Software reviews

By JEANNE ROGERS
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 20, 2003

Reader Rabbit Learn to Read with Phonics

• Company: Riverdeep
• Systems: Windows, Macintosh
• Price: $19.99

Riverdeep builds on its successful Reader Rabbit series with this reading program for ages 5 to 8. Children will learn letters and sounds, blends, word families and vowel combinations as they advance through a variety of activities and stories. Learn to Read with Phonics comes with a second CD that offers songs, reinforcement activities and games. Riverdeep has another hit with this program. Reader Rabbit will help your child become a more confident reader and develop necessary skills while being thoroughly entertained.

Liberty's Kids

• Company: Riverdeep
• Systems: Windows, Macintosh
• Price: $24.99

After an easy installation process, Liberty's Kids transports players to Colonial America through music, graphics and dialog. Liberty's Kids provides an opportunity for the use of higher order thinking skills such as synthesis, analysis and evaluation. Players become newspaper journalists. Their job is to uncover historical events leading up to the American Revolution through interviews of famous characters in which they ask the questions who, what, where, when and why. Players will need to listen carefully to the dialog and instructions as they collect quotes for the Pennsylvania Gazette. Players are able to publish their newspaper. Liberty's Kids is geared for children ages 8 to 12, and it's a great software choice that lets kids live history.

Zoombinis Island Odyssey

• Company: Riverdeep
• Systems: Windows, Macintosh
• Price: $19.99

This is the third title in the Zoombini series. Players find their homeland threatened by the Bloats, who destroy their territory, leaving the Zerbies and others to fend for themselves. Players must aid the Zoombinis in restoring the natural resources on the island. Mathematical and scientific concepts introduced include problem solving, data collection, observation and graphing. There are seven puzzles with three levels of difficulty. New games are formulated for each adventure, providing long-term use. Parents may be asked questions on advanced topics such as life cycles and genetics.

-- JEANNE ROGERS, Times correspondent

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