How the Leopard Got Its Spots

Story By: Rudyard Kipling Told By: Danny Glover Music By: Ladysmith Black Mambazo Illustrated By: Lori Lohstoeter 1995 Microsoft Corporation 1995 Rabbit Ears Production

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Content

 This CD-ROM version of Kipling's tale about camouflage is captivating. The story is about a leopard and an Ethiopian who hunt zebras, giraffes and other animals in Africa. When the other animals discover camouflage and learn to hide, the leopard and the Ethiopian learn to change, too, so they can survive. The leopard acquires spots, and the Ethiopian's skin gets darker.

The directions for this program are simple - arrows on the bottom of the screen advance or review the story. P.J. Rabbit, who is in the lower right corner of the screen, explains the directions to the user. A click on the right arrow starts the story. Beautiful images of the animals and the land accompany reading of the text. The narrator reads about two pages at a time before pausing. When he pauses, a book appears on the bottom of the screen. Click on the book, and the text appears with choice words highlighted. Click on the words to hear pronunciation, definition, and sometimes a picture. Clicking on the icon again will close the book and take the user back to the graphics.

Also when the narrator pauses is an opportunity to play with the screen. Click on the leopard, and he turns into a rocket and blasts off. Click on the other animals, and they become different African instruments. Click on a tree trunk, and it becomes a giraffe's neck.

At four different points during the story, a bag icon appears at the bottom of the screen. Click on this to play a game - an African stone game called Mancala, a puzzle, painting the animals with crazy camouflage, and a musical version of Concentration.

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Audience and Recommendations

 This CD-ROM is intended for six to ten year olds who can easily understand and manipulate it. The directions are clear and easy to follow. The games don't require a whole lot of skill, and the text is simple. In terms of education, users learn about South Africa, the land, its people and animals. The illustrations are exciting and enhance the story; however, it is easy to get caught up in the graphics and ignore the text. There are no accompanying materials.

The definitions are a great inclusion because of difficult words such as sprottled, cross-hatched, and aboriginal flora.

I truly enjoyed playing with this CD-ROM. It is amusing, exciting, pleasing to look at. However, it took me over two hours to get through the entire program. This is way beyond the attention span of most six to ten year olds. I found myself paying more attention to the fun stuff and rushing through the story. I think any child using this program would need close supervision so he wouldn't stray. Overall, it is a great program.

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System Requirements

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Other Reviews

 
"...has lots for kids to do, and the songs and drawings make it 
as much an exploration of music and art as a lesson in reading."  


Kristi Essick

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Reviewed by Julie Grigar, a Master's student in the School of Library and Information Science at the University of Texas at Austin. She is interested in working with children at either a public library or in a school setting. She is a former 7th and 8th grade Reading teacher.

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