Description:
This affordable multiple-CD set from Topics Entertainment strikes a wonderful balance between education and entertainment, pulling together four already proven titles that cover everything from math and problem-solving skills to art and reading. Edmark's Mighty Math Zoo Zillions lets kids practice counting and number grouping in a colorful animated zoo, while Eurotalk's Spanish Vocabulary Builder offers simple illustrated games that reinforce basic Español. Simon & Schuster's Curious George Paint & Print Studio is a freeform art program that lets kids decorate monkey-related scenes with thousands of stamps and drawing tools. Finally, School Zone's Beginning Reading 1-2 offers two interactive books, plus an audio dictionary and a Create-a-Story program. All four use intuitive visual interfaces that kids shouldn't have any trouble tackling, and all provide at least some open-ended interactivity.Beginning Reading lets you explore all the different items on each storybook page, for example, and Zoo Zillions lets you fiddle with math problems as you go. Some of this is a little complicated--Zoo Zillions lets you flip-flop quickly between structured questions and unstructured play--but adults will likely find themselves more confused than kids. Also, most of the programs feature vocal help in the form of purring tigers or head-nodding Curious Georges. A nice bonus: all of the programs except Beginning Reading run right off the CD, so no installation is required. And even if you're not interested in all four titles, the price is hard to beat. --Paul Hughes
| 
