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100 Classic Books (Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi)

common sense media says

The themes and content of these masterpieces vary greatly.

parents & educators say
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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that the titles included in 100 Classic Books are all acclaimed, important books from literary history, but they vary greatly in terms of content. In this software, you'll find everything from Alice in Wonderland to War and Peace -- with all kinds of titles (and types of content) in between. There are bound to be some books that younger children aren't ready for, so parents should be aware of which books their kids are choosing to read.

Educational value: Many of these 100 books are literary classics that children will end up having to read in school at some point, giving this software strong educational value.
Positive messages: While several of these classic books explore mature themes, there are many with positive messages. And on the whole, the message of this software is the incredibly positive take away that reading is fun, transporting, and important.
Positive role models: The characters in these books run the gamut from "good guys" to "bad guys." The ones you'll encounter depend entirely on which books you read.
Ease of play: The interface for choosing and reading the books is very easy to handle. There's even a quiz you can take to help you select one to read.
Violence: The content of the books varies greatly. While some are children's books, others feature war, murders, and fighting.
Sex: While some of the included books have no sexual content, others explore sexual themes and include relationships and liaisons as parts of their plots.
Language: In some books there's no strong language, while others include words like "hell" or "damn." Others, because of the era in which they were written, contain racial epithets.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Several of the books feature characters who smoke or drink alcohol.
Our ratings and reviews are informed by child development guidelines. Learn more.

More on 100 Classic Books

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
  • Families can talk about the many themes in these classic books: War, love, ethics, human nature.
  • You can also talk about why you choose a particular book to read. What did you base your choice on? Did you use the built-in quiz to help you decide? Did you pick books you've heard of already? Are you more interested in trying one you know nothing about?

What's the story?

What's the story?
100 CLASSIC BOOKS puts a library of literary masterpieces at your fingertips. Books range from Treasure Island, Black Beauty, and Little Women to Crime and Punishment, Pride and Prejudice, and Tess of the D'Urbervilles. A quiz can help you decide which book to read. It asks you if you prefer certain time periods or certain genres, whether or not the book has ever been made into a movie, etc. Pages can be flipped with a finger swipe, and you can easily scan ahead by chapter or page through a user-friendly menu. You can place bookmarks in up to three novels at a time.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

Will reading books on a screen ever be as good as reading them on paper? That's still up for discussion. But there's nothing bad about reading these great works of literature on your DS. 100 Classic Books gives you such a wealth of stories to choose from that the addition of that "what should I read?" quiz is much appreciated. The screen may be small (using a DS XL might work even better), but the font is clear and has a nice, real-book-like quality. It also helps to show real book covers for each.

Reading these books is enjoyable and provides a nice edifying feeling -- like you're improving yourself and entertaining yourself at the same time. For some, this kind of reading will never take the place of holding a real paper book in your hands, but for people who would like to quickly increase their home library for a mere $.20 a book, this is a sweet bit of software.

Game themes & details

Game Details
Available on: Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi
Not available online
Genre: Educational
Developer: Nintendo
Released on: June 14, 2010
Price: 19.99
ESRB Rating: NR
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This review was written by Christopher Healy
 
 

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F-Zero studios
teen, 14 years old
2
 
cool i think i'll purchase it
awesome game the world best book video game ever
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helped me decide (18) | had useful details (16) | read my mind (16)
Applelover
kid, 2 years old
2
 
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helped me decide (17) | had useful details (16) | read my mind (15)

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About our rating system
ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child, some content may not be right for some kids
OFF: Not age appropriate for kids this age
Our child development rating guidelines