The Amazing Writing MachineThe Amazing Writing Machine
Capturing kids' enchantment with computers and their preference for the visual, The Amazing Writing Machine encourages kids to write, illustrate, and "publish" in several different styles.
The basic screen shows an old-fashioned machine, the "Project Picker," and presents five choices: essay, letter, story, poem, and journal. After users click on one of these five, they may choose between the two modes for writing: Write (creating from scratch in a certain format) or Spin (editing and illustrating pre-written projects).
In addition there are nine "Sparkling Jewels" located on the wheels of the project picker. Click on any one and choose a "Writing Environment" such as fantasy, mystery, horror, or romance.
The Amazing Writing Machine uses basic word processing technology, with text tools that are common to the Macintosh. There are only three menus: File, Edit, and Goodies-the special features of this program.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of The Amazing Writing Machine lies in letting users shape or edit the document they are creating with tools such as the InfoSaurus, a sort of combination bulletin board/dictionary. This database lets users trace occurrences of a word as well as display quotes, jokes, and sentence segments that can then be pasted into a project. The innovative Secret Coder tool lets users convert their text into any of eight secret codes, and the Rebus Picture tool gives symbols to use in place of text.
Especially appealing for the budding artist is the range of colors available. The Kid Pix Painting Tools have seven different single-color palettes as well as options that produce multicolored effects. Young Rembrandts may use the Wacky Pencil, the Wacky Brush, and the Paint Can to work on their illustrations. They can also import and scale pictures from a wide variety of computer-generated images.
The style and range of age-appeal in the illustrations are very impressive with 20 categories. Many literary and historical figures (and Santa Claus!) fill the Portraits category. The Famous Places category is definitely loaded to favor writing about the eastern U.S.
Instructions for printing documents are not quite as straightforward as they could be. A different screen appears for each of the five projects. In the case of the journal, users may choose to print only one entry, the pages displayed, a whole month's entries, or the whole journal. Choosing to print a letter automatically prints an envelope on a single sheet with lines for folding. Instructions for folding are in the User's Guide, although the post office might not like the results. The Amazing Writing Machine is designed for output in color, but it may also be printed in black and white.
Sound is naturally not an important element in this program about writing, but Reader Robots will read the text aloud in eight different voices when it is highlighted and the icon activated. A few additional background noises seem random or artificial.
The User's Guide is clear and plainly written. It is also essential for using the program. Although the box designates ages six to twelve, eight might be a more appropriate starting age. Most kids will need to spend time with the Guide or have a computer-savvy adult nearby as they begin.
Straightforward and friendly in tone, The Amazing Writing Machine seems terrific for home use; it also has many benefits for classroom use. Budding writers and artists will spend many hours creating wherever The Amazing Writing Machine is available.
For Mac: System 7 or higher, 4 MB RAM, 256-color monitor
Etta Wilson is the editor of A Closer Look and the children's book editor for BookPage. She can be reached at etta_wilson@bookpage.com.
