Zoboomafoo Animal Alphabet
© 2001 Brighter Child Interactive
Children join Zoboomafoo, the lively lemur, in an exploration of the alphabet. They'll meet 26 animal characters, play eight learning games, watch animal videos and print out activities. Skills addressed include letters, numbers, counting, beginning phonics, animal facts, logic, pattern recognition and more. The full and quarter-screen videos from the Kratt brothers' PBS TV show are great. The activities are multilevel, but somewhat shallow. There's a coloring activity, a game where you have to repeat the sounds, and a Pong-like arcade game starring a penguin. There's also an alphabet and sound recognition game, a mixed up animal game and a "match the animal sound to its owner" activity. Once kids have visited with all 26 characters, they can print out animal flashcards, which are also kept onscreen in a Creature Adventure Photo Album. On the downside, some of the animal info is presented in text only, which is a problem considering the targeted age range.
$19.95, Win, Mac
Teaches: science, animal facts, letters, numbers, phonics, reading