Clifford The Big Red Dog Reading

After a brief introduction to Clifford and his friend Emily Elizabeth, the two animated characters give an overview of a handful of letters, along with words that can be made from them. Armed with this knowledge, players may then choose from six different games that use these words and letters. In one game, players break balloons with the selected word--pop enough balloons, and Clifford gets dunked in the ocean! In another, players sort parrots into pairs depending on what sound they have learned to make.

The games in Clifford Reading are simple, but they succeed in making entertainment of phonics drills. What's more, success brings definite rewards. Players who correctly identify words and sounds in enough games earn prizes, printed projects like paper airplanes and puppets; these can be colored the old-fashioned way, with crayons and pencils, or decorated on the computer prior to being printed out. Even better, each time players conquer a group of words and letters, they receive a book that uses those words--one that they can read without any help at all! Like the prize activities, the books can be printed, colored, and kept for posterity as visible signs of reading progress.

Clifford Reading favors substance over flash. The animations are simple, but the program runs smoothly and its content is extensive. With its multiple levels of difficulty and entertaining games, this is a top choice for children who are hungry to start reading on their own. --Alyx Dellamonica

Amazon.com Review
Clifford the Big Red Dog: Reading is another excellent package from children's publisher Scholastic, perfectly designed to help children ages 4 to 6 develop early reading skills. It features Clifford, the ever-popular big red dog, known and loved by many children for more than 30 years.

Throughout, your child will be asked to help Clifford explore the fun-packed neighborhood on Birdwell Island and take part in various activities, among which are the creation of T-shirts, making a theater sign, helping Monique the artist identify words and paint them, dunking Clifford in the sea, returning Loretta's parrots to her boats, plus many others.

All these activities are entertaining, involving situations only Clifford can create. Skills covered include letter recognition and sorting, visual discrimination, word building, phonics, word and object association, letter and sound recognition, uppercase and lowercase letters, sight-word recognition, sound blending, spelling, vocabulary, listening, memory, following directions, basic PC skills, fine-motor skills, and creativity.

All of the activities have seven levels of learning that automatically adjust according to your child's progress. Once a level has been completed and all the letters and sounds have been mastered, a bonus book is given as a reward. The books earned will be placed on the bookshelf in Emily Elizabeth's bedroom, and can be accessed at any time to be read, colored, or printed.

The accompanying user's manual is excellent: it is extremely well set out and explains everything from technical support, installation, and the activities, to reporting on a child's progress and troubleshooting, using straightforward, simple language. --Susan Naylor, Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com Product Description
Exploring Clifford's neighborhood, children discover entertaining reading activities--all with seven levels that continually introduce new letters, sounds, and words. After completing a level, children earn a bonus book they can read on their own, using the skills they have just learned. In addition, kids visit interactive places, such as the carnival and movie theater, where they find special surprises.