Amazon.com Review

"Thank you, thank you, Sam-I-Am! How we love Green Eggs and Ham!" Whether you prefer the straight read-aloud storybook or the silly games hidden throughout, your children will enjoy the software version of Dr. Seuss's classic Green Eggs and Ham as much as you enjoyed the book.

While Sam's story is best suited for toddlers and preschoolers, older siblings can still enjoy playing the included games for a time or two as well. Required mouse skills are basic, so even younger users should be able to play on their own. Clear, bright images are nearly identical to the original book illustrations, with the simple animations providing new excitement as the story builds to its "surprising" climax.

With Dr. Seuss's excellent combination of phonics and word repetition, your children will receive a great introduction to crucial early-reading skills. --Jill Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Great Green Eggs and Ham!
My 3.5 year old loves this game. It enabled him to master the mouse and now we leave him alone to play at his own pace and length of time. He constantly is calling me or my husband in to see some funny or fascinating tid-bit that is hidden in the picture. The memory game is his favorite and he's up to level 3! I now am looking into getting the Cat in the Hat for him.

Great Learning Tool!
My 2 1/2 year old son learned how to use the mouse by using this program. He loves the "Let Me Play" option. It keeps him entertained for a long time and is an alternative to watching TV. When we first got Green Eggs and Ham I even enjoyed playing with it for awhile. There are so many different things to click on that it could literally keep a kid entertained for hours (if they could sit still that long!) I highly recommend it.

superb motivator
This was the third cd-rom my three year old son was exposed to, and for the last four weeks, far and away his favourite (first two were Thomas Festival Adventure and Blue's ABC). This is the CD-rom that taught him to use the mouse independently - to go to the next page at his own pace, after he had had his fill of seemingly endless repetition of favourite click points. He now spontaneously recites entire passages of the story, himself or to get us to do it in dialogue with him. He spends longish periods of time looking at the book, and then either asking to play again (sort of like the book looking is a preparation to the computer screen activity), or else comes to point out to me what happens on the computer when he clicks on X aspecct. The part I liked the best were the clever, non-disruptive additions that have been added to the original Suess text (the ending is especially humourous - won't give it away).

It doesn't matter what parents or educators think will be an engaging piece of software - the crunch is what the child wants to spend time with. This was worth every penny. The only quibble I have (and which made me withhold that last review star) was that it sometimes takes a long time in the "play" (as opposed to "read to me") mode for the child to be able to actually play. The program always goes through the whole text on that page before they can get down to business. This should be more of an option.

Great for toddlers!
My son (2 1/2) adores this game. He giggles out loud at the silly antics on the screen. He especially enjoys playing the rhyming game. I was surprised at how much he learned about rhyming in such a short period of time. My 5 year old daughter also enjoyed it, but once she played a couple of times she was done with it. I would highly recommend it for ages 2 - 4, but 5 is probably too old.

Sam Loves This Game!
My son Sam loves this game. He's 2 and a half, and he practically has the story memorized. The play-along portion keeps him entertained for hours! ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

There's a treasure hunt in Animal Junction. Hit the trail with Zoboomafoo, the incredible leaping lemur, and leave no stone unturned. In this zany adventure children will play unique animal activities, and be rewarded pieces to a magical puzzle. On their journey children will discover a myriad of animals through fun learning games, animal videos, and printable activities. Solve the clues and the magical puzzle will reveal a map that will lead the way to the hidden treasure. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

zoboomafoo creature quest
This has so far been a disappointment. It takes like 12 steps to go through the introductory screens, and if you mess up, you have to start completely over. It also loads awfully slow and we have a top of the line loaded new computer. The game instructions are very long, and you have to listen to them every time, and they are mostly unnecessary, they should be under a help option. You can't even click to skip it, meaning you have to have a lot of patience while waiting. The animals are pretty obscure and not common/familiar. The animal facts I cant imagine ever being of much interest to a kid. I expected much better stuff from the Learning Company, especially since this program has received so many awards (no doubt through reputation). In comparison with other products, I can't identify one redeeming aspect for this software. The games are boring and mundane and many are a step down from even other "toddler" programs that are targeted to lower ages. Here I was looking to step up from the toddler programs which our daughter has already mastered. At least I got it very cheap. Its not much fun or entertaining. Not much area to navigate about and explore. No animation to speak of, other than the videos. Nothing clever or interesting or rewarding for mouse clicks. I have to report there are many better programs, and I could never recommend this one for fun, challenge, entertainment, or educational value. It does not hold her attention, she easily handles most of the games/activities, and she's like okay now what. And she still has a long ways to go before reaching age 3. The only games on this CD that she doesn't really know what she is doing is the chameleon and the coyotes, but even those she guesses her way to completion. I can't imagine her growing into liking this CD any more than she does now, in fact I'm certain she will like it less and less because she already expects more stimulation. Even now she prefers clicking around under encarta encylopedia more so than using this CD when it comes to short video clips. Even the logic aspect of finding puzzle pieces seems lame to me when compared to other such programs. I don't forsee her ever wanting to come back to this program when she's ready for more sofisticated logic games and ready to spell or do math. I should mention we started out our daughter on kids computer games before age 1, and she is just fascinated to the point of playing them every day, and she is just amazingly competent with them and now already figures out most kid games on her own. She is very familiar with counting and colors and shapes and mazes and matching and patterns and searching and picture drawing. She has pretty much seen it all. And this CD doesn't cut the mustard for new exciting stuff.

