|  Reader
Rabbit has been teaching kids to read, spell, do math, and develop
their thinking skills for years. This year, a brand new series of
story-based games for grade-based learning and fun has been
released. Reader and his faithful friend Sam the Lion sport an
updated look, and their adventures are more exciting than ever.
One thing remains the same -- excellent educational content is
incorporated into these spirited stories, and lots of it.
Edutainment
at its best
New titles
target preschoolers to second-graders, and their focus is as much
on fun as it is on teaching and reinforcing valuable grade school
skills. Opening videos for each game are even more graphically
stunning than Saturday morning cartoons, and they have similar
appeal. The stories presented are rich and involving. As children
progress through the adventure, plot twists keep kids engaged.
Thoughtful
Design
All titles in
the series are exceptionally designed, with features that make it
easy for children with different skill levels to enjoy the game.
The programs monitor each individual player's progress in each
subject area, then seamlessly adjust the learning challenges
accordingly. Parents and children can set the difficulty levels
manually, but the auto adjustment feature is so well done, it may
not be necessary.
Rescuing
Stars and Dreamships
Reader Rabbit
Preschool Sparkle Star Rescue is the weakest title of the bunch,
yet is valuable nonetheless. Kids need to restore the sparkle to
the Land of Sparkalot by playing games that involve counting,
color and shape recognition, matching, and early phonics. The only
problem with this title is that the educational activities range
from very easy to very difficult for most preschoolers.
Reader Rabbit
Kindergarten Bounce Down in Balloon Town draws kids in with vivid
visuals and a story line that kids simply cannot resist. Through
the adventure, children strengthen phonics skills, work with
patterns, and identify rhymes, amongst other things.
First graders
will adore perhaps the best title in the series, Reader Rabbit 1st
Grade Capers on Cloud Nine. They must get to the bottom
of an odd problem -- it's raining rain gear! Children explore
Cloud Nine and an unusual island, play original and challenging
educational activities along the way, and eventually save the day.
Reader has
been cheesed!
 The series'
second grade title is goofy and fun, and challenging too. In Reader
Rabbit 2nd Grade Mis-cheese-ious Dreamship Adventure, the
gang's Dreamship has been ambushed and Reader finds himself on a
cheesy mountain. He is faced with plenty of challenges as he
climbs the mountain in an attempt to win back his ship from the
nasty Pie-rats. Kids practice spelling, build math equations, and
follow directions all the way to the top of the mountain, where
even more learning challenges await. One of the best activities
provides cross-curricular skills practice through a series of
puzzles to decode. Here, kids work with telling time, sentence
building, and geometric shape recognition.
Challenging
Educational Content
Parents should be aware that none
of these titles are easy for children just entering the featured
grade level. In fact, each title is probably best used as a review
of the grade. However, as long as parents are willing to be on
hand to give kids a hand from time to time, the challenge offered
may be quite welcome. In fact, the games are so fun that kids are
unlikely to give up before they save the day. Parents and children
alike will be pleased with the series.
| Buy
the titles mentioned in this article at Amazon.com:
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