by Edward Carmien
                              

                              Broderbund (Living Books), $35. Requirements: 68040/PowerPC, 5MB
                              RAM, System 7.1, 2x CD-ROM. Contact Broderbund at
                              http://www.broderbund.com
                              
                              Dr. Seuss on a CD-ROM? You betcha. This rendition of Green Eggs and Ham is
                              a lively version of the print Dr. Seuss book. It even includes a copy of the
                              book in softcover! After you fire up the "living book," you’re presented with
                              two options: "Read to Me" and "Play." (There’s also an "Options" button which
                              lets you pick a page on which to play.)
                              
                              Traditionalists may have trouble with some of the chrome that’s been added to
                              the storyline in order to "bulk out" the CD-ROM version. There are bits of
                              extra dialogue here and there, added to the animated tomfoolery that is every-
                              where. I found that after an initial "hey that’s not in the book" reaction, I
                              quickly adjusted to the idea.
                              
                              Each "page" is true to the book, and animated action takes the viewer through
                              each page of action. Words light up as they are spoken by the characters, a
                              good thing for kids learning to read. Key nouns turn into little pictures of
                              themselves after they’ve been read: for example, "car" turns into a picture of
                              the car in the book. This is also a boon to kids learning to read. The story
                              progresses without any clicking from the viewer, which makes this option
                              good for younger kids sitting on an adult’s lap—with keyboard and mouse
                              safely pushed out of reach.
                              
 






















                              My two-year old sat and watched the "read to me" version almost to the end
                              before getting squirmy. The age range is probably a bit off: kids of two or so
                              would probably all appreciate the bright colors and zippy music, even if they
                              can’t manipulate the mouse in "play mode." Older kids, those six and seven
                              year-olds theoretically included in the age range (how optimistic the
                              marketing guys are!) would no doubt be bored by such a "kiddy" game.
                              
                              The play option progresses by the user’s click, forward or backward in the
                              story. First, the story "reads" itself as usual. Then the mouse is enabled,
                              allowing the viewer to click on various parts of the screen. Almost everything
                              does something, and there are little games tucked in here and there. One game
                              asks the reader to match colors hidden behind cupboards, drawers, oven lids,
                              and so on. One minor hitch here is that sometimes things open that one might
                              not think to click on, but kids come with fewer preconceptions than adults, so
                              perhaps this wouldn’t matter so much for them.
                              
                              The various "play" animations are creative and often funny, and the extra
                              dialogue sometimes ties to an activity booklet included with the game. For
                              example, a recipe is included for "frambled eggs." You’ll have to figure that
                              one out for yourself.
                              
                              Though I’m a bit older than the target audience, I am a big fan of Dr. Seuss
                              from way back. I liked this software, both as a cold-hearted reviewer and as a
                              lucky Daddy. It was a bit buggy, but that may have been an incompatibility
                              with previously installed software (these days, System files are getting
                              pretty big!). The voices are well done, the graphics are bright and attractive,
                              and play mode offers a child either an hour or so (4-5 years old) of first-
                              time play, or several hours (younger kids) of first-time play.
                              
                              A possible downside is cost: at this writing, I don’t know what the retail price
                              is on this CD-ROM. If it is in the 20-30 range, that’s good. If it’s in the 40+
                              range, that would drop my rating by a half joystick or so, if only because the
                              fun/cost ratio would decline a bit much at such a steep price.
                              
                              
                              Highs:
                              • Easy to use
                              • Good graphics and sound
                              • Neat play options
                              
                              Lows:
                              • A bit buggy