fun, entertaining and age-appropriate software
Little Zoboo fans rejoice! This entertaining software is stable, charming and fun. Multiple cut scenes feature the Kratt Brothers and Zoboomafoo's friends in Zoboo-Land, as kids click on objects scattered around Animal Junction. With two exceptions the eight activities are age-appropriate and well-implemented, with three skill levels in coloring, mazes, matching, object identification, counting, bubble popping and pattern match; the latter two games are unnecessarily difficult and confusing, but kids can get through them by clicking away randomly. Also included is a virtual tape recorder with mini-films and factoids about a number of animals. Well done.

We're running the game on an iMac and have had no problems with installation or crashes.

Note: Creature Quest is much better than Zoboomafoo Animal Alphabet; if you have a little Zoboo fan in the house, I'd recommend you purchase this title rather than Animal Alphabet.

We both love it!
My 3 year old daughter and I both love this software! She still needs some help with the mouse, so I have to play with her, and this is the only software we have that I don't mind playing after a few minutes! She's not so interested yet in the animal facts, but I like them!

Great for fans of the T.V show
I got this game for my 4 year old for christmas. She loves the T.V. program and learning about animals, so I figured it would be a hit with her, and it was. She loves playing it and trying to find all the puzzle pieces to find the treasure. Kids learn about some animals and their habitatis, numbers and patterns. You have to look for hidden treasure and there are 3 levels of play on the games. My daughter loved it first off simply because it contains the whole Zoboomafoo theme song! She runs it on her iMac. Only one little problem, it occasionally locks up when left unattended for a pretty long period of time, and the game is left running.

How Frustrating and Disappointing
Wish I could give this 0 stars. I cannot get this to run on our WIn 95 machine (yes I know it's a dinosoar but that's what we have for my child) and it continually crashes on our XP machine. Broderbund (the software company) has not responded to my pleas for help except to give me 4 different case #'s. AAAGGGGHHHH. My 3 year old and I are frustrated to the extreme. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

There's no place like home... even when playing with the Rugrats in the Land of Odd. Tommy and the gang appear in their very own graphical board game based on The Wizard of Oz. Play with Kimi as The Girl from Kansas, Chuckie as The Scaredy-Cat Lion, Tommy as The Scarecrow, and Phil and Lil as The Tin Twins. The first to find The Whizzer of Odd--Grandpa Lou--wins the game, but beware... many obstacles stand in the way. There's The Munchin Tollbooth Keeper, played by Dil, and The Wicked Witch of the West, played by Angelica, of course. Fortunately, Susie plays The Good Witch, and she'll provide all the help you need. Journey to Munchin Land, Fields of Folly, Mystery Forest, Stinky Swamp, and Marigold City. Each land comes complete with a logic puzzle, picture puzzle, twitch-action challenge, and a great grab challenge. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

What a great CD!
Rugrats Munchiin Land rules! I love the Rugrats episode No Place Like Home which is the Rugrats' way of telling the story The Wizard of OZ. Susie is sick in the hospital. While her tonsils get removed, she dreams a story like The Wizard of OZ. That's an episode summary. Here's a game summary. The kids are at the park. Anjelica starts spinning them really fast. Then, in her spinning the force pulls her on too. Tommy asks,"Anjelica, if your'e not pushing us, who is?" Suddenly the merry-go-round flies up in the sky and falls in the land of Odd.... This is the perfect fun for anyone.

Cute for rugarts and oz fans
this game is closer to the movie than the the book. so basicaly this game is a virtual board game and it makes you go thru 4 lands munchin land,corn filled,the growed and the furrest looking for4 pices of a entry ticket to get in to merigold city once you get all these pieces you can go into merrigold city and see the wizzer of odd how will get you home but your jurneys not over yet you gotta find the wichs bromm stick to get home ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

While the plot behind Bear's Sense of Adventure features the magical, folksy characters associated with a Jim Henson project, this translation to software is bumpy at best. Bear himself is visually fantastic, interacting with the cartoon house, his fur alive on the screen. However, the introductions are difficult to skip--it requires hitting the escape key multiple times to get into the game area--making it likely that kids will grow bored with this game after multiple uses.

The layout of the game is confusing, too. Bear spends a lot of time talking about the objects you can click on, causing them to do only a cursory dance across the screen. When you click on an object to decorate the house, it's logical to want to place it on a wall, but that didn't happen in our use. Instead, we wound up heading into other rooms and clicking on things like potholders by mistake.

