SchoolHouse Rock Grammar Rock (Leapster)

SchoolHouse Rock, a popular Saturday morning television series in the 1970's, boogies its way onto the Leapster handheld system in SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK GRAMMAR ROCK. Kids listen to songs, watch animations, and read highlighted subtitles to learn grammar rules. Like their baby-boomer parents, kids find out about conjunctions by watching and listening to the "Conjunction Junction What's Your Function" song. To learn about verbs, youngsters watch a little boy at the movie theater, where he sees sliding, gliding, flying and more on the big screen.

Kids then become contestants in the Grammar Slammer Game, a game show that tests their knowledge of the part of speech just introduced. Players are shown three word choices and are asked to select the one that matches the part of speech on which they are being drilled. The game show can be played by one or two players.

The 1970s animated spots transfer well to the Leapster format, but this title should offer more value for the money. The Grammar Slammer is the only game included, and it's more of a drill than a fun game. Plus, while the songs are clever in how they teach grammar concepts, they last only for about 20 minutes, so overall, Grammar Rock doesn't offer much value for its $25 price tag.

The same criticisms hold true for SchoolHouse Rock America Rock, a second Leapster title with similar format that includes animated songs about American history and government.