An American Tale

Copyright: KBkids.com

It may seem odd to see a brand new interactive storybook dealing with a movie which is actually quite old. An American Tale remains a popular children's video, however, so your children will most likely be familiar with the tale of Fievel Mouskewitz and his family's adventures traveling to America. This storybook is mediocre when placed next to some other storybooks, but the story is an interesting one.

From the main screen, your child can access any one of nine chapters. Within those chapters are pages which tell a certain portion of the story. In this story, Fievel (a young mouse) is separated from his family when they escape the revolution in the old world. Fievel must find his family once they have all reached New York City. The story is heart-warming, with great music and animation. Testers wished more of the music was included. The animated storybook reads more like a retelling of a movie script, as opposed to a good literature book. Full motion video clips interspersed throughout the story help hold the piece together, but it still does not flow smoothly as a good children's story should. Nevertheless, your children will enjoy visiting with Fievel and his friends on the computer if they enjoy the movie.

As each page is read, your child can choose to make a puzzle from the picture on the screen. These puzzles are fun, but too difficult for three and four year olds. Each page is read aloud. The text is highlighted in phrase sections, thereby making it more appropriate for a whole language reading program rather than a phonetic one. You cannot isolate individual words, which is a real drawback for reading instruction. Your children should be able to click on any word and hear it read. The text is also too small on the screen to make it a good reading instruction program. Stick with other animated storybooks if reading instruction is your main goal, and use this one simply for the fun of the story.

Throughout the story are three hidden activities. These can not be accessed directly, and are very difficult to find. They must be played as the story progresses unless your child memorizes exactly where they are in the story. One involves a sled race with Fievel trying to find his lunch while identifying objects along the way. Another activity is a basic concentration game utilizing familiar American Tale characters. A spelling game of sorts teaches basic letter recognition. Each of these activities has three skill levels. While cute activities, they are neither extraordinarily fun, nor well integrated into the story line. This program is recommended for children ages 3-6. The detail in the narrative, the illustrations, and the complexity of the activities make this program more appropriate for children 5-7.

Bottom Line: A nice story, but not the best animated storybook around. Does not flow as well as others on the market. A bit sluggish despite it's low system requirements.

Ratings: (based on KBkids.com's 4 star rating system)

Overall: 2 1/2

BrainGain: 2

FunFactor: 2

EasePlease: 3

Buy An American Tail Animated Moviebook at Amazon!