By Warren Buckleitner

In the world of children's software, things have never been better - or worse. The average price of computer programs has plummeted from $35 in 1997 to about $19 today - great news, of course, for children's and young adult librarians with lean budgets. Likewise, hardware is more affordable, making it a relative snap for public libraries to run engaging programs. So what's the downside? Software makers are responding to a diminishing market (reduced, in part, by the popularity of the Internet and handhelds) by scaling back the number of programs they're producing. In fact, the reductions have become so draconian that the amount of software available for home, school, and public library use is now less than half of what it was just six years ago.

But that doesn't mean it's easy to separate the quality software from the chaff. That's why School Library Journal asked Warren Buckleitner, editor of Children's Software Revue and a former teacher, to share some of his latest star-studded favorites. All of Buckleitner's recommended programs are not only well designed and entertaining, but they're easy to use, worth every dollar, and can survive being handled by eager young library users. The following products run on both Macintosh and Windows computers, unless otherwise noted.

Blue's Clues: Blue Takes You to School
Atari. www.atari.com. $19.99. For Windows only. Preschool - K

This seventh and best program in the Blue's Clues software series transports kids to an imaginary preschool setting, where just about every click leads to something fun and interesting. Since players can select from five multilevel activities - each with a variety of challenges - Blue Takes You to School is ideal for both libraries and classrooms. For example, kids can learn what animals eat by feeding a pet rabbit; navigate a boat around obstacles in a water table (a great exercise in spatial thinking); paint a picture for Blue or one of his friends (each child's painting can be saved); or listen to various rhythms to discover who's playing just the right beats. There's also a collection of ideas that can be printed and shared.

Here's another fun, playful variety pack of activities, all found in the home of Little Bill, a character who was created by comedian Bill Cosby and is now featured in an animated television series on Nick Jr. While playing Little Bill's 10 activities, kids can earn the items necessary to receive a big surprise. One of those activities requires kids to use logic to correctly position the tubes for Little Bill's hamster maze; another has children match shapes while making cookies. Although some of these activities are mundane, their level of difficulty can be adjusted for each child by simply using the program's auto-leveling option. Little Bill Thinks Big reinforces skills and concepts, such as numbers, counting, sorting, sequencing, patterns, shapes, creativity, and following directions. All in all, this is a lovely, gentle program, much like the Nick Jr. TV show on which it's based. Plus, it's one of the few computer programs that features an African-American child.

This eighth I SPY program, which is based on kids' favorite picks from the I SPY Fantasy book, is the best yet. Children are delighted by the adventures - which take place in a castle and exotic undersea and outer-space settings - and I am, too. The graphics are particularly stunning, with more special lighting effects and animated objects than in previous I SPY programs. After players sign in, they will find themselves in the midst of a child's messy room, with interesting items that lead to adventures. For example, after clicking on a fish tank, kids are sent on a search for lost undersea treasures; likewise, clicking on a rocket ship results in a mission to Mars. Along the way, it's not uncommon for players to encounter their own names presented in a riddle - that's just one of the subtle but effective techniques that holds kids' interest. As children play I SPY's games and scavenger hunts or try to solve its 54 riddles, they're exposed to a rich vocabulary experience that cleverly presents opportunities for using logic, memory, listening, and rhyming skills. Because the program features a progress report - making it possible for kids to resume playing where they've left off - I SPY Fantasy also works well in the classroom or at home.

In this well-designed adventure, devious Princess Morbucks sends the Powerpuff Girls an enchanted music box, in the guise of a gift from the mayor of Townsville. After listening to its music, the girls fall asleep and become trapped in a never-ending nightmare. Children must use math and reading skills, as well as music, creativity, logic, and a knowledge of basic Spanish words to help the girls resist the music box's spell and save the day. Like the first Powerpuff Girls' learning adventure, Mojo Jojo's Clone Zone, Princess Snorebucks has a lot to offer. There are five types of activities, each with five challenge levels, and an auto-leveling feature that keeps the degree of difficulty just right. If players get stumped and require extra help, Professor Utonium is available for consultation. Progress reports and printable activities round out this engaging program. But keep in mind, not all of the Powerpuff Girls' programs are as good as this one. Make sure to purchase those with the phrase "Learning Challenge" in their title.

