SMARTKID REVIEW

An On-Line Magazine For Parents And Teachers, Has Given Its Very Highest Rating To Pony Express Rider

Pony Express Rider Subject: History/Social Studies Age Level: Ages 9-14

Rating: 5 Bulbs! [highest possible rating]

McGraw-Hill has not exactly been a household word when it comes to software programming. Their original forays were limited to bringing books to life - and those were just barely breathing. What a terrific surprise, then, to see that they are now on top of their game with this stunning new program, a true multi-media adventure game.

Pony Express Rider starts in March 1861, right before the outbreak of the Civil War. You, the player, are a new rider, picking up your first assignment in St. Joseph, Missouri. Your job is to take the mail west, riding from station to station, trying to avoid (or shoot) bandits and rattlesnakes. Along the way you meet all kinds of people, including runaway slaves, federal agents, Indians, settlers - even Confederate spies.

Two things make this one of the best new programs of the year. First, the multi-media mix is darn near perfect, seamlessly combining old movie clips, rich graphics, video sequences and a rousing musical score. Next, and ultimately more important, the program uses an exciting story line - in this case a Confederate plot that must must be foiled - in order to involve kids with the issues of history.

In Pony Express Rider, slavery is not merely explained. Instead, the rider interacts along his journey with a runaway slave. Westward migration, likewise, is no abstract concept, as the player gets to know a Scandinavian family as it heads west in search of farmland. Throughout the program, in fact, the player engages history. Every letter, every book on a table, every character encountered - all make history come alive. The letters from President Lincoln, read aloud, are downright inspiring.

Of course, your kids will probably be more interested in cracking the Southern spy ring and blasting away at bandits. But that's the beauty of this program - history is laced into its very fiber, and kids will learn it by moving through it, interactively. This is as "good as it gets at this point."