Shidonni offers children an extraordinary opportunity to bring their artwork to life as they create imaginary worlds to share with friends. With simplified on-screen drawing tools easy enough for preschoolers to use, children begin by drawing an animal. With the click of a button, the child's drawing comes to life - bouncing, running and hopping across the screen. Users then add a background scene, draw food for their animal to eat and lay it down for a rest, earning points for taking good care of their pets.

Beyond the drawing area is the Shidonni Galaxy, which offers a variety of games such as puzzles, a Chutes-and-Ladders style game and a block-clearing game. Each game incorporates the child's pet or background drawing. As with pet care, children can earn points by playing games to win Galaxy Awards.

Shidonni also makes it easy for children to connect with their friends in a safe and creative environment. Shidonni site members simply provide their username to connect in the Shidonni Galaxy. Once connected, friends can play games together and send animals to each other.

All of this is available free to registered users. However, those who upgrade to a Shidonni Pro account for $5.95/month will have access to a greatly expanded set of drawing tools including magical brushes, fun stamps and an expanded color palette. The Pro account includes more games and the Shidonni Pro clinic where pets can get a full check-up.

There are many creative features to be discovered in this beautifully crafted world. As a parent, and a designer, I not only enjoyed watching my 4-year-old exploring his artistic talents, but I too found myself having fun making animals and artwork and playing some of the games. Like a Sim-style game, the fun is in coming back to play with your pets each day - making new pet friends for them to play with, feeding them and putting the pets to bed for the night. This interactivity, along with the quality production value, expanding game-play and opportunities to share a creative experience with friends will place this site at the top of the "family favorites list."