Cheap Clifford The Big Red Dog Thinking Adventures (Software) (Macintosh, Windows 95, Windows Me, Windows 98) Price

The program begins with the efficient Emily Elizabeth explaining all that needs to be done to prepare for the party: groom Clifford, decorate a birthday cake, pick up a present from the post office, build a birthday-dog collar, and clean up the backyard. As the duo sets out to accomplish these tasks, guided by your child, unplanned events and Clifford-caused accidents throw them off task, giving them additional problems to solve. A knocked-over grocery display case must be put back together before decorating the birthday cake, the needed package isn't at the post office, and the only dog groomer in town refuses to service the gigantic specimen. This program does a great job of encouraging the nonlinear thinking that's sometimes necessary to get through real life.

There are seven places to visit and explore in town, ranging from the beach to the home of the crotchety Bleakmans, elderly neighbors with a large swimming pool (hint, hint). In addition to the overall task of figuring out how to get ready for the big bash, there are also eight activities that can be played using three difficulty levels. One of the standouts is a game in which Clifford must deliver cars safely home after causing a traffic jam; it teaches spatial reasoning and how to follow directions, and there's just something delightful about seeing Clifford with a minivan in his mouth. Other activities range from purely creative (decorating the cake, grooming Clifford) to the game-like (helping Clifford dodge seaweed and refuel by eating fish sticks as he swims out to sea to rescue a doggy pal). The overall concept of the program is stronger than the individual games--a 6-year-old game whiz may find that Clifford moves a bit too slowly. We think disciples of the Big Red Dog will love it, as it features everything from Clifford's helpful heroism to Emily Elizabeth's odd circular kneecaps. (Ages 4 to 6) --Anne Erickson