Magic Tales

Magic Tales is a series of interactive storybooks for children, developed by Animation Magic and produced by Davidson, which were distributed by Capitol Multimedia, Inc. on CD-ROM for Mac OS and Microsoft Windows.[1] The series was introduced at the 1995 MacWorld trade show.[2] The series began with the release of Baba Yaga and the Magic Geese (an adaptation of the Russian Folklore) in 1995. The stories are narrated by the central character Grandpa Mouse, who reads them to his two grandchildren while they are having a boring time. The series was titled "El Abuelo Ratón" in Spanish.[3] Each story has twelve pages.

Magic Tales
Genre(s)Literature, edutainment
Developer(s)Animation Magic
Publisher(s)Davidson
Composer(s)Tony Trippi
Platform(s)Windows, Macintosh
First releaseThe Little Samurai
September 1995
Latest releaseSleeping Cub's Test of Courage
November 1996

Games in the series
Title Country of Origin Based on Release date Notes
The Little Samurai Japan Issun-bōshi September 26, 1995[4]
Baba Yaga and the Magic Geese Russia Baba Yaga October 3, 1995[4] Also released in Arabic[5]
Imo and the King Africa November 7, 1995[4]
The Princess and the Crab Italy September 17, 1996
Liam Finds a Story Ireland October 1, 1996
Sleeping Cub's Test of Courage Native America November 12, 1996

Gameplay

The games featured three-dimensional art; approximately 30 minutes' worth of animation, over 500 "click-and-explore" options and original music. The stories were influenced by the ethnic backgrounds of their source material, and aimed to teach children moral lessons. The games were targeted at children aged 3 to 9.[4]

Reception

Critical reception

The Exceptional Parent recommended the series to parents who wanted to "develop [their] child's interest in words and reading".[6]

Computer Shopper said of Magic Tales: The Little Samurai, "this is the most magical storybook we've ever seen".[7]

Commercial performance

One hundred thousand copies of the first three Magic Tales titles were distributed around retailers around Christmas. The series gained recognition from the Parents magazine. Three new titles out of 3,000 children's titles would be chosen for three additional products to be released the following Spring.[8]

Availability
  • The Magic Tales Collection CD

See also

References
  1. "If Magic Tales can come through Stories for children may tell the future of area software firm - Page 2 - tribunedigital-baltimoresun". articles.baltimoresun.com. 21 January 1996. Retrieved 2016-09-12.
  2. "DAVIDSON & ASSOCIATES INC. INTRODUCES NEW MULTIMEDIA SOFTWARE AT MACWORLD - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
  3. "El Abuelo Ratón". Macworld. September 1, 1997. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
  4. "DAVIDSON & ASSOCIATES, INC. SHIPS 'MAGIC TALES' MULTIMEDIA STORIES - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
  5. "Arabic - Baba Yaga and the Magic Geese". worldlanguage.com. Retrieved 2016-09-12.
  6. "Software for PLAY and ACTIVE Early Learning. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
  7. "Magic Tales: The Little Samurai. (Davidson and Associates)(The Learning Arcade) (Software Review)(Brief Article)(Evaluation)". 1996-08-01. Archived from the original on 2016-10-08. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. "If Magic Tales can come through Stories for children may tell the future of area software firm; Far from Silicon Valley; Capitol Multimedia hopes it's now moving in the right direction". 21 January 1996.
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