A Magical Book for Tots
A Review of The Book of Shadowboxes
Tamara Miller
Shadowboxes is a cuddly little program designed to teach preschoolers the alphabet . Shadow , a computer generated doughboy, guides your child through the story. He explains the menu options and offers to read the text to you child. The child also has the option of reading the text himself.
The beautiful graphics are reminiscent of a cozy quilt. They actually appear to be soft and squishy. The unusual and appealing artwork is inviting to children and parents alike. The animation is lifelike and intriguing. This really is a beautiful program.
The music and dialogue are easy on the ears. Shadows voice and the female narrators voice are both pleasant and soothing. The music is nice and won't irritate adult sensitivities.
The program is easy to install and very easy to use. Shadow explains the menu at the very beginning so even a young child can find his way around without too much trouble. There are numerous click points providing hours of fun.
I really, really like this program as a Mom. As a teacher, I wish the phonics were a little more "pure." For instance, the "C" shadowbox should not contain words like "circle", but should initially focus on words with hard "c's" like "cup" or "cat." Ideally, all vowels should initially be taught as short vowels, yet this story introduces short and long sounds together. This may seem like a small thing, but it can be very confusing to a young child just learning his letters. In spite of this though, I highly recommend this program. It is beautiful to look at, pleasant to hear, and fun to play. You can't ask for much more than that.
School House Scorecard
| Product: |
The Book of Shadowboxes |
| Company: |
IBM Multimedia Publishing Studio
|
| Cost: |
Not Available |
System Requirements:
Windows 3.1 or higher
4MB RAM
Sound Card
CD-ROM drive
Mouse
Breakdown:
Ease of Use 4
Learning Value 5
Entertainment Value 5
Graphics 5
Sound 4
Overall Score:
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