The following review may be printed by user groups, provided credit information is left intact and that a copy of the publication that the review appears in be sent to Wendy Marchuck, MCMUG, PO Box 2513, Dearborn, MI 48123.
Books are no longer offered just in print form. CD-ROM technology is enhancing the way we read and study. I don’t know of any CD-ROM publisher that has gone as far in providing quality children’s books as Discis Knowledge Research Inc.
Discis has published a collection of 12 CD-ROM books for children (2 other books using Discis’ CD-ROM interface are available from Ginn Publishing). Not only are these books delightful and entertaining (I have had the most splendid time preparing this review), but each book includes features that enable children to strengthen their reading skills. Elementary and middle schools are using Discis books as a part of their educational programs. According to the premiere issue of Discis’ Adventures in Learning newsletter, Discis means “you learn” in Latin. Discis is similar to the Latin word Discus, meaning “disk.”
Features
Each Discis book has an easy-to-use interface that resembles an open book. Generally, the text of the story appears on one page of the open book, and the illustration appears on the other page. By clicking the mouse on the lower right page corner, the reader can advance to the next page of the book. By clicking on the lower left page corner, one can back up a page. Clicking on a marker that is discreetly placed along the right edge of the book allows the reader to back up or move forward multiple pages at once.
The reader may customize each Discis book. The reader can select any of his Macintosh system fonts for the text of the book. He can select the font size and line spacing to suit his preferences.
The reader can sit back, click the mouse button on the speaker icon, and the story will be read in its entirety by a pleasant voice. Different voices, each appropriate to the story, narrate each book. Several books such as Moving Gives Me a Stomach Ache and A Long Hard Day at the Ranch are narrated by a little boy.
Other ways to read the Discis books include reading along with the narrator sentence by sentence. When the reader is finished reading one sentence, he may select the next sentence’s speaker icon and that sentence will be read. The reader can opt to read the story himself, without any narration.
The reader can easily click on any word appearing in the story and that word will be re-read. If he clicks and holds the mouse, the word will be read, and a definition offered. Words that are clicked on in the story, are listed in a menu item call “Recall.” All these “Recall” words can later be reviewed and studied. Discis books contain on-line spoken help. The story is narrated only in English. Other features are customizable - they can be read in Spanish or English.
The books can be read with the pleasing background music and special effects enabled or disabled.
One of my favorite features includes the ability to click on parts of each illustration. If, for instance, the reader clicked on the portion of an illustration that was of a camera, the word camera will appear and will be spoken simultaneously.
The parent, teacher, or reader can easily customize what happens when the mouse button is clicked, clicked and held, and double-clicked.
The recall list may be saved if the reader is forced to quit in the middle of a story. Also, a “bookmark” feature is available so the reader can launch the story right back at the page where he left.
Illustrations
As I use a color Macintosh, I enjoyed viewing the books in color. The illustrations are magnificent in color and enhance each story. Many of the illustrations are breathtaking. I also viewed several of the stories in black and white. Unfortunately, the limited 72 dpi resolution of black and white Macintosh computers causes a reduction in the impact of the illustrations.
The black and white illustrations appearing in this review were captured as b&w screen dumps from all the stories. The screen dumps were then resized to match the resolution of a 300 dpi laser printer. As the illustrations in the review are so small, please know that they lack the characteristics that they have within the stories.
Classroom Use
Discis Books will provide extremely helpful to schools utilizing Macintosh equipment. A 110 page manual and teacher’s guide is available. The recall lists and ability for students to easily obtain word definitions will motivate students to read — including students who have previously lacked the ambition to improve their reading skills. Discis books make reading fun.
If your school system uses Macintosh computer equipment in the classrooms but isn’t familiar with the benefits of Discis books, you may want to let your school officers know. It’s clear that learning in this manner will become commonplace as the benefits are discovered by more teaching institutions.
Compatibility
Discis books are compatible with any Macintosh (color or black & white) that is equipped with a CD-ROM reader. A keyboard and hard drive aren’t necessary.
Expense
Discis books aren’t cheap. Each book has a retail price ranging from $74.95 to $89.95. Unfortunately, the cost of the entire set is prohibitive to many parents. Parents who recognize the benefits of Discis books but can’t afford to purchase them are encouraged to motivate their school system to obtain them. Discis books are clearly oriented towards use by educational institutions. If, however, you are residing in an area with an school system that has inferior educational programs, you may want to seriously consider purchasing a couple of the books for your children to supplement their education. Each Discis Book comes with a list of "to do" activities focusing on the story.
Availability
Discis books are available directly from Discis:
Discis Knowledge Research Inc.
