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C.D. Caterpillar Reviewer's Guide

This section is aimed at software reviewers, to help them understand C.D. Caterpillar's strengths quickly. As such, it might also be useful to parents, but if you're considering purchasing C.D. Caterpillar, be sure to check out the screen shots and the program details as well.

First, be sure to read the Getting Started Guide on the Parent's Guide page

Points to Remember About C.D. Caterpillar

As long as there have been books, children have been learning to read through immersion; by being read to, and encouraged to try it themselves. Countless people have learned to read exactly this way. C.D. Caterpillar brings this time-tested method to the computer, allowing beginning readers to practice by themselves, in a way never before possible.

Educational, not Edutainment

When reviewing C.D. Caterpillar, remember that it's not like any other program available, by design:

  • C.D. Caterpillar makes great stories available to beginning readers
  • In C.D. Caterpillar, the graphics are simple and understated, in order not to distract from the main goal of reading. If you compare our graphics to those of "edutainment" titles, please be sure to compare our stories as well, and the focus of the programs.
  • C.D. Caterpillar doesn't have a strict format children must follow. Children learn by doing, and C.D. Caterpillar allows them to "do" reading.
  • Students can proceed at their own pace, skipping back and forth wherever they like. With the incentive of great stories to read, and a no-stress program to support them at any level, rapid progress is possible.
  • A structured program based on C.D. Caterpillar would be easy to set up, the same as you would with regular reading texts.
  • C.D. Caterpillar offers assistance wherever needed
  • Help is available for any word, anywhere; even the chapter titles and page numbers.
  • C.D. Caterpillar remembers requests for help, so that it can emphasize problem words later.

C.D. Caterpillar is like a personal tutor that:

  • is always ready to provide assistance
  • is flawless in its memory of its student's progress
  • is infinitely patient
  • never fails to praise success
  • can help any student who has progressed to the level of "See Dick and Jane."

Reading has an incredible ability to enrich a child's life. C.D. Caterpillar delivers the power of classics like The Wizard of Oz, The Wind in the Willows, and Alice in Wonderland. And C.D. Caterpillar doesn't weaken the impact of learning to read with these stories by saturating them with pointless animations that only serve to distract from the stories. Instead, C.D. Caterpillar makes the full text of a classic like these available with each and every version, often with the original illustrations. Each version also includes other classic and original reading material, from simple stories such as "The Ball Is Up!" to intermediate works such as "The Emperor's New Clothes."

Reading is one of the most important life skills available to a young child, and C.D. Caterpillar makes it available in a way no other program does. With each release, your beginning reader is bound to find something entertaining, at a level he or she can approach. And with C.D. Caterpillar there to help, progress is guaranteed.

Final Points

C.D. Caterpillar is really about reading.

C.D. Caterpillar is designed with one goal: to make it fun to learn to read. Fun because reading is fun, and reading is what C.D. Caterpillar is all about. C.D. Caterpillar contains the complete text of entire children's novels, along with short stories and other reading material, and every word of it contains assistance. If a student has difficulty reading a word, any word, C.D. Caterpillar will read it aloud, in a professionally recorded human voice.

C.D. Caterpillar is better

Each release of C.D. Caterpillar contains over 30,000 words of content, with over a 3,000 word vocabulary. No other program offers this depth. Help is always available for all words, everywhere. Instructions are always spoken aloud, and easily repeated. Navigation is simple, allowing beginning readers access to any part of the program. Games are simple, focused on the words that need reinforcement. The Home Edition handles up to five children individually, the Classroom Edition handles up to a hundred, individually tracking their progress.

C.D. Caterpillar is ongoing

C.D. Caterpillar is a series of cds, with regular new releases. Every one has a new classic children's novel, and many other stories as well. No other program offers this level of ongoing instruction.

C.D. Caterpillar is recommended for ages 6-12, depending on reading ability.

Download a Demo Version

To keep the download to a reasonable size, the demonstration version contains only one story and one game.

Order C.D. Caterpillar through the web

Hardware/OS Requirements

C.D. Caterpillar is Mac-First, and for now, Mac-Only. A version compatible with Mac OS X, and a Windows version capable of running on Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, and ME is coming soon. You can read about the new version.

To run C.D. Caterpillar, we recommend any Power Macintosh or Mac-compatible, running OS 8 or better, with 8MB of free RAM memory. 68040-based Macs, Macs running 7.x versions of the Mac OS, and Macs with as little as 5MB of free memory, could very likely run it as well. Speech Recognition for C.D. Caterpillar has only been certified under OS 8.5.