Shidonni is a virtual world for children, ages 4 and up, based on the idea of drawing animals and caring for them, but with a 21st century twist.

Visitors to the site receive a blank canvas where they can draw an animal and create a background for that animal to play. After drawing their virtual pets, children play with them as they magically 'come alive'. Children then care for, feed and play games that incorporate their animals as main characters.

Shidonni, unlike other virtual worlds, stays away from motivations that are based on money and goods. It encourages their imagination and motivates children to create animals and backgrounds. Shidonni then rewards them for their efforts by providing special effects, such as music, design effects, and more.

The site empowers kids to create their own worlds and play with them in a safe, fun environment. By providing kids with drawing tools rather than "ready made" elements, Shidonni promotes imagination, creativity and computer skills in kids ages 4 and up.

What I have to say.

I first decided to go to Shidonni myself to see what it was all about before I had my 5yr old A.J. try it. Although they do have paid accounts they also have a free version (which is what I used). I set up a login under my son's name and got to creating. I went to the drawing area to draw an animal. I drew my elephant (ok, it was suppose to be a dog but when I drew the ears ways too big it became an elephant, lol). I pressed OK and the next thing I know my elephant is moving, walking, almost dancing across my screen. I thought it was really cool to see my animal come to life. I could also "draw" food for my animal and feed him. The neat part about that is the animal will stop to eat and as it does the food (you drew) actually dissappears a little at a time till all the food is gone.


I also discovered that when I went back to the main area of the game (pictured above) it seemed that there was always something new waiting for me. The more you play with Shidonni the more other sections open up that allow you to do more. It was obvious I was having way too much fun so it was time to see what A.J. thought of it.

What is nice about Shidonni is there is almost no reading required so it is great for preschoolers. I hardly had to give A.J. any instructions for him to get started. And honestly all the animals he drew looked way better then mine lol. So he drew animals, backgrounds for the animals (like trees and grass) and food for them. He also was able to unlock new areas just from playing. He played games similar to BeJeweled where you click on alike blocks that are next to each other to get rid of as many blocks as possible. The little blocks also have the pics of the animals you drew on them. There is a puzzle area where it takes the pic of everything you drew and makes it into puzzle pieces and you put them together. There are many things to do and too many to list here.

A.J. really enjoys Shidonni. He started playing this and pretty much took over my computer. My son Matthew who is almost 4 was watching over A.J.'s shoulder demanding to play too.

I am very pleased with Shidonni and I highly recommend it to any parent looking for a fun creative, interactive way for their kids to play on the computer. Your kids will really love this!!


Now for a fun giveaway that both you and your child will love! Access for a free 3 month Shidonni Pro Account. A $16.95 value.

The Pro Account gives you magical brushes, fun stamps, more colors, an unlimited wardrobes, huge galaxy with new worlds, more tunes for your music box and lets you send your animals around the world.

Mandatory 1st entry -

• Go to the Shidonni website. You can click the "Give it a try" button without having to set up a login (if you choose). Come back here and tell me what you liked or did not like about Shidonni.

Additional entries - (Come back here and leave me a message as each entry is completed.)

• Blog about this giveaway and link to this post and to Shidonni
• Follow me
• Subscribe to my feed
• Follow me on Twitter
• Grab my button
• Fave me on technorati

***PLEASE READ***

This contest will end on Monday April 6th at 6pm PT (9pm ET). The winner will be randomly selected and posted here after contest ends. It is open to anyone (blogger and non bloggers alike). I will need a way to contact you if you should win so please leave me an email address or if you have a blog profile I can contact you that way. You will have 48 hrs from time of notification of winning to reply or a new winner will be chosen.