Animal Genius (Nintendo DS)
© 2007 Scholastic, Inc.
Here's a rare find -- a Nintendo DS title that will make both elementary teachers and children smile. Animal Genius ($30, www.animalgeniusds.com) tests your knowledge of 25 animals from around the world, by embedding facts about them in four addicting, timed games that use the DS touch screen in new ways. Note that there was a Leapster version released last year. The better you do in the games, the more points you win, which are required in order to add the animal to your collection. In Matchomatic, children match animals to their attributes by flicking them toward a target on the upper screen (if only SATs were this fun). Scratch & See lets you uncover as much of an animal picture before time runs out, and then take your best guess from four choices. Creature Collector is a twist on concentration, with hints like "mammals have hair or fur" to help you fill each square. In Maze Munch, you capture food while avoiding a predator by moving through a maze. Before you can win the animal, you have to pass a quiz that drills you on the finer points of polar bear size, the diet of skunks, and so on. Because the games adjust in difficulty automatically, they're easy enough for a preschooler to play, yet hard enough to keep an adult challenged. A login system automatically stores progress for up to four players on the same cartridge. With titles like this one, it's only a matter of time before your child's teacher says, "Boys and girls, please take out your Nintendo DS." See also the Windows/Macintosh version (released in 2008).
$30, Nintendo DS
Teaches: science, biology, logic, timing, reading, animal facts
CTR Rating: 96%