System Requirements for CD-ROM: 4 MB RAM (8 preferred), 2 MB hard disk space, 256-color monitor, CD-Rom drive. Windows 3.1 or Windows 95 with 386DX or higher, or Macintosh System 7 with 68030 or higher.

Review Machine: AST 486SX/33, 8 MB Ram, Windows 3.1, quad speed drive.

Kids love scripture stories. Mine have gotten a lot out of the paperback Book of Mormon Reader published by the Church. These are colorful and are priced ridiculously low, though both drawings and text tend towards flat. The sixteen-volume Illustrated Stories from the Book of Mormon, (Promised Land Publications), with text by the poet Clinton F. Larson, are immensely better on both counts, but cost two hundred dollars used. In between are coloring books and chapter books enough to fill a shelve at Deseret Book, not to mention the direct-marketed Living Scripture videos, produced by Richard Rich, a former Disney animator -- also quite expensive.

Jared and his Brother finds the scriptural Jared and Mahonri Moriancumer in Babel at the time of the tower. Jared asks Mahonri to pray that their language won't be confounded, then the Lord leads them and their colony toward the promised land. They build barges to cross the ocean, and Mahonri smelts stones for the Lord to touch to give light during their journey. The story wraps up with seeing his finger, after which the Lord shows the rest of himself to him.

Deseret Book's "My First Scripture Stories" series does as good a job as any version I have seen at balancing the demands of economy and art, and Jared and his Brother, the current installment, is no exception. The cartoon illustrations by Mark McCune are easy to relate to, with enough comic oversimplification to be appealing to children, but little of the schmaltz that marks Living Scripture productions. Many of his compositions are quite striking, particularly in the vision scenes. Likewise series author Sherrie Johnson's language is smooth and euphonious, and she knows how to structure a retold story so it draws the reader in. (Read the Illustrated Book of Mormon's version of Jared and his brother at the same time to see what I mean.)

The trick with kids' books is always choosing the vocabulary. Johnson lets in a few hard words, but her choices are defensible. This two-page section illustrates her method:

But Jared wanted his family and friends to stay together. "Cry unto the Lord," he said to his brother. "Ask that he not change our language."

Mahonri Moriancumer did as Jared asked, and the Lord answered his prayer.

"Now ask the Lord whether he will drive us out of the land," Jared said. "If he wants us to leave, ask where we should go."

Once more Mahonri Moriancumer prayed.

"Gather thy flocks, the seed of the earth, thy families, and thy friends and their families" the Lord instructed. "When they are gathered, lead them into the valley northward. From there I will guide thee into a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth. And I will bless thee and thy seed because this long time ye have cried unto me."

Johnson retains the "thees" and "thys" and scriptural phrases like "land which is choice" above all others, no doubt to familiarize children with them early. Quotes especially tend to follow the scriptures closely, with phrases removed but with the wording intact to a surprising degree. Compare the Lord's speech in Ether 1:41-43:

Go to and GATHER together THY FLOCKS, both male and female, of every kind; and also of THE SEED OF THE EARTH of every kind; AND THY FAMILIES; and also Jared thy brother and his family; AND also THY FRIENDS AND THEIR FAMILIES, and the friends of Jared and their families.

And WHEN thou hast done this thou shalt go at the head of them down INTO THE VALLEY which is NORTHWARD. And there will I meet thee, and I will go before thee INTO A LAND WHICH IS CHOICE ABOVE ALL THE LANDS OF THE EARTH.

AND there WILL I BLESS THEE AND THY SEED, and raise up unto me of thy seed, and of the seed of thy brother, and they who shall go with thee, a great nation. And there shall be none greater than the nation which I will raise up unto me of thy seed, upon all the face of the earth. And thus I will do unto thee BECAUSE THIS LONG TIME YE HAVE CRIED UNTO ME.

Johnson's technique is like Mormon's -- she abridges.

Three miniature Nephite children interpret particularly hard words in cartoon balloons in the corners of the pages, a device that appears throughout the series. This could be used to strong effect, though in fact they confuse as much as clarify. For example, when the Lord chastens Mahonri, one of the children says, "To chasten means to correct in order to make pure." That's a definition that came from a committee if ever I heard one. When the Lord gives Mahonri the interpreters, a child explains, "In Hebrew, Urim and Thummim means 'Lights and Perfections.'" This definition seems aimed more at adults than children.

