When it comes to peripherals for kids, there are two schools of thought. One is to dumb things down by making them larger, slower or harder to break. Track balls and membrane keyboards are the digital equivalents of round-nosed scissors, training wheels or fat pencils. Or, you can give a child the unvarnished reality of computing and let them figure it out, just like you did.

The most recent edition of Tiny Mouse falls mostly in this second theoretical domain. While it is smaller and has a playful decor, it has powerful features, including left and right mouse buttons, a USB plug (with a round PS2 adapter, if needed), a clickable scroll wheel, and an acceptable 800 dpi resolution--necessary for large monitors. But the main improvement in this edition is the optical tracking, which is more immune to peanut butter than yesterday's mouse balls. This mouse really is tiny— about half the size of a standard computer mouse. For us adults, it feels akin to playing basketball with a volleyball. Note though, that younger children can get confused by a two-button mouse. One solution is to put a raised sticker on the left mouse button, such as one of those earring stickers made for little girls. Also, the size, price and durability make the Tiny Mouse Optical an excellent travel mouse, especially if you want to add a little color in your life.