This frustration makes the game seem disjointed and prone to long periods of song and dance--or even just lecturing--in a game that should allow kids much more direct interaction. Bear fans will love seeing him talk directly to them as they click items throughout the house, but others might only see it simply as a great TV episode placed on the digital screen. --Jennifer Buckendorff ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Boring!
From other reviews, it seems as if you either love this game or hate it. We're in the 'hate it' category. The characters talk SO MUCH - it takes forever to get to the games. Some areas have very little instruction and our 4 year old has no idea what he is supposed to do, so he just ends up clicking anything and listening to more TALKING. He either ends up frustrated and walking away or playing the only game he can figure out over and over and over. I gave it 2 stars because there is one game our son likes to play that has taught him a little bit of mouse control. If we hadn't received it as a gift (and need to keep it around in case the gift-giver ever wants to see it), I'd be checking in to the satisfaction guarantee. This game is terrible. There are so many great software titles out there for this age group (the Reader Rabbits, and Blue's Clues ABCs for example), I wouldn't waste my $ on this one.

Great for kids they just love it..
My girls 7 & 2 1/2 just love this, they have a ball playing it and the opening song and video is just like on the show....

Pretty good, but not great game
I was a little disappointed with this game. My 3 year old played a couple of times & got bored with it. It didn't seem to have as much that grabbed her interest as other Bear games did. She will still play it occassionally, but it doesn't hold her interest as other games have.

Too Slow
My 3 yo loves the Bear, so I thought this would be a great software game for him. However, I was mistaken. The game takes way to long to get into, with songs that you must wait through to get to the playing. It also won't let you click through until the songs or talking are over. It's extremely boring at times and more like a video for the computer than a game. It does come with a satisfaction guarantee, which I'm looking into - I'm that disappointed.

Excellent software. Multiple activities and levels
My 2.5 year old and I love this software. Bear has so many levels and activities that it is truly the only one (thus far) that my husband and I don't get bored with ourselves. Bear and his friends are extremely interactive, leaving a young child with the impression that these characters really do come alive right in your home!

With so many games, exploratory activities, and pop-ups there is always something new. We have had this software for nearly 2 months now and still find something new in it from time to time.

Pip n' pops matching game is PERFECT for teaching the youngest users about mouse usage and point and click.

We especially liked that elements from the program such as "Oh hello you smell like..." and Luna and the goodbye sequence are featured here. Toddlers do love that repetition!

I highly recommend this software to anyone who has a child who loves Bear in the Big Blue House. In fact, it is such fun software with a wide variety of activities that I think even children who never watch the show would enjoy the characters just on their own merit in the software. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

XP Compatibility
I see that several people have had trouble running this with XP, but I had no trouble installing it or using it. My great-niece, who is almost 8 and my great-nephews, soon to be 10, all enjoy using it. As a matter of fact, so do I. It's a lot of fun and encourages their creativity. I don't know why others may have had problems with it, but it works great for us.

Windows XP Compatibility -- Not
I purchased this product after checking the Broderbund website to verify compatibility to Windows XP. Broderbund fails to mention the numerous problems you may encounter if you run this on Windows XP; and the trial and error installation method needed to get it to run properly. Broderbund's concept of XP compatibility is not what you will expect. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Great fun for even the very littlest music lover, Sesame Street's Music Maker has eight different fun-filled music-related activities. With Grover, Elmo, Ernie, Cookie Monster, and assorted other helpers along the way, every Muppet enthusiast is sure to have their favorite game to play (Ours was Sing-Along with the Muppets, where players choose the style to sing along with and pick from eight different songs to sing.)

Where else would we have the chance to sing Elmo's Song with the great Elmo himself? For a more physically active activity, there's Studio 543, where small fry can get up and dance with Grover and Elmo. For a guided tour of the world of musical instruments, check out Worldly Instruments, where players can hear what the instrument sounds like, and learn a bit about its history from the helpful Ms. Globe.

As with all Sesame Street software, the graphics are excellent, with bright colors and sharp images, and the sound quality is terrific. The icons are big enough for even the newest mouse user to click on with ease, and with the friendly Muppet hosts, this is a musical party your child will surely want to attend. --Jill Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (4)

my 16 month old sons absolutely favorite christmas gift!
The other reviewers have described the features, so all I can add is that the instrument sounds are studio quality, and your child if he/she is at all into music will ask for more and more of this. My son does not yet know how to use a mouse, so as a parent who sits through these games with him for up to 1/2 hour a day -- I love these muppets and don't tire of their adult appeal. No annoyance factor as compared to jump start baby, & no boredom factor like winnie the pooh and other disney offerings which are thin on activities.
The sesame street web site is also a fun place to play with your child.

My kid loves this -- especially the musical instruments page
My kid likes the musical instruments page, where the talking globe describes the instruments, and the sesame street characters play them. I like the world of sound, but my kid doesn't like it very much.

Outstanding - entertaining, educational, and fun!
I can't say enough about how wonderful this software is. It has all of the quality we've come to expect from Sesame Street products - clear & colorful graphics, great sound, lots of activities, the humor and warmth of the Muppets - and then some. There are 8 different activities, all of which are entertaining and which keep my toddler engrossed (no mean feat, since he has the classic two-year-old's short attention span). My personal favorite is "Ernie's World," a Wayne's World parody in which Ernie shouts out silly words - flounder! coldcuts! underpants! - while one of his buddies tries to sing. My son is partial to the world of instruments segment, where you click on a musical instrument to hear its name & how it sounds and learn fun facts about it. (My two year now can identify such diverse instruments as a violin, a hurdy gurdy and a pan pipe.) I am particularly impressed by how fresh the software seems even after it's been played over and over; something about the way the Muppets interact with each other and the input coming from the child makes it seem as if they are right there with you, not canned or repetitive.

