Description:
You can practically smell the burger grease and freshly hung laundry at this funky little diner that Mickey and Minnie Mouse visit when their gas tank falls below "E." As a banjo plunks out a slow tune in the background, Mickey pulls up a chair and sits outside with Pluto to enjoy the sunshine. No agenda here. Instead of explaining what kids should do next, Mickey scratches Pluto and occasionally glances toward the cursor. This is the CD-ROM equivalent of a deliciously lazy summer day with nothin' urgent to do. Kids play and learn at their own pace, by nosing around and figuring things out. Mosey into the garage. One bay houses a body shop where you can piece together and paint custom hot rods; the other, a tune-up place where a swipe of the cursor creates actual tunes on musical wrenches, tires, and hubcaps. Follow Minnie into the diner, and Daisy Duck dishes up dozens of workbook-style exercises on place mats. Wander into the back yard, and Huey, Dewy, and Louie hand you a hose and tell you which letters, numbers, shapes, or colors to squirt. Help pump gas and learn color mixing, numbers, and how to follow instructions. Get it wrong and a chipper customer intones, "That wasn't quite right, but it'll do," as their car backfires and leaves in a cloud of smoke. Our favorite activity was the Opposites Car: climb into a car, and "mouse" with the turn signals, windshield wipers, and other fun switches preschoolers aren't allowed to touch on Mommy and Daddy's car. It's a clever way to teach opposites, and it's great fun to honk the horn and make Uncle Donald drop his laundry. (Ages 2 to 4) --Anne Erickson
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