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D.W. The Picky Eater By Pam Gleichman Tribune Media Services D.W. the Picky Eater is Marc Brown’s story of D.W., Arthur the animated aardvark’s kid sister. The story is brought to life in an interactive learning adventure, which combines a richly illustrated, and a delightfully animated storybook with five learning activities. D.W. is a very finicky eater. She doesn’t like pickles, tomatoes, mushrooms, pineapple, cauliflower or anything with eyes! Everywhere she goes, someone wants her to eat something distasteful. It seems the only "safe" place for D.W. is at home, until one night, she makes a tasty discovery. Like all the Living Books, words are highlighted as the computer reads them; you click on each individual word to hear it read aloud. Each page contains many clickables and great sounds. The story encourages younger kids to identify with D.W. and help her make the right choices about eating healthy foods and having fun. The learning activities include Sticker Fun, Story-Maker, The Family Picnic, Playhouse, and Save the Garden. Each of the activities reinforces basic skills: reading, vocabulary, sentence building, nutrition, logic, and more. In The Family Picnic, for example, children learn about different foods and the basics of good nutrition as they help D.W. and Arthur set the table for the family’s picnic by correctly identifying the food item D.W. is thinking of. D.W. the Picky Eater is an adorable story! The characters, graphics and story all follow the same wonderful tradition of other Living Books. Our testers liked the story and enjoyed most of the activities. (They found the Story-Maker to be very frustrating and confusing). I don’t think however, that children will use this program again and again. If you have a large software library, and don’t mind buying software for limited use, D.W. The Picky Eater is a cute story with a good message. Publisher : Broderbund Software, (800) 521-6263, http://www.broderbund.com . Category : Early learning Age : 3 to 7. Installation : Easy. Use : The program does not follow the traditional format of previous Living Books. The opening page is a picture of D.W.’s bedroom. You click on different pictures (there are no words) to get to the story and activities. There is a picture, of fruit on the wall. Testers invariably clicked on the picture, which took them to the programs credits, and they needed help getting back to the bedroom. Graphics : Adorable! Written Materials : Written materials are included on the CD jacket. System Requirements : Windows 3.1, Windows 95/98, 66 MHz 486 DX or faster, 2X CD-ROM, 16 MB RAM, 10MB hard drive space, 640 X 480 display, 256 colors, DirectX, Windows compatible sound device, Printer (optional). Macintosh System 7.1, 33 MHz 68040 or faster/PowerPC, 2X CD-ROM, 8 MB RAM, 10 MB free hard drive space, 640 X 480 display, 256 colors, printer (optional). Tested Version : Windows 3.1/95/98/Macintosh. Cost : $24.99. Rating : Two and a half stars. D.W. the Picky Eater is a cute story. The graphics, characters and story are very appealing; however, the program lacks replay value. DEAR PAM : I'm interested in purchasing airline tickets online. Which site is the best? DEAR READER : There are so many sites available. If you have a specific airline that you like to use, I recommend that airline’s site. Many of the airlines post last-minute deals that can only be purchased online. I use Microsoft Expedia (http://expedia.com). It offers good airfares, but also lets you book hotels, cars, cruises and vacation packages. WEB SITE OF THE WEEK NATIONAL GARDENING ASSOCIATION HOME PAGE http://www2.garden.org/nga/ This is the site of the National Gardening Association, a nonprofit organization. At this site you will find the National Gardening Magazine, educational and youth programs, gardening products, books, research, online content and showcases, and a gardener’s buyer’s guide. RATING KEY : ***** — Outstanding; **** — Very Good; *** — Good; ** — Fair; * — Not Worth Purchasing. Pam Gleichman welcomes questions/comments from readers. Write to Pam at Tribune Media Services, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1400, Chicago, Ill. 60611. Send e-mail to pamgl(at)msn.com. � 1999 Tribune Media Services, Inc. Techno file index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA