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Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
 This title is published under The Living Books series. It is one of several Dr. Seuss titles in this popular series and it's high time I looked at one for Quandary. It is aimed at children between the ages of 3 and 7 and, like the numerous other Living Books, especially designed to encourage reading and to enhance reading skills.
I don't see how this one could possibly go wrong except, maybe, to drive some parents a bit crazy if they stay too long in the driver's seat. But this one's for the kids so hand over the controls, it is very easy to use. Just a click of the mouse button does everything, and in true 'interactive story' style every page has a good selection of clickable hotspots where characters can be encouraged to perform some special treat or the scenery will come to the life and join in the game.
It's a bundle of fun with beautifully drawn, colourful characters and every spoken word is crystal clear. As the much loved story progresses the animated characters go about their business and text appears on screen with words or phrases highlighted as they are read.
When the game opens the player is offered two choices 'Read to me' or 'Let me play'. The first choice is self-explanatory and the story is delightfully presented and read at a good pace from start to end with lively musical accompaniment.
The second choice allows the players to turn the pages themselves and it is in this mode where they are encouraged to click on-screen and make things happen. The text can also be selected for a reading on demand, or by selecting individual words they are read individually. Here a child can make up silly sentences by choosing words randomly or there are a few games incorporated into the play. One is a simple word game with the opportunity to make words and more silly sentences, and there is also a rhyming exercise where simple words appear randomly and the player must select a rhyming object. The other game is of the concentration variety and has three levels of game play to cater for the range of ages in the target age group. The emphasis here is on matching colours as kitchen cupboards are opened to reveal colourful delicacies such as Purple Pancakes and Green Eggs and Ham.
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr Seuss is a real treat for the young and very likely irresistible for Dr Seuss devotees. Not only is it fun but also it will surely succeed in its aim to encourage reading and improve comprehension skills. As a bonus the book is also included in the package.
Copyright © Rosemary Young 1997.
All rights reserved.
System requirements:
Win 3.1+ or Win 95, 486 SX or higher, 8 MB Ram, 2 x CD ROM drive, Super VGA (640x480, 256 colours), Sound Card
Macintosh Sytem 70, System 7.5 & Power Macintosh IIci, LCIII, Performa 400 or higher, 8 MB RAM, CD ROM drive, 256 colour monitor.
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