Reader Rabbit 1st Grade Learning System (Windows, Mac)

In honor of the 20th birthday of Reader Rabbit, the charismatic software star, The Learning Company introduced READER RABBIT 1ST GRADE LEARNING SYSTEM, a combination software and learning aids. It contains a multi-subject CD-ROM titled Capers on Cloud Nine, a CD-ROM of printable learning activities, an audio CD with nine Reader Rabbit songs, and a box of flashcards and stickers to help teach reading.

In Capers on Cloud Nine!, the main component of this bundle, kids help Reader Rabbit and his friend Sam the Lion solve the mystery of why it is raining umbrellas and galoshes. They search for clues as they visit exotic places like Cloud 9, and interact with wacky characters including Irvin the Inventor, a turtle who made the machine that is creating the weather havoc. As they explore, players collect items they can use or trade with other characters.

Capers on Cloud Nine! is not new software -- it was released in 2001 as Reader Rabbit 1st Grade: Capers on Cloud Nine! and then marketed in 2002 as Reader Rabbit 1st Grade. However, it remains the top first-grade title. Eight fabulous learning games that teach about art, math, science, and language arts are seamlessly woven into the fabric of the adventure.

Some of the academics can be challenging for kids just starting first grade, so it might be better to introduce this software during the middle of the year, or as a review before starting second grade.