Rainbow Stories set 1 opens with a menu of one to six Configurations. The Configurations are very versatile: you can set them to meet the needs of individuals or groups. All the stories offered under the Worm Configuration here are set at Level 1 (simple present tense) with animations running automatically at random (you can turn them off altogether or have them waiting to be discovered by the user). The speech bubbles are turned off so users don't need to worry about which characters to right-click for their comments on the story.

When you've chosen your Configuration, you then need to choose a book. There are five to choose from, but each can be turned off in the Configuration setting.

We've chosen Goldilocks, but you can change your mind at any time.

Click on the waiting Mouse when ready.

Here's page 1 of Goldilocks at Level 1. Click on any line to have it read, or click on one of the icons:

Start reading	Stop reading
Turn on	Turn back

Click on the Book icon to return to the book selection screen.

Of course, you can turn the Page text off and get the children to tell you what's going on in the story.

If you've turned the text off, you can print individual pages – or the whole book – for children to write their version of the story. Or print the book with the text on and make your own reading books.

If your Configuration is set to Level 2, the story is told in a traditional way. There is a wider range of expression and tense, but not too difficult to follow as a listener.

We've got Pop up text switched on, so right-clicking some characters reveals additional elements of the story in speech bubbles.

Rainbow Stories is aTalk·2·Talk program, which means further languages can be added. Here, we've installed Polish and we can see and hear the same story in Level 1.

You also have the option of seeing and hearing both languages. You can decide which language comes first. In this Configuration, English is the First language and clicking the Start reading button reads the three lines in English.

When two languages are selected, further icons are shown.

This is the Read in Language 1, then Language 2 button. The text will be read in English (the First Language), then in Polish (the Second language).

Click the Change language button and the text is wiped from left to right, exchanging the First language for the Second.

For more information on theTalk·2·Talk technology and how it works in other programs, click on the blue buttons or theTalk·2·Talk logo