An excellent music activity game for kids AND parents!
WOW! (and I mean that). This game is fantastic! All the Sesame Street humor, with really wonderful music and a lot of different activities. From Ernie's World (ala Wayne's World) where Ernie interjects funny words into songs sung by Cookie, Grover and Elmo to their hilarious disbelief (which had my wife and I on the floor laughing!), to Elmo's Music Machine (an endlessly replayable sampler/mixer of music snippets that let's kids put endless combinations of tunes together (an excellent learning tool! ), to Worldly Instruments where Elmo and Ernie play - in any combination - everything from Sitars and banjos to African drums and Trombones to, of things, a Hurdy Gurdy or a Theramine! As a musician and a parent who hopes to pass on the joy of music to my son and daughter, I could not believe our luck at finding this brilliant and wonderful product! My hat is off to Sesame Street with my endless respect and thanks! GO BUY THIS! WE ALL LOVE IT! ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Disney's Tarzan Print Studio brings the jungle to you, with hundreds of Tarzan projects. Create personalized projects for school, friends, and family, featuring your favorite Tarzan images. This CD-ROM offers hundreds of projects, including stickers, birthday banners, school calendars, holiday greeting cards, party invitations, and more. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

The brightly structured world of Thomas the Tank Engine and his friendswill appeal to the orderly side of preschoolers as they help rescue a derailedengine, put it back on the tracks, spiff it up, and get it back to work. If yourolder toddler glows when told he or she is helpful or a hard worker, this CD-ROMwill put them in junior train-engineer heaven.

The story begins with an engine named James eagerly heading out to get more coalfor the other engines, but things don't go quite as planned; James has anaccident on a sharp corner because he's being too hasty. Kids get to help rescueJames and restore him to his shiny, bright-red self by completing eightactivities that will test their problem-solving skills, spatial abilities, anddeductive reasoning. They must find James, properly assemble crane gears to gethim lifted back onto the track, collect coal, find the proper parts, and installthem on James by listening to whistles, looking at train parts, and then puttingeverything in its place. Once James has a full tank of water and a full bin ofcoal, kids get to drive the repaired engine. This is the best part of thisfriendly CD-ROM, as it demonstrates to little locomotive fans how steam engineswork, from shoveling coal to goosing the throttle.

Each activity has three levels, and Trouble on the Track also hasclickable surprises interspersed throughout each activity, something thatearlier Thomas offerings lacked. Kids can visit Sir Topham Hatt's office to seeand print their certificates (they get one for every level of each activity theycomplete) or various pictures that they can color, turn into puzzles, or simplyhang on their walls. Everyone from the Horrid Lorry to the Troublesome Trucks ishere, and Thomas the Tank Engine fans will enjoy this program as it gently chugsalong. (Ages 3 and older) --Anne Erickson ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Pleasantly Surprised!
When I found this software I was excited because my son LOVES Thomas, but then I read all of the bad reviews and was scared to order it for him. I took a chance and ordered it anyway and LUCKILY we have had no problems with it so far. My son will sit and play it for hours without needing much assistance. I have noticed when you go to Sir Topham Hatts Office and print things out you have to kind of let it do it's thing and not get ahead of it. It will minimize the Thomas screen and return to the desktop while printing but you just have to click on the icon at the bottom of the page to return to the game. The graphics have been very smooth, not choppy at all. When I installed it there was an option for "minimum", "normal", or "maximum" installation. It told me we had enough memory to do the maximum so that's what I chose. I don't know what others used so I don't know if that could be the reason why it runs ok for us. We have a 128MB, 100MHZ computer with a video card that supports up to 2X AGP. I hope other Thomas fans find this helpful to them!

Thomas the Tank Engine: Trouble on the Tracks
I highly recommend this for any young Thomas the Tank Engine fan. My 2.5 year old loves this. The graphics are very nice and detailed. As your child completes an activity, he can click on Thomas and go to the next stage of the journey. This is especially for the child who loves James. The activities on the island are: Search for James (James fell off the tracks and the user needs to guide Harold the Helicopter over the island to find James); Collect the Coal; Fix the Breakdown Train; Find James' Whistle; Load the Freight; Locate James' Lamp; Repair James; Prepare James for his Run. It hs 3 levels of difficulty and certificates are kept in the Controller's Office. Beware of the minimum system requirements though - the software states you need at least a Pentium 166 and 32 MB RAM and we have a Pentium 233 and 64 MB RAM and it still runs a bit choppy. And it wouldn't let us do a maximum install which would allow us to play without the CD installed.

WARNING - Windows Killer!
I bought this game last night for my two-year-old, and installed it right away. Installation seemed to go smoothly, until it reached the point where it had to restart the system.

I wish I hadn't clicked on "OK" so quickly. It would have been nice to say goodbye to a lifetime's worth of data and work.

