Software: Disney's 101 Dalmations, Animated Storybook (Ages 3 To 7)

The magic of Disney comes to life on the computer screen in this CD-ROM rendition of the classic tale about 101 adorable Dalmatians and the nasty Cruella De Vil. We were really enchanted with this interactive storybook and found it to be well designed and innovative. As in typical e-book format, the story text is highlighted as it is read aloud, but differs from the norm by including on each page a clever "interactive thesaurus" that introduces kids to word synonyms. The program's interface is also unique in that instead of turning pages, children participate in the action to move the story along. They click on doors, follow footprints, and scroll through panoramas to move from one screen to the next, and along the way they find activities, including four multilevel learning games. Kids must match dogs to their owners by seeking out their similarities, and use auditory memory to break secret codes. In other games, they follow clues to find puppies and navigate mazes by picking up objects beginning with certain letters. The games all emphasize early reading and build visual and auditory discrimination, letter-sound recognition and vocabulary skills. In addition to these embedded activities, children will also come across sing-alongs. Testers, aged three to six, all liked the program. One family reported enjoying the CD, but said they wouldn't purchase it because they feel animated storybooks don't have enough staying power. Another family raved about the title and said "The best Disney program that we've tried so far. It's a delight!" This family also commented on the program's high educational value. They especially liked the clue game in which at upper levels kids must figure out riddles. "Terrific for critical thinking."
Teaches: reading, letter-sound recognition, vocabulary