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The prize goes to a little girl called Anne Franck—
Six 2001 New Media Prizes awarded at the
2001 Bologna Children's Book Fair

April 4, 2001, Bolonga Italy. An extraordinary CD ROM on the life of Anne Franck is one of the six winners of the New Media Prize 2001, the award that the Bologna International Children's Book Fair, in association with the magazine Children's Software Revue, confers on the most innovative multimedia products.

Published in Holland by Softmachine B.V., Anne Franck House recounts the last few years in the life of the Jewish girl who died in the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz. It is a journey that takes us back to the house where Anne lived, a tragic and melancholy story told through a wealth of photos, documents and eye-witness accounts. The international jury awarded the Cultural heritage prize to Anne Franck House. The other five awards went to two French, two English and one American title. The United States, which last year swept the board, has this time found more sophisticated and convincing European competition.

The French won first prize in the Adventure category with 'Mycropolis', and in the Best Book Adaptation category with 'Mer e poissons'. Published by Emme et Lexis, Mycropolis is a game of strategy which is also great fun as well as very exciting in terms of creativity. Mer et poissons is published by Montparnasse Multimedia and takes us on a fantastic journey of discovery through the sea and its inhabitants.

From the U.K., Lego building blocks, loved by children around the world, won the prize for Best logic product. Produced in the U.K. by Lego Media International, Lego Alpha Team is a brilliant training ground where children, through play, learn to plan moves and routes in a three-dimensional labyrinth. The U.K. also won the prize for Best intelligence product with Sheep, published by Empire Interactive, a highly entertaining and instructive virtual obstacle course.

Lastly, Math Arena wins the 2001 New Media Prize in the Best educational product category for Sunburst Technology (USA). Math Arena is a new and exceptionally effective way to familiarise children with complex mathematical concepts.

The ten special mentions include three Italian products, among them a virtual version of Investigator Montalbano, the famous Sicilian created by Andrea Camilleri making his debut in multimedia. Published by Sellerio and based on the book 'Il cane di terracotta' (The terracotta dog), the CD features games, cartoons and a series of puzzles that players have to solve together with the adventurous detective.

Selected from over 900 products published in 2000, the winners of the New Media Prize and the special mentions will receive their prizes on 4 April, in Bologna, during the International Children's Book Fair opening ceremony. The titles will then be on view in the New Media Arcade, the multimedia area located in the connecting lobby between halls 29 and 30.

The Jury included the coordinator Warren Buckleitner (USA), editor of Children's Software Revue, Gigi Tagliapietra (Italy), co-founder of Progetto Onda at Desenzano sul Garda, Thomas Feibel (Germany), author of the Children's Software guide, Georgia Leguem (Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie della Villette, Paris), the Japanese journalist Atsuko Koizumi from Newseek, and the Danish educationalist Ulla Gjørling.

"Two specific trends", explains Buckleitner, "should be emphasised. The first regards the unstoppable advance of microchips in the most diverse areas of application, including children's publishing. The second is that traditional publishing is starting to accept new media. This is the first time it has happened and it is a very important signal, although it will take another two to three years before it becomes a mass phenomenon".

WINNERS/VINCITORI
Category: CULTURAL HERITAGE
ANNE FRANK HOUSE
Publisher and Producer: SOFTMACHINE B.V. (Holland)
This compelling program combines the best and newest technology with the rich knowledge and history of the last years of Anna Frank. In first person perspective, you explore the original Anna Frank House to discover pictures, materials and video-interviews with actual witnesses. History comes alive in a most exciting way.

Category: ADVENTURE
MYCROPOLIS
Publishers: EMME et LEXIS (France)
Mycropolis has been destroyed by evil forces. You have a robot kit with only so many body parts in it. Your task is to rebuild order in this fantasy universe by finding additional spare parts for your robot kit, solving problems, overtaking extremely nervous chickens, and flying with hair-dryer heads! These imaginative pursuits and many more make this a most engaging game.
Jury members lost themselves in this fascinating world. Content is vast and many-layered with new and intriguing tasks that challenge you to be creative, explorative and inventive. Graphics are compelling. This strategic game is hard fun at its very best.

