Product Description

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #582 in Software
• Brand: The Learning Company
• Model: 380848
• Released on: 2001-06-25
• ESRB Rating: Rating Pending
• Platforms: Mac, Windows
• Format: CD-ROM
• Dimensions: 1.50" h x 8.00" w x 9.50" l, .36 pounds

Amazon.com Review
A diaper-clad rhinoceros, a troupe of Incredible Performing Hamsters, and a mambo-dancing moose are just a handful of the many light-hearted elements that make Reader Rabbit: Learn to Read with Phonics an engrossing early-reading program that puts some much needed fun in phonics.

The program starts with Mat the Mouse singing a complaining song because she can't read well enough to take full advantage of the carnival she wants to attend. This alone is a stroke of genius: it's easier for kids to relate to poor confused Mat than some know-it-all character who already knows how to read (that would be Reader Rabbit, but he serves a purpose as Mat's guide). When her wish for "no more words to read" comes true, Mat realizes a world with no words simply won't work, and sets out on a journey to decode a message that will allow her to make a counterwish and get words back.

The occasionally flat animation is remedied by the volume and variety of early-reading activities. Two approaches to the program help customize it to your child's learning style: Road to Reading is the more structured approach, where kids lead Mat on a path to 26 different lands associated with each letter of the alphabet, and help decode her counterwish. Pick and Play is a nonstructured method of exploring the program that allows kids to directly access the various activities found along the alphabet path. Word Factory is another program element that has nothing to do with Mat's quest, but introduces four more word-building and memorization activities to an already brimming program.

Designers paid attention to details that are important for learning: characters meticulously pronounce words and sound out letters in clear children's voices. Each activity can be played on five different levels, and kids can check their progress and print study words. The program introduces sight words for memorization as well as words that must be constructed by sounding out. Some of the virtual books in this program are more entertaining and engaging than actual phonics texts we've seen. Even the Parent's Guide information was useful, and taught us a thing or two about how kids learn to read. Perhaps most importantly, this CD-ROM's clever wordplay and constant comedic surprises will keep kids interested as they develop the nuts-and-bolts skills that will lead to a lifetime of enthusiastic reading. (Ages 3 to 6) --Anne Erickson

Amazon.com Product Description
Your child is invited to go on a learning journey with Reader Rabbit. Learn to Read with Phonics is designed to teach reading one step at a time, from letters and sounds, to words and spelling, and, eventually, to reading simple stories. This reading program is designed to help children build skills, confidence, and a solid foundation for success in reading. Come along and discover the joy of reading with Reader Rabbit.

Customer Reviews

The best reading and phonics game
I own several phonics and reading games, and there's no doubt in my mind that the Reader Rabbit games are head and shoulders above the rest. The three main reading games: Learn to Read with Phonics, I Can Read With Phonics (also called Reading 6-9) and Reading 4-6 are absolutely a must for kids learning to read. No matter who the child is, if there's the ability to read in him/her, these games will get it out!

Learn to Read with Phonics is fantastic in that it such an incredible amount of stuff to do. Every letter has a land, and the child explores each land by going through phonics drills and reading two books. The books and the drills are divided into 5 levels, and each land requires finishing some phonics practice before the child can move on to the next. Alternatively, the parents can also elect to go to each land or each activity if they choose, so there is great flexibility here. Every word in the books is individually clickable, so the child can be certain to learn how to say each word. The drills are not particularly demanding, so even if the child doesn't know much, as long as he goes through the drills he can move on to the next level. He is not stuck there until he gets it all right, but even this can be adjusted by the parent.

Learn to Read with Phonics is a game, but not in the normal sense. There's phonics drilling here, meaning that this is actually glorified homework. If you just let your child do it on his own, he will do it for a while, like my 5 year old son did, but he will probably get tired of it after a few hours and will not go through the entire journey. (Girls are probably better at this than boys.) I got the games to homeschool my kid. I require that he finishes 5 letterland a day, and I make sure that reads out each letter in the books by individually clicking on them. This takes him an hour (longer when he gets to the end of the journey when the levels get harder and the books get longer.) When he's done, I let him have a small bag of chips. He seems to find the deal acceptable. When he is all the way through, I make him start from the beginning again.

Repetition isn't necessarily fun, but that's how people learn. I find the computer invaluable at teaching little kids. At their stage, there's more repetition than anything else, and as a formal college teacher, I don't look forward to teaching little kids stuff to my kids. The computer is perfect for the job because it never gets bored, tired, impatient, or a sore throat from saying "See Jane run" too many times.

The difference between Learn to Read with Phonics and I Can Read with Phonics is their levels: one is for ages 4-6, and the other one is for 6-9, but the age group is really arbitrary. If your child has trouble reading, he/she can benefit from both CDs. They are two totally different games, and together with Reader Rabbit Reading 4-6, which is still a different reading game, makes a perfect package as a computer reading teacher.

I highly recommend this product to anyone.

Note: another reviewer here says that this game may not run on XP. Not true. I have XP and all three Reader Rabbit reading games run just fine on it.

Learning to Read with Reader Rabbit
I ordered this software for my almost 4 year old who loved the Reader Rabbit Toddler software, but had outgrown it. To get the most out of it, your child should have the ability to hold and click a mouse, and should already have basic recognition of capital and lower-case letters. The lowest level is perfect for my child but would have been too difficult at ages 3 - 3 1/2. The software teaches both letter and word recognition as well as phonics. The games are cute and when your child gets tired of learning to read there are fun songs and graphics to listen to with "reading propaganda" lyrics about how fun and important it is to learn to read.

Just the ticket
When our 5-year-old got into kindergarten, we were surprised to find out how much they expect out of kids that age nowadays.

Just 5 years ago, when our first one was kindergarten age, they used that time to start to introduce reading concepts. Now, they expect them to know the basics already and just delve into more advanced topics. Even the teacher said she's still getting used to the new level they're expected to teach at.

So, we had to do outside catch-up work, and this program was right on-target. It led our kindergartener step-by-step to a firm grasp of the material - his improvement was immediately visible. And he's had so much fun that he hates to stop playing.

This is a combination of two programs that were previously separate. The first one (Road to Reading) goes through each letter of the alphabet and reinforces the sound of the letter, plus presents site words using that letter. The second one (Word Factory) picks up there and introduces how to build words from the basic sounds.

I should probably point out that this program does not include any tutorial material, so it can't be used by itself to teach a child phonics. It is, however, a great set of exercises to practice and extend what they've learned elsewhere.

I would also recommend that this be used with some amount of parental involvement. In spite of its game-like format, it should probably be treated more like homework, having an adult available to get them started and to make sure they're using each concept correctly.