NYCCPO Box #45099
5150 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON M2N 6N2
1-800-567-4321
I have seen them available at below their retail prices from Educorp, 7434 Trade Street, San Diego, CA 92121. 1-800-843-9497. They are also available from Maya Computing, The Bridge Street Marketplace, Box 680, Waitsfield, Vermont 05673. 1-800-541-2318.
The Stories-
AESOP’S FABLES
Author Aesop
Illustrator Arthur Rackham
Size in Megabytes* 144
Number of Pages** 44
Number Illustrations*** 12
Length in Minutes† 12
Suggested Reading Age†† 9-13
Retail Price $79.95
Fables are short stories that include animals that possess human characteristics. Although nothing is definitely known about Aesop, he is believed to have been a freed Greek slave living in 6th Century B.C. His fables have survived for 7,000 years due to their brevity and simplicity. Each of Aesop’s fables includes a moral lesson.
Discis’ Aesop’s Fables include these popular stories: The Crab & his Mother, The Fox & the Grapes, The Ants & the Grasshopper, The Travelers & the Plane-Tree, The Crow & the Pitcher, The Dog & his Shadow, The Town Mouse & the Country Mouse, The Cat & the Birds, The Quack Frog, and The Fox & the Crow.
CINDERELLA: THE ORIGINAL FAIRY TALE
Author unknown
Illustrator Paul Riley
Size in Megabytes 302
Number of Pages 72
Number Illustrations 35
Length in Minutes 20
Suggested Reading Age 9+
Retail Price $74.95
Discis has beautifully retold this classic fairy tale about Cinderella. (Cinderella means little cinder girl.) Cinderella: The Original Fairy Tale has a unique ending that I had never heard before. Cinderella is treated more coldly than I’ve ever seen her treated in other versions, yet she is more forgiving.
Cinderella: The Original Fairy Tale is the longest playing Discis book. It also has the most number of pages and illustrations. If you can only purchase one Discis book, I suggest Cinderella.
HEATHER HITS HER FIRST HOME RUN
Author Ted Plantos
Illustrator Heather Collins
Size in Megabytes 134
Number of Pages 31
Number Illustrations 18
Length in Minutes 6
Suggested Reading Age 6+
Retail Price $89.95
Heather Hits Her First Home Run is a charming book about a little girl’s struggle to try and do well at t-ball. Children can certainly relate to Heather’s struggle to do well at something she’s not good at. The illustrations are wonderfully done. The sound effects make the reader feel he is seated in the bleachers watching Heather as she tries to hit the ball. Heather is actually tagged out at the end of the book, but she has enabled her teammates on all the bases to make it home. The story concludes by Heather’s coach giving her confidence and support, making her feel as though she did hit her first home run.
A LONG HARD DAY ON THE RANCH
Author Audrey Nelson
Illustrator Audrey Nelson
Size in Megabytes 98
Number of Pages 23
Number Illustrations 19
Length in Minutes 4
Suggested Reading Age 5+
Retail Price $74.95
This is a darling and humorous story about a little boy visiting his aunt and uncle on their ranch. The story is written by the little boy as a letter to his dad. He writes of his absolutely incredible adventures on the ranch - from rounding up runaway cattle and saving his aunt and uncle from bandits, to operating on his aunt’s broken toe. The story’s illustrations show what really happened.
MOVING GIVES ME A STOMACH ACHE
Author Heather McKend
Illustrator Heather Collins
Size in Megabytes 120
Number of Pages 38
Number Illustrations 15
Length in Minutes 5
Suggested Reading Age 6+
Retail Price $89.95
As someone who moved several times while quite young, I can relate with the little boy in this story. This little boy feels sick to his stomach on the day his family must move. He faces the dilemma of packing his favorite tree and best friend Pinkie into the box his mom gave him. Upon moving, he learns his new house, tree, and new friend next door are “almost” as good as those he had before. He realizes moving isn’t so bad after all.
MUD PUDDLE
Author Robert N. Munsch
Illustrator Sami Suomalainen
Size in Megabytes 107
Number of Pages 42
Number Illustrations 14
Length in Minutes 7
Suggested Reading Age 4+
Retail Price $79.95
The little girl in this story can’t seem to win. The story starts out by her putting on new clothes and going out to play. Suddenly, this mud puddle comes out of nowhere and covers her completely. After a thorough bath from her mom, she goes back outside with fresh clean clothes to have the mud puddle splash her again. This happens several times. As the little girl stares out the window of her house afraid to step outside, she gets a clever idea about how to chase the mud puddle away.
THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
Author Clement C. Moore, LL.D.
Illustrator Arthur Rackham
Size in Megabytes 98
Number of Pages 17
Number Illustrations 13
Length in Minutes 5
Suggested Reading Age All Ages
Retail Price $89.95
Although originally written in 1822 as “A Visit from Saint Nicholas”, The Night Before Christmas remains a treasured story at Christmas time. Several of the color illustrations included in this Discis version are breathtaking- specifically the illustration of the children sleeping with the angels watching overhead.