Yup, "Thomas the Tank Engine: Trouble On The Tracks" killed my computer dead. Windows is utterly corrupted, and I am now the proud owner of a $2,000.00 paperweight.

"Windows must be reinstalled"..."Kernal32 corrupted"...and then nothing. I've never seen Windows deader than this, and I can't even reinstall. I've got a boot disk and will try again tonight, but at this point I have no way of knowing if ANY of my data has survived.

The game cost $9.96 at Wal-Mart. It wasn't worth it.

Short shelf life
My 3 1/2 year old son loved this CD for exactly 2 days, then became bored with it and hasn't picked it up since. The games on it are one-dimensional and not geared for long-term play.

A So-So game.
My 4 year-old played with it for about 2 weeks and then she has never asked me to play it again. It's just not that interesting and challenging. You have to go at the software's pace of things, which is annoying since you may already be familiar with the instructions. So because the longevity factor doesn't last too long and the challenge factor is not there, I cannot recommend this game. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

The Great Conch Shell has been stolen and it's up to Freddi Fish and Luther to catch the culprit. All is well on their tropical vacation, until our finny friends realize the Great Conch Shell is missing! Uncle Blenny can't open the Founder's Day Festival until the heralded horn has been recovered. Piece the clues together and figure out who's responsible for this underwater caper. (Ages 3-8) ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Freddi 3: Conch Shell
My parents bought this game for my daughter. Being somewhat of a "game snob," I was somewhat skeptical of its merit. This game turned out to be quite a pleasant surprise! It was quite enjoyable, reminiscent of those old Infocom games I played as a child. My three-and-a-half-year-old daughter absolutely loved it. She was glued to the computer for a month, and would probably have remained there longer if Christmas hadn't come. As it is, she still revisits this game occassionally.

This game has the following desirable features:

1. Replayability -- There are roughly 10 quests to solve, but only three appear in a given game. The final quest at the end also has a random element

2. Challenge -- These puzzles are not trivial for young children. Even Dad had to think for a minute or two on some of these puzzles.

3. Attention to detail -- Most things in this game will react when you click on them. This ties in with the replayability. For example, my daughter spent hours clicking on the monkey and squealing with delight when it reacted with disgust upon peeling bannanas full of bugs. This also kept the frustration levels low when the puzzles were too difficult for her to solve on her own.

4. Memory building -- I was amazed at how quickly my daughter caught on when I helped her solve puzzles. This game builds memory skills that will definitely prove useful in years to come

Probably the best series
My son started torturing the computer at the age of 2, and still does three years later. We tried many games, but the software from Humongous is really the best, and the Freddi fish is a beatiful series of a crime/detective type. It's wery well designed, kids have a feeling of interacting with an animation movie. We ended up having all F.Fs and Putt-putts (other series from Humongous). Would advise to any parent to have it.

best computer game in our house
This is the best computer game in our house....and the most played! My 4 year old playes it over and over. She loves the characters, the music, and hunting for the clues. She doesn't get bored with it because it changes every time she playes it, and it really makes her think. This game was definitely worth the money!

very challenging
Even though my daugter loves the characters, music and animation, we found this game to be very long (thank goodness you can save it and continue later!). This is the main reason why I am rating it only 3 stars. However, if you work with your child until you and she/he can find all the clues, then she/he will be able to remember are and master the game her/himself. Personally, we have yet to complete a game.

One Year Later
My son received this game as a gift on his fourth bithday, and still plays it on a regular basis! That's more than I can say for any toy or game he has ever owned. The ever-changing scenerios within the game keep it fresh and new every time he plays. I am still amazed that such a long and involved game can keep his attention for so long, and for so many times over. I credit that to the excellent animation, music, plot, and over-all challenge of the game. Although he has solved the mystery dozens of times over he still gets excited every time he does it again. ... Read more

Features

• For Windows 95 and 98 PC
• For Macintosh PowerPC System 7.1 or higher
• Explore abstract and traditional art forms, color, texture, and composition
• Strengthens word recognition, listening comprehension, and early reading skills
• Teaches essential early learning skills in children ages 3 to 6

Amazon.com Review

Dora the Explorer has lost her teddy bear! Osito is truly missing, and Dora and her friend Boots believe he has ended up--like all mislaid things--in the mysterious Lost City. Planning an expedition to find Osito becomes complicated, though, when it turns out that Dora is far from the only one missing a personal treasure. Mami Bugga Bugga has lost her children's baby blankets, for one thing, while Pirate Pig has misplaced his hat!

Despite these revelations Dora is on her way soon enough, headed to the Lost City in search of a handful of wayward items. The path is not smooth, however. Obstacles like the Big Pond (where Pirate Pig's minions must be sorted into variously colored boats) and the Number Pyramid (a place for elementary math skills to get a workout) crop up along the route. These and other puzzles cry out to be solved... preferably before Dora continues on her way.

