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Media Center Holdings- with Call Number and Librarian Notes
01 Apr 2011 12:44 PM
Monarch Media Center
Title Author
Call Number
Resource Type: Software
Pajama Sam in "no need to hide when it's dark Humongous Entertainment, Inc. 123 .853 HUM
outside" [electronic resource]. (It's a junior
adventure)
For kids 3-8. Fed up with his fear of the dark Sam transforms himself into Pajama Sam and resolves to confront
the darkness. Children direct this interactive adventure, using teamwork and creative problem solving, to find that
maybe the darkness is not as bad as it seems. Production level cataloging. DLC
Pajama Sam: No Need to Hide When it's Dark Outside Special Features:
• Join Pajama Sam and his pals as he confronts his fear of the dark
• Cartoon-quality learning adventure where you choose where the characters go
• Encourages critical thinking, fosters listening and memory skills and reinforces good social skills
• Teaches kids that darkness isn't as bad as it seems
• The adventure changes each time you play.
Credits:
• Developer: Humongous Entertainment
• Publisher: Humongous Entertainment
• Distributor: Fillpoint
REVIEW from SUPERKIDS SOFTWARE
Content
Ever hear of a kid who was afraid of the dark?
Pajama Sam opens with young Sam reading a comic book, where the hero, Pajama Man, is battling the evil
villain, Darkness. Sam is interrupted by his mother, telling him it's time to go to sleep, and that tonight he had
promised to go to sleep with the lights out. Sam decides to face his own demon, and dons his hero's mask, grabs
a flashlight and his "portable bad guy containment unit" (his metal lunchbox).
Stepping into his closet to look for Darkness, he finds himself transported to a strange place. Moments later, he is
stripped of his evil-fighting tools by some mean trees -- and his mission begins. The user must help Pajama Sam
find his mask, flashlight, and lunchbox before he can capture Darkness.
Ease of Install / Use
The program installed without any difficulty on our reviewers' PC's and Mac's. Initial use by young children
required the assistance of an older child or parent.
Methodology
Pajama Sam follows a tried-and-true model for programs of this genre, that dates back to the ascii
character-based 'Dungeons and Dragons' game played on early time-sharing computers. One big difference - this
program has some of the best cartoon-quality animation we've seen.
To reach his objective, Pajama Sam must overcome various obstacles, using tools he finds and collects along
the way. For example, at one point Sam must cross a river. There is a rowboat sitting conveniently on the shore
next to the dock. But when Sam asks the boat for a ride, 'Otto' the boat explains that since he is made of wood,
he can't possibly go in the water, or he would sink. Sam goes back to a previously visited area, and returns with a
piece of wood, and demonstrates that, in fact, wood floats. The point proven, Otto happily ferries Sam across the
river.
Although this is standard fair for this type of program, our parent and teacher reviewers felt that the constant need
to return to areas previously visited to gather tools was frustrating for young users. "No way most 3 year-olds
could handle this," according to our teacher reviewer. "It would be far more appropriate for 6 to 10 or even 12
year-olds." Younger reviewers tended to get very frustrated unless they had help, or had the benefit of watching
an older child use it first.
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