Wild Animals (Ladders) - Hardcover

Grade 1-3-This well-coordinated book/CD-ROM program achieves its purpose of providing instruction in word recognition, vocabulary building, and comprehension. It is easy to install and includes instructions on installing Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to print the write-in activities on the CD-ROM. The book is illustrated with both photographs and drawings of a wide range of African animals. Animals described in detail include the rhinoceros, hippopotamus, elephant, giraffe, cheetah, lion, zebra, chimpanzee and birds. There is a story about the weaverbird which includes many of the other African animals. The large, colorful illustrations should appeal to the intended audience. The puzzles and activities are included in the book as well as on the disk. The disk offers British or American narration. Users begin a safari by creating a picture album and then driving a jeep around to collect pictures of five different animals. A picture is awarded to users for successfully completing the game. Clear, step-by-step instructions are given, and the graphics are colorful. The games include animation, fact-filled narration, and activities such as a jigsaw puzzle, a game identifying animals from pictures of their parts, a sticker game, matching animals and their skins, and a chutes and ladders type game which can be played against another person or the computer. Frequent spoken positive reinforcement is given when the correct answers are chosen. The program is visually appealing, and the pace is controlled by users responses.
Diane Balodis, Alden Intermediate School, NY
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Two-Can launches the Ladders series for children just beginning to read. Each spread includes one or two photographs and a fact box to highlight information. For instance, in Wild Animals by Sarah Fecher and Deborah Kespert, illus. by Peter Utton, a spread about the giraffe includes a photo of a giraffe taking a drink from a pond, another photo of a baby giraffe taking cover beneath its mother, a drawing of two giraffes feeding from a tree and a fact box explaining that the size of its tongue allows a giraffe to lick behind its ears; each volume closes with puzzles and a story. Other titles in the series: Under the Sea by Angela Wilkes, illus. by Steve Holmes; Me and My Body by Wilkes, illus. by Rhian Nest James; On the Move by Fecher and Kespert; Rain Forest Animals by Wilkes and Sarah Levette; Tough Trucks by Wilkes and Levette; Animal Homes by Wilkes; and Rain and Shine by Kespert.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.