I'm always on the lookout for the very first pieces of software for youngest users (ages 18 months to 3 years) to recommend, and I was very pleased to find Maurice Sendak's Little Bear Toddler Discovery Adventure from Mattel Interactive. Kids need to be set up to use the mouse to push around the screen, but oh, the rewards they'll reap. A butterfly becomes the cursor, and kids quickly catch on to the fact that when the butterfly changes to 4 different colors and/or 4 different musical tones are heard, lots of changes appear on the screen. There are many activities to try out. With Little Bear, they can paint on a woodland picture by just moving the mouse. With Cat, they can look at clouds in the sky that look like familiar objects. Duck takes them into the forest to look at flora and fauna. Out in a boat with Owl means swishing a hook with the mouse to catch big fish. Hen needs help changing the clothes on the scarecrow -- great giggles. Then hands down favorite, though, is planting seeds with Mother Bear, watering them, watching them grow, and counting them. All of Little Bear's friends also get together to make music on home-made instruments. Printable activity sheets filled with arts and craft projects, games, and a template for making a book about Little Bear, your family, or numbers tops off this appealing package.