World Book 2004 V8.00
Ollo in the Sunny Valley Fair

July 14, 2004

World Book 2004 V8.00 (**** out of four) is an easy-to-use handy reference for students or just about anybody who is curious about the world in which we live. This two-CD-ROM set allows you to search for a topic using keyword(s). After entering the word(s), the program brings up series of relevant items for you to browse. This list may include text articles, maps, audio or video clips, alone or in combination. Each may also contain further links to additional information. In addition to the search function, the program includes an Atlas, Time Frame, Surf the Ages, a Dictionary, a Homework Wizard and a Monthly Spotlight. Lets look closer at each of these:

The Atlas displays a world map on which you click the area of interest. This brings up a more detailed map of that area, and so on. Some of the maps display one or more "hot spots." Click on one of these to bring up additional information about a city, historical event, structure and more. For some of the maps you can choose different themes, such as political, topographic, temperature or rainfall info. You can text search the atlas for keyword(s) by entering, for example, Eiffel Tower; this brings up a map of Paris with the Eiffel Tower highlighted. A distance calculator will show the distance between two points that you select. As you enter the name of each you’ll also get their longitude and latitude.

The Time Frame feature allows you to select a specific year, decade, century, millennium or era and get a thumbnail list of events or items relevant to your selection. You can refine the selection to just political or geographic events or both. Clicking on a thumbnail brings up the appropriate article which may contain links to further information.

Surf the Ages is a fun way to look at bits of history. Using an Internet browser-like interface, the program offers a choice of Ancient Times, Middle Ages or Modern Times to surf. Each has a series of imaginary newspapers, newsletters or such, specific to events of that era. For example, in the Middle Ages, if you select the Rialto News (1400's), you can choose the Explorer’s Bulletin Board. Here, tacked on the virtual board, are notes about Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama (the Portugese explorer) and Zheng He (the Chinese explorer). There are also ads for castles for sale and books of the era.

Just Looking lets you select categories such as history, life science or geography and content such as videos, animations, sounds or bubble views. Bubble views are 360 degree panoramic views of various places. Or just let the program randomly select items for you to browse in. Lots of fun and informative as well.

The Monthly Spotlight gives you information about events of the past that occurred in this month. Also included is the flower and birth stone of the month, and links bring up more details. For example, in the month of May, Peter Tchaikovsky, the classical composer, was born, and a link plays an audio clip of one of his compositions. Additional references link to history, sports and more.

The very useful Homework Wizard takes you step by step through creation of reports, charts or time lines. The Wizard can help you select areas of interest and topics and point you to reference text, pictures, illustration and more. From here, you can select material to complete the project.

World Book 2004 V 8.00 is a great value for the price, a reference source that’s been used by teachers and librarians since 1917 (the printed version, that is), all for good reasons.

Ollo Helps the Younger Set (ages 3 and up)

Ollo in the Sunny Valley Fair features the familiar Ollo, an animated clay character, helping children learn basic pre-school skills such as colors, shapes, numbers and letters, measurements, memory and logic skills and more.

The six chapters use 28 locations and original songs to help with the learning. To introduce children to these learning skills, Ollo helps his friend Rose grow a prize-winning tomato to enter in the Sunny Valley Fair. When the tomato grows too big and breaks from the vine and tumbles away, Ollo must help Rosie capture the tomato so she can win a prize at the fair. Along the way Ollo takes children through his yard, where they learn colors by seeing flowers pop up, along a road, where they learn numbers by counting the colorful bugs as they crawl out of a bush, and in his house, where they learn logic skills. Similar easy-to-use clickable options help children with many other skills, all in a fun and easy style of learning.

The program features several options, including closed captioning, and also includes a manual for parents. Created by the team that originated the Putt-Putt and Freddie Fish series, the program features the same colorful, lively style of learning that children will enjoy.

From Plaid Banana, Windows 95/98/Me/2000Pro/XP with Pentium, $19.99.

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