In Dora the Explorer: Fairytale Adventure, Dora must perform four feats to become a princess so that she can undo an evil witch’s spell that has turned her friend Boots into “Sleeping Boots.”
Kids either help Dora in the fairytale escapade or they can bypass the adventure and go directly to the 10 multi-leveled games.
If children opt for the adventure, they are transported to Fairyland with Dora and Boots. Boots eats a bewitched banana that puts him into a deep sleep. Boot’s sleep spell can only be broken by a "true princess." Being Boots’ best friend, Dora tackles four tasks to gain the status of a "true princess." She asks players to help her get magic rings from a dragon, teach rocks to sing, turn winter to spring, and bring the moon to the King and Queen. Sound impossible? Not when you are Dora!
To accomplish these feats, youngsters play learning activities that teach colors, shapes, counting, and logical reasoning. For example, to turn winter into spring, kids match snowmen with hats and gloves that correspond to snowmen’s sizes. The activities also provide preschoolers with much-needed practice at using the computer mouse. At one point, youngsters swipe the screen with an oversized cursor to wipe the snowy landscape away to reveal spring underneath.
Fairytale Adventure is a good choice for families wanting to encourage bilingual speech because Dora speaks in both English and Spanish. In addition, the software has three fairytale storybooks that can be read aloud in both English and Spanish. There are 14 songs and some teach Spanish words.
Dora and her friends encourage a child’s participation by looking out and talking directly to the child. Because the activities are available on three levels of difficulty, the software is replayable. The software offers hints and help when a child is struggling—a hallmark of good preschool/kindergarten software.
While Fairytale Adventure doesn’t have as much educational depth as Didi and Ditto Kindergarten, another excellent software title for this age group, it does provide a memorable learning adventure. The adventure is exciting because Dora interacts with a witch, a dragon, a giant, and even singing stones.
All tech products are judged on a five star scale by looking at the following factors: fun, education, ease of use, value, and technical.
