Storybook Workshop
By Jinny Gudmundsen,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Record your own fairytale readings in fun Wii game.
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Storybook Workshop
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What’s It About?
STORYBOOK WORKSHOP brings 16 classic and new fairytales to the Wii for an interactive reading experience. You can opt to have the tales read out loud by a professional storyteller, read them to your self while watching the animations play on the screen, or read them aloud and record your readings so that you can play them back later. When reading and recording, you can opt to turn on the Magic Voice feature which alters your reading voice to make it sound like the character who is speaking. You can also bring your favorite Mii into a story where it will appear as a character. In addition to the fairytales, there are also sing-along-songs to record, paintings to create using only your voice, and other learning activities.
Is It Any Good?
Storybook Workshop makes reading out loud a hoot. It is enchanting for kids to hear their high voices change into a deep one or even one of a robot. This is a fun game for families with non-reading children because they can watch and listen as their parents or older siblings record a story and then join in on saying key phrases. It is fun for children who can read because the voice altering software is interesting to experiment with. This game also allows a visiting grandparent or traveling parent to record a story that can be enjoyed later by a child.
While Storybook Workshop does a great job of making reading fun, its navigation is a little burdensome with multiple menu screens popping up before you can get to read a fairytale. Also, when using the microphone, there is a delay in hearing what you read out loud, which can be disconcerting. We would have welcomed the ability to turn off the background music, because it can, at times, be too much of a distraction. Fortunately, you can turn it down. Please note that these complaints are only minor and that they did not take away much from the overall enjoyment of the game.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
When recording the fairy tales, did you like using the Magic Voice changer, or did you prefer creating your own character voices?
Which fairytale was your favorite?
Did you explore what it was like to bring your favorite Mii into a story?
Game Details
- Platform: Nintendo Wii
- Available online?: Not available online
- Publisher: Konami
- Release date: December 1, 2009
- Genre: Educational
- ESRB rating: E for Mild Cartoon Violence
- Last updated: August 31, 2016
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