The CD-Rom version of Jared and his Brother comes in a big box that includes the much smaller book version plus a CD in a jewel case -- smaller again. No manual to justify the size of the package, but I guess that's marketing. My own Jared, age 7, and his sister Murielle, age 5, warmed slowly to the disk version. I think they may have been comparing it to arcade games or simulations like The Oregon Trail. This is very much a book on disk. Each pair of pages is represented by a single screen. The picture occupies a window. The words flash up in a smaller, scrolling box when you click on an icon. You can have a voice read the book to you, or go through it yourself, forward or backward only, not randomly. Hidden areas on the screen launch animations. For example, click on a bird and it squawks and flutters around.

I like the concept of this program but am somewhat disappointed at the execution. The pictures lack the impact of the book, and not just because of the screen resolution. The art appears to have been lifted straight from the paper, and was designed for the page as opposed to the screen. Sometimes the hidden, animated objects fit in with the story, such as a man growling as he runs off with a pot of gold in Babel. Sometimes they make good background, such as animals milling and braying as the people board the barges. Sometimes they're random, such as chimes and flashing colors, and sometimes they're just plain distracting, as the fruit that levitates and the broom that flies away in the middle of Mahonri's prayer. All these elements could have been better thought out, and there could have been considerably more than the six per page we're given. Or why not make this a regular role-playing simulation. There's certainly room on the CD for more animation. Jared and his Brother uses a mere 76 of the 640 Meg. I'm not sure what amounts to a reformat of a $5 book is worth the $30 they're asking.

But the fact is my Jared and his sister have warmed to the game and consider it one of their favorites. I was interested in this disk partly as a way to keep the kids from breaking down the walls on Sunday, but they play it every day. Jared and Murielle can both about recite it from beginning to end. What can I say -- they recommend it, and so must I.

Benson Parkinson
byparkinson@cc.weber.edu

Other Books in the "My First Scripture Stories" Series

&  Abish
   Abinadi
   Alma at the Waters of Mormon
&* Ammon and the King
 * The Broken Bow
   Captain Moroni's Title of Liberty
 * Enos Prays
   The Gadianton Robbers
 * Jared and his Brother
   Jesus is Born
   Jesus Visits the Nephites
   Nephi and Lehi in Prison

& AML-List review by Harlow Clark, 18 Jun 1996
* CD-Rom version available

Addendum (11 July 1996)

Last night I attended the Blue Chips computer club meeting in Salt Lake City and saw presentations by Broderbund, which among other things does children's books on CD-Rom. I realized right away that my review went out a day early.

Jared and His Brother and the other "My First Scripture Stories" CD-Rom collection apparently draw their inspiration from "Living Books" titles like Sheila Rae, the Brave, marketed cooperatively by Random House and Broderbund. Jared follows the same format, but Sheila gives you more and better. Sheila has quite a lot of animation, with the central charater, a cartoon mouse, dancing, climbing on chairs, running across the screen, etc., while talking and during the voice-over. After several animated introductory partial screens she gets to the more highly detailed first main screen, which the presenter told us corresponds to page 1 in the paper version. Here, as in Jared, clicking on various hidden objects launches smaller animated sequences, though these seemed more cleverly executed than in Jared, not to mention each page includes 25 of them compared to Jared's 7. In adition, there is a separate sing-along page with seven songs from the book. Plus children can listen to the book in English or Spanish. At $39.59 list, this book is $10 more expensive than Jared though I'm guessing the street price for the two books would be similar, because the national title would be more heavily discounted. This was my main complaint with Jared and His Brother. When you buy a piece of software (or a book), you expect a certain "density," a certain amount of entertainment value per screen (or page). If Sheila Rae, the Brave sets the standard, in this regard Jared and His Brother comes up lacking.

Speaking for myself, and not AML-List,

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                        Benson Parkinson
                   <byparkinson@cc.weber.edu>
   Writer, Adjunct English Instructor, Weber State University
                        Ogden, Utah, USA
                http://cc.weber.edu/~byparkinson/
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