fee DIRECTORY HE NNG Children's Therapy Services The ABILITIES CENTER, INC. Occupational and Physical Therapy for Children Handwriting • Sensory Integration • Groups 5600 W. Maple, Suite C,304 West Bloomfield, MI 48322 Nikki Rosen-Lieberman (810) 855-0030 Jill D. Spokojny Computer Hit Parade Financial Planning DIANE SCHAEFER W:,4UseMW:tat:4,txrm, :nuta.t:::as'Atewap. SYSTEMATIC INVESTING Invest in the market for as little as $25.00 per month. Vir For details and a free investors guide please call Michael H. Delap Phone: (810) 452 5690 • Fax: (810) 452 5688 - - CAMBRIDGE INVESTMENT RESEARCH, INC. 7 W. Square Lake Rd., Suite 150 Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48302 - Member: NASD, SIPC, & MSRB All accounts are carried with National Financial Services, A Fidelity Investment Co. Instruction EXPERT PIANO INSTRUCTION Classical or Popular Intermediate to Advanced (Adult Beginners Okay) DAVID SYME 810-681-2417 IV Books • Children's Corner • Israeli Glassware • Jewelry • Audio 6- Video Cassettes jg Thinking of the Peifect Gift? THINK ESTHER'S ...A Classy Bar/Bat Mitzvah Present THINK ESTHER'S ...An Elegant Wedding Gift? THINK ESTHER'S 8t hers *JUDHICO THE APPLETREE GIFTWORLD 20 In Sugar Tree Orchard Lake Road North Of Maple West Bloomfield I (810) 932-3377 O ther's. Experience the difference. STAFF WRITER L Sterling Silver • Judaica Arts & Crafts • Tallit Tefillin Bags • Books • Jewelry 1% hen our up- stairs neigh- bors bought a new comput- er, the children in the building were all agog. The Kaplans weren't the first family in our building to own a computer, but they were the first to ac- quire a Pentium — moveover,- a Pentium that came loaded with a large selection of com- puter games. For nearly a month my son, Yehuda, escaped daily from our home to go play on the new Pentium, warmly welcomed by his best friend, Areleh Ka- plan. Then our own Pentium ar- rived, and diverse children's shareware games were duly downloaded from the Internet. Yehuda and Areleh switched turf (no doubt to the relief of Areleh's mother) and spent hours at our home exploring "Amy" and "Animal ABCs." With only four of 12 house- holds in our building boasting computers of any kind, we and our neighbors are, by Israeli standards, behind the times. According to statistics cited by Gil Ilutowich, co-owner and di rector of Compedia Ltd., a Ra- mat Gan-based producer of children's software, some 85 percent of all Israel families own a personal computer. This makes Israel one of the world's leaders in PCs, per capita. Considering the large num- ber of households here with young children, Israel has to be a natural market for children's software programs. As a col- league warned before my fami- ly's computer acquisitions, "The computer is only the be- ginning. Now you have to buy your kids computer games...all the time." A quick survey of software stores throughout Israel reveals that the homegrown Compe- dia products, for ages 3 to 12, are among the most popular with chil- dren here. Compe- dia, which releases its products in 15 different languages for ex- ■ port, has de- veloped two different software lines called "Gordi" and "Itamar," the latter market- ed in the United States as "Timmy" "Timmy's Birthday Party," a collection of interactive games released about six months ago, heads the list of popular young children's games in Jerusalem. The "Gordi" interactive educa- tional series, which features small, green, benign-looking monsters, proves to be a con- sistent best seller in the Haifa area among 3-to- 6-year-olds. Mr. Ilutowich says the "Ita- mar/Timmy" series is the most popular in Israel, with more than 10,000 of each of the three products sold domestical- ly. About 200,000 copies of the series have sold worldwide 444 41% since the first "Itamar/Timmy" product was released two years ago. Since the first of 14 "Gor- di" products came out about eight years ago, more than 2 million products have been sold throughout the world. Other popular, domestically produced children's software products include "Dubi," a se- ries of interactive games featur- ing a little bear, for ages 3 to 8, and the "Matach" educational series for 5-to-12-year- olds, which teaches Eng- lish, Hebrew / or Arabic. Among imports, the most- often-requested chil- dren's software in Israel appears to be "Rayman," with six levels of interactive games for all ages. Other hot sellers, as reported by the main office of the country-wide Bug soft- ware chain, are Michael Jor- dan's "Space Jam," the interactive basketball game based on the movie, for ages 6 and older, and "Longbow," a helicopter simulator for ages 10 and up. The Comfy keyboard for children ages 1 to 6, which comes with two games, also sells well in Israel. However, Yehuda and Areleh have proved that, unlike their elders, small children can master the mouse and the PC keyboard in a matter of hours. ❑ DIANE SCHAEFER is a freelance writer who lives in Jerusalem with her husband, Akiva, and their children, Yehuda and Sara.