old holiday classic revived. Graphics are amazing. You can read along through the highlighted guided reading or read it by yourself. It, hands down, engaged all three of my children at all different reading levels. It was worth the price of one Happy Meal.

5. ICDL - Free Books for Children (on iTunes) - Free. Not sure how I stumbled across this gem of an app but ohmygosh people this free app brings a worldwide collection of children's books to your smart phone, iTouch or iPad. There are no graphics or audio. Instead you have thousands of children's books from 60 countries. The ICDL statement... "The goal of the library is to excite and inspire young readers to become better world citizens by leveraging technology to reach under-served children who have little access to libraries. The ICDL is offered free of charge to everyone, everywhere with no advertising."

6. Angry Birds (on iTunes) - Free or $0.99. Another app that came highly recommended by a handful of sources online. The minute you download it you can see why it's the number one downloaded app in more countries then the developers can keep track of. It's viral! Birds are angry that the pigs stole their eggs - it's all about finding the correct arch (using physics) to demolish the smiling pigs. My three year old is able to understand the intro to physics of the game. Most awesome app ever. We used it free for some time but the ads were too much.

7. Drawing Pad for iPad (on iTunes) - $1.99. We tried the free version and my preschooler was hooked, until my first grader took it away from her and stamped/colored/created for hours. After trying, what seemed like a million drawing pads for iPads this was, without a doubt the best.

8. ABC Coloring Book (on iTunes) - Free. No imposing ads. A free coloring book. Click on the letter and a subject for you to color appears. Includes audio. Each time you press a letter, it's pronounced. Free and well worth the download.

9. Animal Fun for iPhone (on iTunes) - Free. Free animal flashcards. Most people commented that the graphics were horrible. I thought the graphics were the same as over priced Baby Einstein flash cards. Okay graphics and okay sounds - enough to keep my preschooler engaged. For free!

10. Stray Sheep Poe's Christmas (on iTunes) - $6.99. Disclosure: I was given this app to review and all opinions are my own. The graphics were delightful... seriously they are artwork. When the fire place is featured it crackles and when there's a knock at the door it physically pounds on the door. It's such a realistic "pop up" book and so much more. The mental puzzles at the end were way too difficult for my six year old (based on the old European blocks - moving one at a time) and the "Spot the Difference" brain teasers left me wondering what else was different. I have yet to unlock all of the differences. I really dislike the reader's slow voice; but, for $6.99 I am still trying to beat the puzzles at the end. Grrrr...

11. Faces I Make Lite (on iTunes) - Free. I have no idea how this app keeps my kids occupied for some time. It seems so pointless but yet USA Today gave it the thumbs up and my kiddos eat it up. The point is to make faces out of food. I dislike that it asks you to buy the full version but the kids refuse for me to delete it.

12. Shape Puzzles Free (on iTunes) - Free. It has a dozen animal puzzles for free. No ads. No ads begging you to buy the full version. It's a must-have free app that will keep your preschooler busy. Only a dozen puzzles featured, but FREE.

13. SUPER WHY! by PBSKIDS (on ITunes) - $2.99. Interactive literacy game. Too hard for my three year old and too easy for my six year old, but yet I purchased it on a whim after many online recommendations from lists like this. The graphics are amazing - the games (many many many games featured) are spot on for someone in between 3 and 6. I want someone in my house to love it because it's really amazing.

14. Stack the States (on iTunes) - Free or $0.99. Another app we downloaded for free and fell in love with to buy the full version. My preschooler loves to play around but you really need to be able to read. My eight year old is beyond crazy over this game, committed to conquering all the states. This is an example of an educational game I thought my kids would hate but they ended up loving. The sound effects are great, graphics are super cool and the game is loads of fun. I promise.

15. NASA App (on iTunes) - Free. My eight year is obsessed with this app. It's the first official app from NASA and includes updated material and videos from various NASA sources. So much fun to explore.

Bonus! Lunch Box Reviews (on line) - Free. When I say that I've searched the Internet for apps, I really mean it. I've read just about every boring review online. This website is so easy to navigate (shouldn't be a surprise that it's written by a fellow mother). It's my go-to place for the newest apps. You can search by age, interest, platforms and interests. An undiscovered gem of a website. Well worth a visit and a bookmark on your computer.

Safe (un-stressful) travels this holiday season, friends! Are there any apps that I am missing out on? I would love to know what your kiddos enjoy. Please share.