Winter's Tail: How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again
© 2009 Crave Entertainment
This $30 Nintendo DS game creates a nice extension of the traditional printed picture book (same title, published by Scholastic). Both tell the true story of Winter, a young dolphin who was injured in a net and lost her tail while recovering at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. Children unlock parts of the program one chapter at a time, until all 11 chapters are unlocked. Progress is saved automatically in one of three game-save slots. Each narrated chapter contains a very limited game, that supports the storyline. For example, children might be asked to drive a boat through a maze to find Winter a friend (which really happened in the story), or trace out hand commands in order to get Winter to do some tricks; a process that requires some fine motor coordination. Open-ended parts of the program include a very limited fish tank editor, a story creator which is limited by a tiny QWERTY keyboard, and an open-ended drawing program. While the design isn't flashy, the pedagogy is solid, making this an effective classroom reading activity. But what are the chances of a teacher saying, "Boys and girls, please get out your Nintendo DS" (!?). Not likely. Created by 1st Playable and turtlepond Interactive by Crave Entertainment.
$30, Nintendo DS
Teaches: reading, science, marine biology, dolphins, conservation, art
CTR Rating: 80%