Aimed solidly at players ages 3 and older, Dora the Explorer: Lost City Adventure is a simple game with a straightforward storyline and no unpleasant surprises. The flow of its educational subject matter is frequently broken with animations and songs, making it easier for young gamers to maintain a focus on learning. Its activities are the most basic of skill builders, easily mastered even at their highest levels of difficulty. Lost City Adventure also stimulates user interest by doling out a sprinkling of Spanish vocabulary through its animations, exposing players to a handful of easily learned words from Dora's mother tongue.

As for Dora herself, her good-natured encouragement and enthusiasm for the quest to the Lost City are infectious, and children are certain to respond eagerly to every task she puts before them on the way to rescue Osito. --Alyx Dellamonica ... Read more

Reviews (60)

My 2 year old LOVES it. Great fun!
My oldest daughter loves Dora and took to this game immediately. She loves to sit on my lap and play and our father-daughter time is often spent on the computer. She can't get enough.

The 3 levels offer a nice change for children that are getting bored with the game. Some puzzles she plays at level 1 where some puzzles she plays at level 3.

The game is VERY educational and fun and it follows the same format as the cartoon does. She'll turn 3 soon and she still loves it.

I'd also recommend Dora's Backpack Adventure (they make a trip to the library), Little People Discovery Airport, Winnie the Pooh (where Pooh gathers all the friends for Eyores birthday party) and Mickey Mouse (where Mickey and Minnie stop off at Goofy's gas station / Daisey's diner).

Average at best game; Dora only redeeming feature.
Do not buy this game if you are used to the better quality games Humongous software has produced for NickJR characters in the past: Humongous was sold to Infogames, and well, if this title is indicative, much was lost.

This game is saved only by the appearance of Dora. I really feel the two star rating is generous. My daughter is Dora crazy, and even she shows little to no interest in this game (and she loves edutainment computer games).

The program is not well executed, and there is little asttention to detail. One my daughter noticed was that at the begining of the game Dora collects 5 books to return to the liebrary. When she returns the books at the end of the journey, the colors of the books which come out of the backpack don't match the ones put in, prompting my daughter to ask "what happened to the books we put in Dora's backpack...

Dora the Explorer takes you a short and boring journey
My 4 year-old daughter completed this game in less than a half-hour. The short-length of the game actually caused her too cry! I was shocked at the lack of depth in the game given that it weighed in at over 250MB for the install.

She's crying as I type this. "I don't like this game!"

Atari must really hate paying customers!!
Well I would give this more stars if Atari support weren't so terrible!! The only reason I give it 2 stars is because my daughter loves Dora and likes playing this game because there are plenty of activities to try and places to go. HOWEVER, Atari seems to want to force you (due to their prehistoric copy-protection scheme) to keep the CD-ROM in the drive at all times in order to play the game! How ridiculous! Even though I paid good money for this game and it installed on my hard drive, it does not let you run it from your hard drive. Atari told me that you need to have the CD-ROM in to play it and they "cannot help me get around the copy protection". Well I don't know about anyone else's toddlers, but my 2 year old just loves to open the CD-ROM and take discs out to play with. So this leaves me out of luck if the disc becomes scratched after she's done with it! I think Atari should trust their paying customers a little more and allow them to install the game FULLY to their hard drive... if for nothing else to protect their investment! I will never buy another game by Atari because of this. They have no regards for their paying customers.

Boring!
I have a 3 year old, and after a week, she is already bored with this game. For $20, there should be more to do. It constantly repeats itself, and has no real direction. Very limited number of activities available, and really no variety. I would not recommend this game at all. I am currently reading reviews to find something much more interesting. ... Read more

Product Description

This playful adventure is so much fun, toddlers don't even realize how much they're learning!

Features

• Fun learning activities
• Positive on-screen response to any keystroke
• My Learning Scrapbook to chronicle all the "firsts"
• Personalize, import photos and print your scrapbook

Reviews (1)

Jumpstart in the Classroom
This software is used in a self contained classroom with Autistic students.They all love this software and I need another copy of it. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Disney's Beauty and the Beast: Magical Ballroom captures the magic, romance, and humor of the animated feature film. Kids join Belle, Beast, Chip, Mrs. Potts, Lumiere, and Cogsworth in four exciting interactive activities: Belle of the Ball, Cogsworth's Library Mystery, Mrs. Potts's Tea Time Table, and Belle's Writing Desk. Filled with music, dancing, and mystery fun, kids develop creativity, coordination, and logic skills in Beauty and the Beast-themed environments.

Return to the magical world of the Beast's castle. Prepare for Beast's surprise birthday ball by decorating the great ballroom, choosing the music, creating special dances, and more. Help Cogsworth and Lumiere search for the key that will unlock the West Wing's secret passages. Then help Mrs. Potts and Chip ready dishes and food for teatime in a fast-paced arcade game. While at Belle's writing desk, a world of printable activities awaits. Kids create ball invitations, storybooks, greeting cards, and even stained-glass illustrations with characters, images, and props from the Disney movie. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Poorly Written
This program has lots of potential however it is lacking in several areas. The first is that there are clitches and if an area is clicked on erroneously then the program freezes. I had to shut down the computer each time and reboot. Also the instructions and some of the games are too complicated for my soon to be 5 year old. Others were really fun for her. The most frustrating however is that I never did figure out what I had to do in Belle's Writing Room to complete this section in preparation for the Surprise Ball (and I have a medical degree). If anyone knows please email me so we can at least see the dress we picked out and the music and dance we created.

