Designed for older (upper elementary) readers, this 40 page/screen story is about life at the animal film studios, where The Fox is the director. The mystery has to do with finding some stolen jewelry. While there are no text-to-speech features, each page has something interesting to discover, or fun to do to support the story. On one page, you might match various types of lace to different dresses to complete a wardrobe. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This who-done-it mystery party game for one to four players (either competitive or cooperative) lets you and your friends play as detectives. You become part of the Dickens Detective Agency as you investigate a series of crimes and identify the guilty party. You will search the crime scenes for clues, question suspects, and use the Wii Remote as a lock pick, flashlight, magnifying glass, and other sleuthing tools as you try to solve the mystery and unmask the bad guy. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
While this isn’t the first 3D I Spy title (see I Spy Universe) this is the first time the 3D graphics have been combined under one theme, along with a better clue system and a set of theme-related games. Content includes 33 riddles and 11 spooky themes. When all the riddles have been solved, you can escape from the spooky mansion, and your progress can be saved for long term play. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This new format Leapster cartridge (for Leapster Explorer only) targets girls with seven princess-themed games. As you flip through pages of the book, reading-related challenges come up. For example, you are asked to touch items that help clear the path, to get into a castle. Created by Other Dream for Leapfrog. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
As you move around the map of a town, you can visit ten locations where you “talk” (read dialog boxes) to shop keepers or other characters. At various points, some of the words are highlighted, and by touching them you can look them up in a dictionary and add them to your word list, earning you points. The more words you collect, the more points you earn, and the faster you level up. In other places, you can earn more points by completing word multiple-choice style games. Content contains 45 new words per level, for a total of 450 vocabulary words, that cover math, science, and social studies. The game was funded by a Star Schools grant from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Innovation and Improvement. It was created by Pacific Resources for Reading (PREL). Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Turn your Nintendo DSi into an ebook, with this series of six titles, found in Nintendo’s DSiWare store for 500 points (roughly $5). To buy the book, you must locate the store from your DSi or DSi XL (wireless Internet connection required) and select one of the titles. After you download the title from the DSi Store, you turn the DSi sideways, to open like a book. You can flip the pages by swiping across a page, or by using the arrow keys. Other features include the ability to unlock an additional bonus story, and the ability to beam a book to a nearby DSi owner, for sharing. The print version of the book was published by Egmont. The FLIPs title was created by EA’s Bright Light Studio. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
The Wii version of Twilight Scene It? turns your TV screen into a trivia game show for up to four players. The content includes 500 questions, which are answered using the Wii remote. Your score can be increased not only by answering correctly, but also by being the first to buzz in. Games include Alice’s Vision (identify the location as it is slowly sketched), Movie Clip (watch a clip, and then correctly answer a question about it), Sequentials (put the scenes in order), and Upon Reflection (identify the character hidden behind the shimmering stars). There are both single and multi-player modes. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
One of the problems
Get out your #2 stylus, because your Nintendo DS is now a test prep experience. Based on content from The Princeton Review’s test prep program, My SAT Coach contains two full length SAT tests, along with timed drills that cover critical reading, mathematics and writing. In the drills, which are delivered in short 10- to 15-minute sections, you race the clock as quickly as possible in order to score as many points as possible. At the end of the section, you’re told how many problems you answered correctly, incorrectly, or left blank. Next, you can flip through the problem set and see the correct answers.
Additional mini-games include Positive/Negative (a word classification game), Algebra Blitz (a timed race), Elimination (a game designed to let you weed out the wrong answers), Grammar Cracker (spot the errors) and Definition Decoder (a critical reading game).
Progress can be saved on the cartridge, and the game can be customized so that the background music can be turned on or off, and the bubbles can be filled in either with a tap, or by scratching the dots… a nice twist. See also FutureU from Asyr Media/Kaplan. Please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This is a simply designed, scripted narrated story for the iPhone/iPod that tells the tale of Gigi (the giraffe) and Frank (the frog).
Frank the frog
Children hear a bit of homemade narration and can page through the 50+ page book, which is arranged in chapter format, set to silent-movie style piano music. There is no other interactivity or hot spots on the pages, other than the quizzes.
Every few pages, you are prompted to “find the house with the banana on top” or to “choose something that is pink and purple” in multiple-choice format. Wrong answers result in a hint. According to press materials, the Gigi and Frank series follows the Kindergarten Curriculum Standards for California and is designed to teach problem solving, counting to 20, and listening comprehension. There are no levels or record keeping. Children may enjoy the story but the scripted format reduces the joy of this tale. Rating: 
