Orly's Draw-A-Story-

Forgive me if I lapse into a Jamaican drawl mon, but it is a bit hard to avoid after playing with Orly. This new story writing program from Broderbund is a breath of fresh air! I spend so much time in front of the computer I become hardened to computer characters, but Orly captured my heart...and my giggles.

Orly is an eight year old Jamaican girl with an "over-active imagination." She will help your child draw pictures and write stories with her best friend Lancelot the frog. I loved his "reebit-mon" sound effects. Orly will walk you through drawing a picture one step at a time. I must admit that I found myself really liking this little girl and feeling as if she was really talking to me! My giggles soon brought the kids running and soon the whole room was giggling. She is the cutest new computer character I have seen in a long time. Her personality is infectious and her comments timed to perfection. I was hesitant to review yet another story writing program, but this one is a real winner.

If you are not quite ready to construct a story from scratch, you can help Orly draw pictures for an already existing outline. This was a great idea. Many of the programs on the market give you starter ideas, but you are still left on your own to create the story. Here even the most shy child will feel confident enough to help Orly with one of her stories. Eventually they can move on to create their own masterpieces, but Orly lets them take their time. That was the one trait I especially liked, her never ending patience yet constant sense of humor. She really seems to react to what YOU are doing! Creating your own story is easy and pain free. You add your own text, backgrounds, music and sound effects. My kids were in hysterics while checking out several of the sound effects. You can add pictures as you go and add them to your existing backgrounds.

While "Orly's Draw-A-Story" may not be the most elaborate story writing program on the market, and it may not include some of the intricacies of the other programs, it is a lot of fun. This program may be for kids 5-10 years of age, but I know an adult and a teenager who will pay a few visits to our new found friend.
Even as I write, I find I can't stop smiling!

Grading:

Educational value- 3 1/2
Entertainment value- 5
Use of medium- 3
Age- 5-10

Buy Orly's Draw-A-Story at Amazon!