MyPaint / Panther dream

[mtm4@rsvl.unisys.com (Mike McCormick)]

REVIEW: MyPaint -- a paint program for kids age 4-9, that comes with a set 
        of computer "coloring books"; 
        PantherDream -- a special African rainforest MyPaint coloring book 
        disk that comes with the book & audio tape of _Panther_Dream_ by 
        Bob & Wendy Weir. 

I just got MyPaint as part of the PANTHER DREAM book/tape/disks package (thru
QC) for my 5-year-old daughter.  Just thought those with young children out 
there would like to know:  This is the best paint program for youngsters I've 
seen yet.  Far and away.  The GUI is laid out very intuitively (I think a 
child as young as 3 could learn it in 5 minutes) and all the flashing and 
movement of the icons makes the GUI entertaining to watch.  Plus the coloring 
books that come with MyPaint are great fun, and each picture comes with cool 
sound effects.

Caveat: The word "animation" is used in the advertising for Panther Dream, but 
that is an exaggeration.  Panther Dream is a MyPaint coloring book on a 
separate disk from the Mypaint program disk.  (Others are availble too.)  It 
is no more "animated" than any MyPaint coloring book -- there is pretty color 
cycling, and there are excellent (actually recorded in a rainforest) animal 
sound effects, but there is no shape movement.

Wishlist: The "Parent Menu" that is hidden in MyPaint can save pictures, but 
it can't load them or print them.  Luckily they are saved in what appears to 
be standard 320x200 uncompressed binary files which probably all "grown ups'" 
paint programs can load fine.  That take care of printing, but this menu 
really needs a Load command so your kid can save a partial picture and then 
continue coloring it later.

  _________________________________________  
 / Mike McCormick                          \ 
 | business: mtm4@rsvl.unisys.com          | 
 | home:     m.mccormick2@genie.geis.com   |
 |           70714.551@compuserve.com      | 
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 | "Follow your bliss, and doors will open | 
 \  where there were no doors before."     / 
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