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Home  Awards & Grants Children's Notable Lists Great Interactive Software for Kids
Great Interactive Software for Kids
Spring 2009
(formerly Notable Computer Software for Children) 
Animation-ish, FableVision, http://www.animationish.com/, PC CD ROM Windows and Mac Compatible (Windows 2000/XP or Vista, Mac OS X 10.4 or newer), disk required to run. Age level K-12. Collections: Public Library, School Library, Home. $59.95; 10-license education version, $499.95.
Peter H. Reynolds, author and illustrator of New York Times bestselling books The Dot and Ish, inspires everyone to be creative in this wonderful CD-ROM. It allows users of all ages and levels of computer literacy to experience art by creating something original and expressive. It includes video clips and samples from Reynolds himself. Animation-ish supports both the National Standards for Arts Education and the latest International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards for students.
Bob the Builder: Can-Do Zoo, Brighter Minds Media, http://www.brightermindsmedia.com/, PC CD ROM Windows and Mac Compatible (Windows XP or Vista, Mac OS X 10.3.9 or newer), disk required to run. Rated E. Ages: 3 – 6. Collections: Public Library, School Library, Home. $19.95.
All of the animals have arrived for the new Bobland Bay Zoo! However, the Bobland Bay Zoo has not been built yet. Bob the Builder along with Scoop, Scrambler, and Muck have to work extra hard to get the zoo built, especially since lion is in the Mayor’s office. There are seven different games intended to help the player recognize patterns, colors, and shapes. The game also teaches children memory, problem solving, planning, and critical thinking. All of the games teach the player hand-eye coordination with the use of the mouse. When the games are completed, the player is rewarded with various stickers which can then be used to create a scene in the sticker mode. Players can also learn in both English and Spanish.
Crazy Machines 2, Viva Media, http://www.crazymachinesgame.com/, PC CD ROM Windows Compatible (Windows XP or Vista), disk required to run. Ages: 9-14. Collections: Public Library, School Library, Home. $19.99.
If you like tinkering with levers, pulleys, gears, wrecking balls, and electricity, Crazy Machines 2 is for you! Using simple tools, players build wacky and complicated contraptions to solve puzzles. Each puzzle gets progressively harder and players are provided with more tools and equipment to manipulate and use. There are over 150 puzzles to solve and players can download puzzles created by other users - and create their own to share online. There are hints at each level to help when you get stuck, which may happen often as some of the solutions can be quite complicated.
Giggles Baby: Nursery Rhymes, Leveractive, http://www.giggles.net/, PC CD ROM Windows and Mac Compatible (Windows 98 or newer, Mac OS X 10.1 or newer), disk required to run. Ages: 6-24 months. Collections: Public Library, Home. $19.99.
When babies or toddlers play this game, caregivers do not need to worry about their keyboards. The entire board freezes and little ones can press any key to watch nursery rhymes come to life. Bright animation will capture babies’ attention, and as babies press keys, new things happen. Sheep show up to get sheered, Humpty Dumpty nearly falls from the wall, and London Bridge starts to cave in. Caregivers can help select different styles of music. As babies listen to the words of the rhymes, they build early literacy skills.
Goosebumps HorrorLand, Scholastic, Inc., http://www.goosebumpsvideogame.com/, Nintendo DS, Multiplayer, Rated E 10+. Ages: 10-14. Collections: Public Library, Home. $19.99.
The game is based on the children’s books by R. L. Stine. Goosebumps HorrorLand is an action adventure game set in a scary amusement park that is filled with five different park areas with over thirty exciting rides and spine-chilling attractions. Players have the choice of playing in story or arcade mode; in the story mode, players can unlock new games, and in the arcade mode, they can try to top their own high scores, as well as challenge their friends. Players find themselves battling with vampires, ghosts, and mummies, while hanging on for their lives on the rides. As players try to escape the park, they will untangle a mystery and stumble upon frightening horrors and Goosebumps monsters. The game is full of tension, suspense, and terrifying action! Along with the fun, the game presents the chance for players to learn hand-eye coordination. Check it out... if you aren’t too scared!
Goosebumps HorrorLand, Scholastic, Inc., http://www.goosebumpsvideogame.com/, Nintendo Wii, Multiplayer, Rated E 10+. Ages: 10-14. Collections: Public Library, Home. $29.99.
The game is based on the children’s books by R. L. Stine. Goosebumps HorrorLand is an action adventure game set in a scary amusement park that is filled with five different park areas with over thirty exciting rides and spine-chilling attractions. Players have the choice of playing in story or arcade mode; in story mode, players can unlock new games, and in the arcade mode, they can try to top their own high scores, as well as challenge friends. With the Wiimote, players can swing while playing miniature golf or skee-ball. Players earn frights based on how well they play the game…there are three different levels: bronze, silver, and gold. Players need 50 frights to get to the last part of the park!
Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy, Her Interactive, Inc., http://www.herinteractive.com/, PC CD ROM (Windows XP/Vista), disk required to run. Rated E. Collections: Public Library, School Library, Home. $19.99.
Nancy is excited to travel to Ireland to be maid of honor at her friend Kyler Mallory’s wedding, but things take a turn for the strange when her car is run off the road by a flying ghostly apparition that looks an awful lot like a banshee! When she finally arrives at Kyler’s half-ruined castle, she learns that the groom-to-be has gone missing. Did he get cold feet? Is he playing a practical joke? Or did the fairies steal him away, as the odd caretaker claims? And what about that strange flying figure? In addition to interviewing suspects and exploring the castle grounds, Nancy will have to solve puzzles, mix fruit drinks at the local pub, jam with a celtic band, and even shear sheep before she finds the missing groom. Help Nancy sift the myths from the facts to solve this Irish mystery.
Pixton, Pixton Comics Inc., http://pixton.com/schools/overview, online. Ages: 9 and up. Collections: Public Library, School Library. Fee-based license.
When kids join this online community, they can create and publish their own comic strips using this comic creator and there is no drawing involved. Kids choose characters and props and can add speech as desired. After choosing from templates, scenes, facial expressions, and situations can be altered, so every kid can have something of his own. It’s all about creativity. A school version uses the same technology, but is more private and costs $1/student per month.
World of Goo, Brighter Minds Media, http://www.brightermindsmedia.com/, PC CD ROM Windows and Mac Compatible (Windows XP or Vista, Mac OS X 10.4 or newer), disk required to run. Collections: Public Library, School Library, Home. $19.95.
There are games where you build towers from blocks or other building materials, but here in the World of Goo, the towers you create are of little goo balls that make cute sounds. The conglomerate Goo Corporation is collecting goo and it is the player’s job to get the goo balls into the vacuum pipes. With a sign painter giving hints along the way and inspirational music throughout, this game is simple enough for kids grade one and up, and addicting enough for the older kids and parents to want to play. Each level is more complicated and the goo takes on different traits but the helpful sign painter is there to give you tips along the way.
Great Interactive Software for Kids Committee
Angelique Kopa, chair, Harford County Public Library, Belcamp, MD
Kim Bautz, Dayton Metro Library, Dayton, OH
Michelle Call, County of Los Angeles Public Library, Los Angeles, CA
Kirsten Freeman-Benson, West Slope Community Library, Portland, OR
Katherine McCabe, Briarcliff Middle School, Briarcliff Manor, NY
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