Made in partnership with the PBS television series of the same name, this program takes kids back in time to the American Revolution. As reporters for the Philadelphia Gazette, students interview soldiers, spies, loyalists, statesmen, and townsfolk and gather facts about the Revolution's seven major events, such as the Boston Tea Party and the creation of the Declaration of Independence. In scavenger-hunt fashion, kids collect missing objects and use them to ask characters important who, what, where, why, and how questions. The resulting information is then recorded in a notebook and used to construct a front-page story for each major event. (Each of the seven events contains its own set of objects to track down, people to interview, and scenes to explore.) Liberty Kids' history-meets-scavenger-hunt approach is refreshing and entertaining. Kids learn historical facts and opinions while exploring colorful scenes and meeting all sorts of interesting people.

This intriguing program is an interactive exploration of the life and times of Thomas Day, a free black man who owned the largest furniture-manufacturing business in North Carolina before the Civil War. The players' mission? To free one of Day's apprentices who has been jailed. But to accomplish that, kids first need to locate and examine replicas of more than 40 original documents, including Day's personal letters, business records, and newspaper ads. As players progress through the program, they'll encounter videos depicting what it was like to live during this momentous period and learn about race relations, laws, families, and communities. This is a very well-made, easy-to-use "interactive documentary," whose compelling format quickly encourages kids to learn about history. The program also includes comprehensive support materials for teachers and librarians.

Of all the chess programs we've reviewed, Hoyle Majestic Chess is by far the prettiest, with 3-D marble boards and a variety of screen orientations. It's also easy to start up and play (although the installation process is clunky). This beautiful chess program offers three modes of play. The single-player mode introduces kids to a simple game of chess and provides suggestions for making smart moves. The adventure mode presents a series of chess tutorials that help kids learn the basic moves of the game within the context of an entertaining story. Finally, the multiplayer mode is perfect for kids who want to play online against a real-live opponent. A Pocket PC version of the program is also available, but we didn't test it.

This sophisticated simulation program lets kids design and build their own zoos, from the ground up. But it takes a lot of work to create a thriving zoo. Players need to construct habitats, select animals, staff the facility, and monitor their guests' level of satisfaction. Our testers (all experienced simulation players) jumped right into the game, but novices will want to take advantage of the tutorials. Zoo Tycoon offers two gameplay modes - a freeplay mode that enables kids to create as they please and a more structured play-scenario mode that provides players with specific challenges and objectives. Either way, the program gives kids lots of choices: there are more than 40 animals to choose from (including the giant panda, a crowd-pleasing favorite), 60 different materials for habitats, and 40 kinds of general construction materials. Players can make their zoos bigger and better by adding fences, terrain, foliage, flowers, paths, benches, shelters, and rocks. While some attractions and materials are available at the start of the game, others become available only during the course of the game. Kids are totally captivated by this program, and they love to make all of their animals happy, which is a very challenging task. Several expansion packs are available, at an additional cost.

Inspiration is a brainstorming, outlining, and organizational tool that lets kids construct webs to visualize the relationships between different items and concepts. For example, to better understand a pond's ecosystem, kids can place a frog in the center of their screen. Thanks to a vast collection of clip art, images of other pond dwellers, such as fish and birds, are also available. These creatures can be linked to the frog by an assortment of lines that represent various relationships - for example, one line may represent what the frog eats; another, who he is eaten by. Upgraded from version 7.0, Inspiration's latest version offers more support for writing activities. For instance, there's now a terrific single-click feature that enables kids to transfer models and projects that have been created in Inspiration to more conventional word-processing programs, like Microsoft Word or AppleWorks. The latest version also includes a new interface and 10 additional templates designed for student writing projects, such as a biographical essay and an experiment critique.

In this engaging program, three ancient civilizations are discussed by folks who should know what they're talking about: Nefertiti gives kids the skinny on Egypt, Archimedes discusses Greece, and Cleopatra sheds light on the Roman Empire. Starting from the program's cleanly designed main menu, kids can click on any one of the three characters to view the corresponding table of contents, with information on an empire's art, food, science, and key events. For instance, in "Looking Sharp: Fashions in Ancient Egypt," Nefertiti talks about the invention of silk, and how great this new material is for making royal clothes. Ancient History's content is top notch, and the various contents tables make it easy to locate and leap from topic to topic. The program also features many helpful links to related Web sites. Overall, this is an excellent resource for educators that can be used with both small groups and entire classes.