“Arthur’s Birthday”
Living Books, A Random House/Broderbund Company
P.O. Box 6144 Novato, CA 94948
· Review
Ages: Grades K-3
System Requirements: Windows 3.0 (with Multimedia Extensions) or Windows 3.1 (runs on Windows 95), 256 color display, 8 MB RAM, double speed or faster CD ROM drive, Windows compatible sound device.
Price: $49.95 (school edition), $99.95 (lab pack)
Arthur is having a birthday party, and all of his friends are invited. But no one knows what to do when Muffy decides to have a party at the same time! All the boys decide to go to Arthur’s and the girls to Muffy’s, but no one is really happy about it. “After all,” says Arthur, “what’s a birthday party without all
of your friends?” Things look pretty gloomy until Arthur comes up with a plan that surprises everyone.
In this interactive and animated storybook for children, you are introduced to the infamous character Arthur. Take a journey with Arthur and his friends as you learn how he is going to solve the problem of he and Muffy having a party on the same day. Boldly colored video frames use the original illustrations by Marc Brown. An illustrated storybook is included so a child may follow along as it is being read aloud from the CD ROM. Children will the enjoy the exciting action that is included in every page or frame of the book. The characters talk, move, sing and dance. Sound effects, music and lots of animations create an enjoyable learning experience. Reading skills grow through word recognition. As the computer reads them aloud, individual words, phrases, and lines are highlighted. You are also given a choice of listening to the book in either English or Spanish. As the manufacturer states: “Living Books: Children don’t just read them. they live them.”
Special features of the School Edition include a thematic unit and bibliography, a bonus audiotape, and lessons that allow you to expand your use of the program on or off the computer.
The highlighting of the words being read allows the child to easily follow along with the book. A college professor who also has 20 years of elementary teaching experience developed the lesson plans included in the School Edition of the CD-ROM. The lesson plans emphasize six areas of curriculum: language arts, reading, writing, math, social studies and art. The audio used in this CD is pleasant and adds to the enjoyment of the story. There is also an “option” feature, which allows the child to into the frames and click on the pictures. Once the picture is clicked on, various things not seen before begin to occur. For example, pictures hanging on the wall begin to have a conversation with one another; the teakettle begins to whistle a happy tune and balloons used as party decorations suddenly turn into water bombs. You find yourself exploring each page thoroughly to look for the little surprises that are in store for you. Clicking on the number on the bottom of the page allows you to return to the beginning of the story. Clicking on the arrow lets you go to the next or previous page. Children can also click on individual words to hear them pronounced.
Easy to use installation instructions are included on the CD liner. Directions on how to play the CD are also featured.
Older children may get impatient with the slow pace of the storytelling. May require some adult assistance for initial use.
Reviewed by Jennifer Oldham
Graduate student in the School of Library and Information Science at the University of Texas at Austin
November, 1999