Has anybody seen my Umbrella?
National Film Board of Canada. PC/Apple Mac. £? Available from Educational Media, 235 Imperial Drive, Rayners Lane, Harrow, Middlesex HA2 7HE. Tel: 0181 8681908

Cinderella, and the Prince with reading problems: obviously before the National Literacy Strategy, where the handsome Prince left school at Grade 1 and never learned to read. Consequently, after watching Cinderella’s bicycle disappear into the night, he picks up a glass slipper and reads the name tag… ‘umbrella.’ This CD ROM comprises a cartoon version of the story to sit and watch, a clickable version of the story and a number of activities. These are simple reading drill and practice activities unrelated to the story. The sound quality of this disc is very good. Installation was a little tricky: I loaded Apple Quicktime for Windows twice, and each time was told to load it again, and the system ground to a halt. Eventually I discovered that this was caused by my screen settings: 600 by 800 and ‘True colour.’ When I changed these the disc ran perfectly, but there should have been an initial warning. The concept behind the disc is amusing and has possibilities, but there is very little here that offers more than a book.

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