You Are Much Too Small!!!!!
A Review of The World of Totty Pig: You Are Much Too Small
William T. Yates
Remember when you were a little kid - and everyone told you that you
were too small to help? Well, Totty Pig is too small, also. In this
story, based on the book "You Are Much Too Small" by Betty D. Boegehold
and illustrated by Valerie Michaut, Crayon Multimedia has put together a
delightful CD-ROM for young children ages 3-8. Totty sees all the
members of her family doing things and she would like to help. In a 90's
sex-stereotype role reversal, Father Pig is cooking and Mother Pig is
building a bookcase while Grandpa is adjusting the Grandfather clock and
sister is mowing the lawn. They all tell her she is too small to help.
Miffed, Totty goes off and puts up a tent where she will live by
herself. When all the family members start looking for Totty to help
them, she is nowhere to be found. All ends well, however, when Totty
agrees to come home, but reserves the right to have a place where she
can be alone when she feels like it.
Totty herself gives complete animated instruction on how to operate the
program and what all the buttons do. The story can be displayed in three
modes: Read the Story to Me! - complete narration with highlighted
words; Read & Discover! - no narration but with the highlighted
words, and Let Me Read the Story! - with no narration or highlighted
words.
When one of the no narration modes is chosen, the child can click
on various items in the frame to discover surprises. Several cute songs
augment the story line. By clicking on the word "small" every time it
occurs, the child builds up words to a phrase from Totty. Totty also has
a tent which can be decorated with various items and the result printed
out. Two signs can be printed also for later coloring. There is even a
screensaver with Tottyıs friend, Mouse. In addition to being able to
repeat the narration for each frame as often as desired, the songs can
be repeated when encountered in the story line or separately by going to
the Sing-Along Songs area.
The construction of this CD-ROM is well-thought out. The explanations are clear and the operation is simple. The hidden items on each screen can keep a child happily busy. The graphics and animation are well-executed and the sound is excellent. Totty Pig is available in Spanish and Japanese also. This CD can help a child gain confidence in reading and just have fun.
School House Scorecard
| Product: |
The World of Totty Pig: You Are Much Too Small |
| Company: |
Byron Preiss Multimedia Company, Inc.
|
| Cost: |
$19.95 |
System Requirements:
Macintosh or Power Macintosh; System 7.0 or later;
13" or larger monitor, 256 colors; 5 MB RAM (8 MB recommended);
double-speed or faster CD-ROM.
A PC version exists but I could get no info on the system requirements.
Breakdown:
Ease of Use 5
Learning Value 4
Entertainment Value 5
Graphics 4
Sound 5
Overall Score:
Copyright © 1997 InfoMedia, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.