Entertaining for a while..
My girls are 3 and 5 and had a hard time with this game.
There are several areas that require skills above them.
They did enjoy the other parts of the game, but once they finished they didn't really want to play again. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Great game, my daughter is already sassy anyway
Great story with lots of interactive stuff to click on to keep youngsters interested.

The reading race game is excellent, however the authors did not include nearly enough words in the game to keep it interesting long term. A real shame, as the game itself is motivating and educational and would have real value in teaching spelling and word recognition skills if only the dictionary was larger.

The previews of other games are a great addition - good advertising for the publishers and very entertaining in their own right.

Arthur's Reading Race
This is a good game that will help your children to learn to read. This game will work with Windows XP Home Edition if you run it in compatibility mode.

Our kid's ask for it
I read a reviewer claim that this CD-ROM game has taught her daughter to be a "sass mouth". D.W. certainly has a vocab beyond her tender years, but she behaves no differently than she does on the popular kids show.

Having said that, this CD is fun. You can either read along with the story (words are highlighted as they are read), or play games with Arthur and D.W. "I Spy" is a favorite of my kids. Each pag of the story has pictures and items that can be clicked on and they come to life! A great tool for helping kids to learn how to use the computer mouse. Also comes with sample games for older kids.

Review of Reading Race
My son loves this CD and honestly so do I. While it is not going to teach your child to read, it will help them with word recognition some. On each page of the story there are several items to select for interesting surprises. You can either have the program automatically continue after each page, or stop and let you explore the page and its contents.

I think there is not any overt rudness in the program that is above and beyond the book series itself and the interaction between Arthur and DW.

fun and some learning
This CD is just plain fun. Anyone buying this program because they want to teach their child to read may be buying the wrong product. But it does help early learners to "see" words, and connect word/object relationships ... at least somewhat. And that in itself makes it worthy of some educational value. But the best value in this is the fun. The prizes are fun too .... weird flavored ice cream. My own feelings are that if you want to teach your child to read, you shouldn't depend on software, for the most part software is just a way to practice what they learn via actual instruction. This is a great, fun, and easy to play CD. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

This CD-ROM game is based on the award-winning I Spy book series. The game engages children with clever and colorful scenarios and builds learning skills through riddles, puzzles, and games. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Gotta love I SPY!
We love all of the I Spy software and books. This one was not a disappointment. All of the I Spy games are simple for the very young child... So long as they can click the mouse, they can play the game. Clues are read to you so that reading is not necessary. This particular I Spy game is NOT as good as the others in the series, however it is a must have for any I Spy fan!

Perfectly suited for preschoolers
My son just turned three and this program is perfectly suited to his skills. The six differect games within the program provide a good variety of activities. There's even one game where you can create you own I Spy page to print out. The oral directions are very clear and simple for little ones who cannot yet read.
I believe this game is time well spent on the computer. The program presents challenging thinking games and not just mindless flash. We also like the music that introduces and ends the program.

Very Cute.
This is a very cute set of games all based on the I Spy books. In one game the kids search for items just like in the book, in another game they sort objects into venn circles. My two going on three year old son enjoys playing this for about a half an hour at a time. This helps develop visual discrimination among other things.

Having said all of that, this is one of my least favorite computer games to watch him play. Compared to some of the others he has, I find this one to be a bit boring. But it's not me that is playing it. I'd rate it a high four or low five because of this one reason. Otherwise I think it's a fine set of games.

The pictures are excellent. The skills that children learn in these games are good pre reading skills and that is good.

Enjoy.

No legs
This game is great. My 46 month old really enjoyed it ... for about two or three hours, when she had played it out. There are a very limited number of "screens," and they don't even randomize their arrangement.

It's a shame, because the puzzles with the circles (think Venn diagrams from elementary school math) are a wonderful twist.

Therefore, I have to say the game "has no legs."

Does not Work on Windows XP
This game would not run on Windows XP out of the box. Scholastic support did not have a solution but I found it would run in compatibility mode.

My son loves the games and puzzles. This was a truly great learning game for kids. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Active Play, A Bug's Life lets you explore the world of Flik and his friends. Help them ward off the evil grasshoppers bent on invading Ant Island. Build a special contraption, of Flik's invention, and rid the ants of the grasshoppers' terror. Travel to the game's six locations, build a board game or puppet theater, and gather facts about real-life bugs. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Educational, fun, but a little boring
The Bug's Life game is good and appropriate for younger kids. Flik has to find 6 pieces in order to create a contraption with which to get rid of the grass hoppers. In order to get each of the six objects, Flik and you kid have to complete a task--sort through berries, arrange pictures in order etc. In addition as the kid plays, she/she can learn about bugs, by clicking on a little camera button.

In addition to entertainment, the game also provides tyhe kid with some basic computer skills, which are (surprise) necessary today.

My only problem with the game is that it is quite repretitive. After a few times, my son got bored.

