The Multimedia Bird Book
The Multimedia Bug Book

Workman/Swifte

Review by Dustin Kassman

Did you ever want to photograph interesting birds but were afraid of falling out of a tree? Always had the desire to capture exotic bugs but worry about what might be lurking in the grass? Well, here is your chance. Join Everly Glades while photographing birds for his magazine in The Multimedia Bird Book. Or grab your net and help Dr. Anson Pantz recapture his missing collection of bugs in The Multimedia Bug Book.

The Multimedia Bird Book lets kids visit different habitats to photograph over 60 birds for the fictional magazine, The Birder. Each issue focuses on a specific type of bird, such as seed eaters, and features between four and seven birds. Armed with a recording of one of the birds and a clue to its habitat, the junior shutter bugs must track down the bird. As they explore the seven habitats they discover hidden animation.

When a bird is successfully photographed, its entry is added to an issue of the magazine. Each entry contains the bird's common and scientific names, description, song, video clip, and facts about diet and habits--plus the photograph. A map diagrams the bird's range throughout the United States and Canada. Kids can read the text or have it narrated.

Completed issues contain the individual entries and an article discussing their common characteristic. An additional article covers a special topic, like nests or how birds fly. A central index allows users to go straight to any article in any issue. While similar functionality exists in The Multimedia Bug Book, it is not as handy to use.

The Bug Book is similar to The Bird Book: users join in a bug hunt to track down an escaped bug collection. Like the bird book, each bug entry contains a wealth of information, including a life-size drawing of the bug. Pop-up definitions for selected words are a useful touch, and the video clips of the bugs are especially interesting.

Coupled with the bug entries is a research book. This book leads to a variety of information and activities, including a bug classification chart, dictionary of bug terms, bug experiments, and some simple games.

Junior bug hunters, however, need to pay attention. Periodically, captured bugs will escape if the child cannot correctly answer a question about the bug's appearance or habits.

Both titles support multiple users and allow kids to save their progress and come back to it later. Their sparse documentation covers Windows and Macintosh installations, starting the title, and minimal troubleshooting. Installation is straightforward, but anyone experiencing problems will have to call a weekday-only, non-toll-free phone number for help.

These titles are fun and well designed for the recommended age group. The user interface is easy to use and contains helpful audible hints. Both use multimedia to its full extent, with video and audio clips long enough to be useful. However, it is disappointing that neither title supports printing nor copying articles or pictures for use elsewhere, such as in a report.

Neither of these titles was designed to be a complete reference guide. Both lack the number of entries and search features one would expect from a full-featured guide. Note too that a child cannot look at an entry until the bird has been photographed or the bug captured. These drawbacks are minor, and users will find the titles will capture the interest of any child.

So, if you want to photograph interesting birds or have the desire to capture exotic bugs, then grab your camera or bug net and join in the hunt. Best of all, you do not have to worry about running out of film or being stung.