Storybook Workshop

by Konami

Product Features

• Features 16 children's fairy tales to listen to or perform, including Little Red Riding Hood, The Ugly Duckling, and more.
• Record your readings and replay later (microphone not included).
• Sing along to four classic children’s songs and record your performances.
• Earn the option to use your Mii in select stories.
• Track your progress using a virtual sticker pad; get rewarded for stories completed and see how much you’'ve accomplished.

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B002L0G54C
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.7 x 2.5 inches ; 12 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: December 1, 2009
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,639 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Parents and kids will enjoy spending quality time together with Storybook Workshop, an interactive reading-based game involving classic folk tales from around the world. Recordable readings, voice alteration and a Singalong mode bring each tale to life. You'll earn rewards, such as having your Mii appear in select stories, while introducing your children to the same beloved stories you heard as a child.

Fairy tales from around the world View larger.

Virtual sticker pad! View larger.

Listen to or perform each tale View larger.

Synopsis Including 16 famous children's fairy tales, Storybook Workshop offers plenty of make-believe fun. Reminisce on your own childhood story time as you read well-known favorites such as Little Red Riding Hood, The Ugly Duckling and The Golden Goose. Read in your own voice, or use the Magic Voice feature to change your voice to sound like characters from the stories. You can also sing along to four classic children's songs and record them, so boys and girls can listen to the performances on their own. Key Game Features: Features 16 children's fairy tales to listen to or perform, such as Little Red Riding Hood, The Ugly Duckling, The Town Musicians of Bremen and Be Kind to the Earth Includes The Boy Who Went to the North Wind, The Little Match Girl, The Happy Prince, The Giant Turnip, A Glove and Hats for the Jizos Includes Three Wishes, The Star Money, The Elves and the Shoemaker and The Golden Goose Serves as an interactive book with fairy tales from around the world written by Hans Christian Andersen, the Brothers Grimm, Aesop and other famous authors Play mini games and sing along to four classic children's songs Record readings as well as the songs you perform in Singalong mode Change your voice to match that of a fairy tale character with the Magic Voice feature Earn rewards the more you read, such as the ability to feature your Mii in select stories Virtual sticker pad helps track progress

Product Description

Share an evening of magic and music with the little ones as you read your favorite bedtime stories on the Wii with Storybook Workshop! Storybook Workshop features 16 of your favorite classic folk tales from around the world, including the most beloved from Hans Christian Andersen, the Brothers Grimm, Aesop, and Japan. Featuring a singalong mode, minigames, and a fun Magic Voice Box option that alters your voice to match storybook characters, Storybook Workshop will transform storytime into quality time.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun for kids; some tips for parents, February 3, 2010

By 

Gadgester "No Time, No Money" (Mother Earth) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Storybook Workshop (Video Game)

(What's this?)

I'll give a quick review and share some tips below.

I give this 4 stars for a simple reason: my preschooler really enjoys it. From a grownup's POV this really doesn't seem to deserve to be a Wii game: the graphics is crude, the sound effect poor, and the interface juvenile. And there're only 16 stories plus 4 short sing-along songs. The voice-changing mini game is extremely low-quality, although the voice painting mini game is a lot of fun for a 2- to 5-year-old. The included microphone is lightweight and looks good in white and is made by Logitech -- supposedly it can be used with other Wii games that utilize a mic, but I haven't tried.

But it's exactly the simple (but colorful) graphics and simple sound effects that appeal to a preschooler or pre-kindergartener. And, really, the deal is, this is the only video-console storybook game, so if you want your kids to learn to read and have some fun at the same time on your precious Wii, I think this is your only choice. The price can seem a little high, but it's a good way to get your kids something to play on the Wii.

To be honest, I can barely stand the game myself, but my preschooler thoroughly enjoys it (esp. the voice painiting game!), so I'm not going to argue with its merit for its target audience. And it really beats having to let the kid play Wii games that ain't appropriate yet.

Now, I'd like to share a few important tips:

1. You must plug in the included USB microphone before starting the game. There are two USB ports in the *back* of the Wii. You can plug in the mic before or after you power on your Wii, but before you start the game from the Wii Menu. It's totally okay to leave the mic plugged in, whether you play this game or not. (The mic, made by Logitech, also reportedly works with other mic-compatible games, but I haven't tried.)

2. Before you start the game for the first time, I highly, highly recommend that you have created a Mii for each of your kids who will be using this game. A kid's Mii will be required to unlock the "Mii Story" feature. Five of the 16 stories have this "Mii Story" feature whereby after it's read three times, your kids' Mii's can be used inside the story starting with the 4th read.

3. When you start the game for the first time, do the following two things before you do anything else!

3a) Go into the Sticker Book Desk from the main treehouse menu (it's the icon behind the Grape Room door). Open the sticker book for each child and change the background to something he/she likes. The default background is a Christmas tree but you can change it to one of 7 other designs. This is important because if there are stickers in an existing sticker book and you want to change the background later, all the existing stickers will be lost. (So, if you do want to remove the stickers, simply change the background.)

3b) Go into the Grape Room from the main treehouse menu and click on the red computer, to set up profiles for your kids who will use this game, as well as a profile for yourself or your spouse. If you want the kids to use the Mii Story feature (see tip #2 above), you should pick their Mii's for their profiles.

4. The instruction booklet is difficult to understand. Once you have followed my first three tips, go into the Acorn room on the main treehouse menu, click on the board icon on the right, and read the four-page "TV-Head's Tips" (TV-Head is the little guy that runs around on the menu screens and gives you instructions.) These are way much better to read than the booklet - which also doesn't include enough info.

5. You need to remember that, in the Orange Room where the stories are located, the "Mii Story" feature is locked until your child's profile has a Mii (see tip #3b above) and one of the Mii Stories is read through three times (by anyone). Also, remember that only 5 of the 16 stories are Mii Stories. Also keep in mind that the "Favorite Stories" feature is locked until a story is read at least three times, and the "Recorded Stories" feature is unavailable unless you or your kids have actually recorded a story.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A New Spin on Storytime!, February 17, 2010

By 

girlswithbooks "girlswithbooks" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Storybook Workshop (Video Game)

(What's this?)

My 7 year old loves this game! She was super excited when we opened the box and she saw the microphone. The game is a fantastic way to put some excitement back into storytime! A child, (or adult) reads the story on the screen and their voice is "magically" changed into character voices! We were cracking up listening to my husbands voice transfer into Little Red Riding Hood's voice and my daughter's turned into The Big Bad Wolf's. There are also other games, like painting with your voice! Amazing! I can see this being a great improvement to a classroom. Or a great way to get an unenthusiastic reader more excited to read! I would recommend it to anyone with children under the age of ten.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for Preschoolers, February 24, 2010

By 

Penny Pinching Polly "Check out my website fo... (Midwest) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Storybook Workshop (Video Game)

(What's this?)

My 4 year old LOVES this game. She enjoys both the story portion and the sing along. Is it a game any adult would enjoy? No. It is made for kids and it is perfect for kids learning to read. The only reason I enjoy the game is because of the reaction my daughter has to it. For me, knowing she is learning while having fun, is a reason to smile!

I do wish they offered more sing alongs.