Cheap Disney's Adventures in Typing with Timon & Pumbaa (Software) (Windows 95, Windows 98, Macintosh) Price

Gentle jungle murmurings overlaid with Robert Guillaume's gleeful voice give this solid, well-conceived typing program an unusual degree of appeal and staying power. While smacking bugs, catching grubs, and tearing away from dangerous enemies, kids are actually practicing the same fundamental skill-based keyboard activities as covered by such adult titles as Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. Some terrific components of this program include shadows that display which finger should be used to hit each key, a clock ticker that counts the seconds in each two-minute game, and the blissful fact that hitting the space bar will fast-forward you past the opening and closing credits. The mysterious, leafy jungle setting is delightfully alive, yet you'll likely need to turn the brightness on your monitor way up to see all the vital buttons hidden in the dark corners of the scene. Be forewarned: to truly conquer touch-typing, you need to drive those keyboard strokes deep into the body's muscular memory. Endless repetition is the only proven method for this. That means that while this program boasts five unique activities (for example, Rafiki gives "lessons" while Timon and Pumbaa play "games"), it is all keyboard practice, again and again. Kids receive encouragement with an enticing visual environment, progress reports, certificates, and frequent enthusiastic comments from Guillaume, but it is ultimately going to fall upon the parents to see that their children continue with this when the going gets, well, boring. Don't expect your child to see this through without your support. Stay involved, and they will. (Ages 6-10) --Jean Lenihan

PLATFORM:	Windows 95, Windows 98, Macintosh
AGE GROUP:	6 years and up
CATEGORY:	Software
MANUFACTURER:	Disney Interactive
ESRB RATING:	Everyone
FEATURES:	CD-ROM
TYPE:	Lion King, typing, keyboarding
MEDIA:	CD-ROM
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