My son really liked it at first, but

Fun and Learning Game
I purchased this game for my 4 year old grandson. He has spent many hours playing the game. Since I am a former preschool teacher, I am please with the many learning skills that are included. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Mother Nature is lashing out again! Fisher Price Rescue Heroes: Lava Landslide takes Billy Blazes, Ariel Flyer, Sandy Beach, and the other Rescue Heroes on a mission to faraway Volcano Island, a nature preserve and tourist resort threatened by a coming eruption of fiery-hot lava!

The action starts out in space, where a broken satellite makes it impossible for the Rescue Heroes to properly assess Volcano Island's danger. Players ages 4 to 7 begin this game by retrieving lost satellite parts from the moon and then making the appropriate repairs. Only then can they see the extent of the coming volcanic activity, and the tourists and rain forest animals who need to be rescued from the island before time runs out.

Like other Rescue Heroes games, Lava Landslide offers a series of two-part activities, each featuring excitement and action but no violence. Players pilot various vehicles--from powered spacesuits to dune buggies--through a maze of obstacles, desired items, and power-ups. The vehicles are always on the edge of running out of power and ending the game, which is where the second activity comes in. Additional power-ups are available to players who complete a matching game or maze challenge hidden within each game level.

With a boisterous soundtrack and a limited range of activities, Lava Landslide is definitely a game that falls more on the arcade end of the software spectrum than on its educational side. It does have some shape identification and memory exercises, but this is primarily an offering for children who like their games loud, fast, and laced with comparatively simple obstacles. Racing along the beach, threading through collapsing lava caves, and hoping the next power-up comes along in time are the essence of this program.

Lava Landslide unfolds in linear fashion, like a story: you must fix the satellite before going on to the island, for example. It is a perfect choice for any young child who likes a beginning, middle, and end structure integrated into their gameplay.--Alyx Dellamonica ... Read more

Reviews (26)

mediocre software for avid Rescue Heroes fans only
Meteors have hit the planet, resulting in a series of widely scattered emergencies that require the Rescue Heroes to intervene -- and they need your help!!

The graphics are good, the intro is exciting .... but after that the game is totally mediocre. Four activities have three levels of difficulty, but they are quite tedious no matter what level you play. (1) Move around a water maze to rescue people in a flooded movie studio, and shoot a life preserver over a moving line of floating objects. (2) Navigate a maze on a rock face as you rescue stranded climbers while avoiding vicious eagles and snakes. (3) Aim a hose at brush fires so you can find and rescue animals on an African preserve. (4) Snowboard down a ski slope without hitting the shrubbery so you can dig people out from under an avalanche.

The hype is here, but the games are very boring. Your child has little flexibility or independence when performing tasks, and those tasks probably use only 2% of your child's brain power. For example, in order to dig people out of the avalanche, you click on the snow cave over and over, it doesn't matter where, until the person trapped within tells you how great you are -- and every time it's the same person in the snow cave. Each game is rather mindless in this way. There is little reasoning required and no skills acquired.

This is lame software that has neither educational value nor excitement. When there are so many worthwhile children's software titles out there, don't waste your money or your child's time on this lazy stuff. It may be worthwhile for the truly avid Rescue Heroes fan, but even that is doubtful. This was our first Rescue Heroes title. It is also our last.

Lava Landslide
I gave this game to my son as an early birthday present. He's almost four and loves the Rescue Heroes. The reviews I read were mixed so I decided to buy it anyway. I'm really glad I did. Sure it's challenging, but it's a good excuse for the parents to get involved. First I did the hard parts for him, to show him what needed to be done. Then I guided him through them and finally he ended up doing it all by himself. He was so proud when he accomplished the hard tasks that he couldn't do at first!

Unlike most computer games this one requires the use of the arrow keys instead of the mouse. Well, it's always nice to learn new skills.
I can't wait to give my son the two other RH games I baught for his birthday. I have no doubt he'll love them too.

Inaginext Pirate Raider
I gave it a 1 because they did not have a 0, to give. I bought this game for my son and I try to install it and it tells me that it has encountered an error. I go to the web site and it tells me what to do with that error, but after I do what it told me it does the same error thing again. My son and I both got so frustrated and finally gave up. I am returning it to the place where I purchased it for a full refund. Good luck for those of you that also bought this Horrible Game.

Frustrating game for my almost 5 yr. old
I agree with other reviews that the mouse clicking is very difficult. It's difficult to maneuver the men around. My son tried for a few minutes, became so frustrated, I finished the one mission, but couldn't get him to do any more. Would recommend the I Spy software - ages 6-10, but he loves it! Don't have to know how to read.

Yeah Pirate Raider!
My 7-year-old LOVES this game. He'd play from sun up to sun down if I let him. I hear him cheering and clapping in the other room and he's having so much fun!
I'm VERY anti-violence, so when he got this game I was concerned. I was pleased to discover that although the ships sometimes fire on each other, no people are ever involved. This makes it so much more abstract and less about killing. When you capture forts, you fire on canons only and never see people. When you capture other ships, your knife is used only to chop up fruit that's thrown at you by skeletons. Once you capture their gold, you're on your way to fulfill another mission.
Frankly, this game is so much fun I have to admit to playing it myself! ... Read more