Kid Cuts

Kid Cuts



Author: Mike Silva, with thanks to Denise Jesus and Ian McClelland

Date: March, 1994

Keywords: Br*derbund software program review children kids kid child
puppets dolls masks

Text:
     Kid Cuts is the newest addition to Br*derbund's Kid Pix and Kid
Pix Companion product line. With Kid Cuts children from 4-12 can create
puppets, paper dolls, masks, and more. There are over 200 fun projects
to choose from that can be printed, cut, glued, and assembled.
          Kid Cuts requires a hard disk and System 6.0.5 or higher. The
program will use from 1MB of RAM for a black & white 6.0.5 system, to
4MB of RAM for a color 7.0 (or higher) system. Kid Cuts works on black
& white and color printers. Compatible printers include: Apple Image
Writer*, LaserWriter*, StyleWriter, GCC Technologies, BLP, PLP,
WriteMove, WriteImpact, HP DeskWriter and PaintWriter printers. (*
indicates the additional requirement of 32-bit Quickdraw, which comes
standard with System 7.0 or higher.) 
          Kid Cuts comes on four 800k disks and includes a manual, an
order form for additional craft supplies, installation instructions,
(the program installs easily), a pair of safety scissors, and a
registration card. The 46 page manual is an easy-to-read handbook that
is packed with information and a helpful table of contents. You may
have to study the manual to achieve mastery, but most users will be
able to use Kid Cuts with only minimal reference to the manual.
          The manual guides you through nine project categories;
animals, masks, puzzles, hats, dolls, puppets, greeting cards, shapes
and rainy day surprises, and includes an introduction, getting started,
using Kid Cuts, a tool glossary, a menu glossary, and Kid Cuts notes.
There is also long distance phone number for technical support from
Br*derbund.
          Kid Cuts tools include: a ''Wacky Pencil'' for drawing; a
''Paint Brush'' tool with several interesting brushes; a ''Paint Can''
tool for filling in a closed shape; a ''Rubber Stamp'' tool with an
incredible library of useful stamps, plus an ''Edit Stamp'' option that
changes the stamp's orientation, can make bit map changes to an
existing stamp, or can create a new stamp; an ''Eraser'' with several
shape options; and an ''Undo'' tool. A variety of sound effects are
linked to the different tools with some surprising and funny results.
          10 year old, Ian McClelland's favorite Kid Cuts' features
are: the ''Rubber Stamps'', for creating strange creatures; the knight
paper dolls, for pretending; and the paper airplanes, (one of the rainy
day surprises), for bombarding Mom & the dog.
          Kid Cuts can also be used in a classroom setting to enhance
thematic units. For example, students can create: medieval paper dolls
and royal crowns when studying Europe; butterfly masks when studying
insects; bird paper airplanes when studying birds; and valentines in
February.
          A nice feature of the ''Puzzles'' project is that you can
import pictures.
     In conclusion, even at age 41, I enjoyed using Kid Cuts. As an
experienced computer/logic user - who is an artistic neophyte - I was
able in one sitting to produce the best ''art'' that I have ever done
(see sample). Kid Cuts is the easiest program that I have ever used. I
think that people of all ages would have fun using this program. I
would recommend Kid Cuts as a user friendly, arts and crafts type
application. It's also an excellent, confidence building, training tool
- especially for those with computer anxiety.
          Kid Cuts is published by Br*derbund and is available ($29.95
list, $25.95 mailorder) from:
          Br*derbund Software, Inc.
          Box 6121
          Novato, CA 94948    800-521-6263
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