Category: BEST BOOK ADAPTATION
MER ET POISSONS
Publisher: MONTPARNASSE MULTIMEDIA (France)
This title brilliantly combines game activities, innovative and original tasks and documentation
about sea and fishes. A unanimous jury was instantly charmed by its refreshing atmosphere
created by outstanding graphics, aquatic sounds and artistic tone.

Category: BEST LOGICAL THINKING
LEGO Alpha Team
Producer: LEGO MEDIA INTERNATIONAL (United Kingdom)
Your challenge? Move your LEGO character through a 3D maze by correctly positioning stairways, trampolines and direction titles throughout a variety of fantastic landscapes. Once the parts are in place, you start your character in motion. Success takes a lot of trial and error, but thankfully, a well-designed tutorial walks you through each phase of the process. The game is sprinkled with just the right blend of slapstick videos, and each maze theme ties into an overall storyline that feels a bit like a zany Mission Impossible movie. This is one of those programs that won't disappoint, because it succeeds in delivering both a fun and incredibly educational experience at the same time. In terms of quality, it is easily on par with last year's winner, Pit Droids. Playfully introduces children to powerful programming concepts.

Category: BEST INTELLITAINMENT
SHEEP
Publisher: EMPIRE INTERACTIVE (United Kingdom)
This funny, clever game puts you in the role of a shepherd in the digital world. You must herd your sheep to safety, all the while confronting hilarious dangers like barbques, secret traps and fast-moving tractors. Four levels and personalities of sheep makes this game rich in humor and challenge. In the gaming world, we are happy to praise a title that is not the standard arcade or shoot-em-up game, but rather a fun, problem-solving adventure.

Category: BEST EDUCATIONAL
MATH ARENA
Publisher: SUNBURST TECHNOLOGY (U.S.A.)
This rock-solid set of math tutorials breaks new ground in the way that it makes complex and
abstract concepts easier to understand. How? By providing 20 different puzzles, along with a range of ways they can be played. One puzzle has children using calculating geometric angles in order to swat flies, another asks children to race the clock to sort objects with a Venn diagram. Teachers will appreciate the password protected record keeping system, and parents will like how their children enjoy practicing important math concepts.

CITATIONS
For MY LIBRARY
Publishers Làstrego e Testa Multimedia and Fatatrac (Italy)
Remarkable for its simple and easy interface, and its goal to offer a quality solution to families, as
well as schools and libraries, to catalogue and share. A very well realized idea.

LEARNING FOR LIFE
Publisher Grampian Police (United Kingdom)
Notable for its focus on social commitment and the use of the medium in such a difficult task as
talking about values and ethics.

IL CANE DI TERRACOTTA
Publisher Sellerio Editore - Italy
Commendable for its artistic atmosphere and the equilibrium between style, language, interaction
and content.

INTEL POCKET CAMERA
Publisher INTEL Smart Toys (U.S.A.)
The solidity and features of the hardware and the richness of the software make the kit a perfect
companion to a child's creativity.

KIDDONET.COM
Editore KiddoNet (U.S.A.)
"Of all of the web sites reviewed by the jurors, Kiddonet impressed us the most with its blend of
tools and activities in a commercial-free setting.

GET A CLUE MASTERY EDITION
Publisher Lyceum Communications (U.S.A.)
A solid, well-designed vocabulary program, with an exceptional user interface.

KNOCHEN, SHREBEN, GRABBEIGABEN
Publishers Terzio Moellers+Bellinghausen (Germany)
This very ambitious archeology program allows children to seek, dig and find ancient artifacts and to identify their origin and history.

FANTAVISION
Publisher Sony Computer Entertainment America (U.S.A.)
What a delightful discovery! This innovative product proves that the next generation of game
consoles can stimulate logical thinking in a fun, engaging way.

ARTUS CONTRE LE DEMON DU MUSEE
Publishers Hachette Multimedia and Réunion des Musées Nationaux (France)
This clever program exposes children to the paintings of 25 great masters while asking them to
solve riddles in a haunted museum.

LEAPFROG SCHOOLHOUSE LEAPPAD
Publisher LeapPad Schoolhouse (U.S.A.)
The quality speech and responsive interface offer great potential for supplementing all forms of
print-based content.

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