THE PAPER BAG PRINCESS
Author Robert N. Munsch
Illustrator Michael Martchenko
Size in Megabytes 85
Number of Pages 33
Number Illustrations 13
Length in Minutes 6
Suggested Reading Age 6+
Retail Price $74.95
The princess in our story is said to have a lot of “princess clothes”. But then, a dragon comes to the castle, destroying everything, kidnapping her fiancé Ronald, and leaving her with only a paper bag as a dress. She then seeks out the dragon’s residence and attempts to disable the dragon from his power and ability to breath fire. After this is accomplished, she rescues Ronald. Ronald remarks of her dirty appearance and paper bag dress. She realizes Ronald is a jerk. This prince and princess don’t live happily ever after together.
SCARY POEMS FOR ROTTEN KIDS
Author sean o huigin
Illustrator John Fraser and Scott Hughes
Size in Megabytes 240
Number of Pages 36
Number Illustrations 20
Length in Minutes 19
Suggested Reading Age 8+
Retail Price $89.95
If you have a child who is easily frightened, you may want to preview these poems first. There are 12 altogether including Welcome, The Day the Mosquitoes Ate Angela Jane, The Body, The Visitor, Breakfast, Acid Rain, Bye Bye, The Pocket, Tweet Tweet, The Fog, The Munchies, Gerbelgek, and The Thing and I. The poem Welcome refers to eating children’s fingers. In The Day the Mosquitoes Ate Angela Jane, hundreds of Mosquitoes suck all the blood out of Angela Jane. As Angela Jane is such a bad little girl, all the Mosquitoes die because they can’t handle the amount of “bad” in her blood. I’m sure most would consider these poems light in comparison to other "scary" children's stories. It’s clear the author of Scary Poems for Rotten Kids meant his collection as a humorous look at the things that scare children (and some adults!). The illustrations are nicely done, and aren’t graphic. It is the text and background music that creates the “fright”. I especially like poem The Munchies which is spoken to a rap beat. This creates a humorous effect to an otherwise scary poem.
THE TALE OF BENJAMIN BUNNY
Author Beatrix Potter
Illustrator Beatrix Potter
Size in Megabytes 173
Number of Pages 61
Number Illustrations 26
Length in Minutes 9
Suggested Reading Age 5+
Retail Price $74.95
See comments under The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT
Author Beatrix Potter
Illustrator Beatrix Potter
Size in Megabytes 144
Number of Pages 29
Number Illustrations 26
Length in Minutes 10
Suggested Reading Age 4+
Retail Price $89.95
Beatrix Potter is one of the most famous of children’s authors. She lived from 1866 until 1943. The Tale of Peter Rabbit and The Tale of Benjamin Bunny were published in 1902 and 1904 respectively. Although these stories are 90 years old, these stories about two rabbit cousins remain a delight with young readers.
THOMAS’ SNOWSUIT
Author Robert N. Munsch
Illustrator Michael Martchenko
Size in Megabytes 114
Number of Pages 20
Number Illustrations 10
Length in Minutes 6
Suggested Reading Age 5+
Retail Price $79.95
Thomas’ Snowsuit is a really funny story - I’m sure all children act like Thomas at one time or another. Thomas is a pain. He won’t put on his brown snowsuit. The story of Thomas’ Snowsuit takes you from his home to his school where he constantly refuses to put on his snowsuit. He aggravates his mom, teacher, and principle alike. After his episode with Thomas, the principle even quits his job!
Conclusion
Discis books are a fun yet serious educational tool for young readers. Adult readers will also enjoy viewing Discis books. Educational institutions and parents concerned with their children’s education should look further into Discis books.
I’d like to thank Discis Knowledge Research, Inc. for providing the CDs for this review.
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*Each Discis book contains The story itself, an application entitled “Discis Books”, and previews of all the Discis books released prior to that disk’s release. The “Size in Megabytes” reference is to the story itself. The size does not include the other files on the CD.
**The number of pages listed is the number of default story pages for each book. By customizing the font style and size, and by changing the line width, one can decrease or increase the actual number of pages for each book.
***The number of illustrations listed for each book is an approximation. As I was reading the story, I may have missed counting an illustration or two. Every page of each Discis book contains an illustration. The same illustration, however, may be used for several pages of text. The number of illustrations listed for each books reflect the number of different illustrations.
†The length in minutes is an approximation for each book.
††This is the suggested reading age as appearing on each Discis book. Younger readers can enjoy all the Discis books also. (Preview Scary Poems first though) Readers younger than the suggested age, however, will not benefit as well from the reading tools that are integral to each Discis Book. My 1 year old, for instance, has enjoyed sitting on my lap and listening to the books including Cinderella, listed as age 9 and up.
