Common Sense Media Review
By Leslie Crenna
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Book publisher's kid site has quizzes, activities, and more.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Videos and Photos
Capstone Kids
Parent and Kid Reviews
Privacy Rating Warning
Privacy Rating
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Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
What's It About?
CAPSTONE KIDS presents 65 series titles through trailer videos, story lines, downloadable activities, and character, author, and illustrator profiles, plus about 20 nonfiction exploration topics. Plentiful multiple-choice comprehension quizzes (about 15 percent Spanish titles) come with audio and super clear feedback, and 25 activities offer step-by-step instructions with photos. Despite the console icon, games are restricted to image-revealing matching puzzles, and word searches are in English only.
Is It Any Good?
Capstone Kids presents a range of complementary material to support fiction, nonfiction, hybrid, and Spanish-language titles from publisher Capstone Press. Kid-pleasing story angles that include kid werewolves, fortune telling, super scientists, and monster friends are enticingly brought to life through colorful graphics, a few full-chapter selections, and downloadables such as comic-strip templates and tattoos. The book titles sometimes look a bit like advertising, and vocabulary doesn’t exactly push the boundaries, but graphics are generally high-quality and role models positive.
Capstone titles are not afraid to bring up tricky topics: absentee parents, adoring classmates, bullying, and disgusting, gross, and nasty things (eating boogers!), which, of course, kids love. Topic-wise, science and history seem to dominate the nonfiction selections. Don't miss the small but really well done Make Stuff section that highlights magic tricks, paper folding, and crafts. A few quibbles: It would be nice if book title images were linked, so kids would have an easier time accessing the associated games and quizzes. The Contests section also is disappointing, as there don't seem to be any active contests for kids to enter.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Make stuff! Create magic tricks, crafts, and recipes, draw, and do paper folding.
Have family discussions based on the quizzes' comprehension questions.
Watch video trailers to inspire a project for your kids, either for books they've read or short stories they've written. How would they present a story they're written as a movie trailer?
Website Details
- Subjects : Language & Reading : following directions , reading , reading comprehension , storytelling , text analysis , vocabulary , Science : animals , chemistry , ecosystems and the environment , electricity , energy , life cycle , physics , substance properties , weather , Social Studies : events , exploration , geography , historical figures , history , Hobbies : building , cooking , fashion , sports
- Skills : Thinking & Reasoning : applying information , deduction , investigation , problem solving , Self-Direction : academic development , personal growth , self-assessment , Tech Skills : using and applying technology
- Genre : Educational
- Pricing structure :
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
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