Learning Ladder Preschool is an excellent CD-ROM packed with a wide range of activities for 3-5 year olds. Woody the Pencil guides children through the different activities, which are very well explained.

Children will enjoy becoming familiar with the mouse and navigating around the room making toys move and change. They will also enjoy doing the different activities such as painting the colouring book, having a go at recording their voice, listening to a story, doing puzzles and much more.

By clicking on the different bears children can carry out activities related to words, numbers, time, directions/space, shapes and nature/objects. Each of these areas contains 18 different games for children to play, so there is plenty to keep them occupied. There's also a good range of activities, many of which support the Early Years Curriculum at school. For example, there are activities that work on identifying sounds in words and on ordering, counting, matching, etc.

Children are rewarded with stickers when they complete an activity correctly and they will love collecting these in the sticker book. This would be an excellent buy for parents who want to introduce their child to using the computer in a fun and educational way. --Amanda York

Installed on Vista, 01 Sep 2008
Installed this sucessfully on Vista 64bit. Had to install the old version of Quicktime 2.1.2 - and this got stuck trying to find other versions of Quicktime, so you have to tell it to ignore.

Looks a little dated now - graphics are a bit blocky when displayed full screen, but the games are quite varied.

Just okay, 24 Apr 2006
This was the first software I bought for my under 3 year old. I found it overly complicated to navigate around. There are no instructions about how to find things or what there is to find. A lot of the things to click on a very small and not good at all for someone who is just learning to move a mouse. I wouldn't buy this to introduce a child to using computers but I can see that it might be okay for older children who already have solid basic skills.

very popular, 04 Sep 2005
This is an easy-to-find-things programme, there is a teddy-bear page where the themed tasks are (numbers, letters, space, time etc), then a large 'room' where you can click on items to play a little game or just see something happen (e.g. click on tambourine & it shakes). Woody lurks around the room and makes comments from time to time which you could find irritating if you were inclined that way but he's really not bad.

My 4 year old boy really enjoys his time on this programme. Some of the games he can't do without help (for him, it's the word ones), but I just lurk around and ask him if he needs any help. It has definitely helped him with things that he was confident doing already (numbers & space in his case), but I'm not sure if it could actually teach him anything new; I feel that the programme increases confidence and knowledge in areas that the child has knowledge of already.

That said, still excellent and would recommend.
On the technical side, it works well with no stoppages or glitches and was easy to load, important for a computer-novice like me (although probably my son could have done it for me of course...)

Loads to do, 15 Aug 2005
A great way to introduce your child to computers. I bought this for my son when he was 3 and he picked it up very quickly and was soon clicking about like a real pro! All activities are read out to the child so no reading skills required and there's a great progress report for adults so you can see how your child's doing. Woody the pencil interupts too quickly though and even irritates my son, let alone me!

Woody the Pencil, 05 Aug 2005
I bought this for my son, now 4, and he loves it. Woody the pencil is a bit annoying as you have to wait for him to stop talking before you can carry on. would be better if you had a parent key that could turn him off. Otherwise an excellent learning cd. I am amazed at how much my son can do by himself. Lots of activities to keep him amused. Well worth the money

Can We Fix It?. Of course we can, and with this BBC software package little builders will be better equipped than ever!. Featuring the chirpy Bob and his mechanical multitude of talented friends, this fun package is a mixture of educational encouragement and pure out-and-out fun.

Once loaded, you are invited to move the cursor around Wendy's office to select your tasks: hover over the phone, and it rings with a plumbing job; go near the fax, and a job comes in for Roley. Keep moving around, and you will find enough jobs to keep little fingers and minds busy for hours.

In "Hedgehog Rescue", the aim is firstly to help Lofty the Crane build a tunnel to save the scared hedgehogs from crossing the road. Children must match pipe shapes to tunnel shapes, and construct the route. The next, more difficult game, involves Wendy herding the hedgehogs into the tunnel--easier than it sounds, since one particularly persistent hedgehog seems unwilling to go.

In "Travis' Race Day", choose between Scoop or Dizzy to a head-to-head around an obstacle-strewn track. Guide your challenger by mouse or arrow keys--again, not as easy as it sounds, and a great developmental aid for hand-to-eye co-ordination.

"Can We Build It?" involves knocking down an unsafe bridge, then using colour recognition to match the bricks to rebuild it. Roley needs a hand with unruly tarmac in "Bubble Trouble", when you must guide him over the bubbles to even out the road. And in "Scary Spud", you must move Spud around the screen to scare off the crows. But the crowning glory is "Wendy's Birthday", where guests first decorate her cake then join in the fun line dancing. Also included on each game is "Where's Pilchard?", a hide-and-seek game for the shy, blue cat.

Accompanied throughout by Neil Morrisey's narration and the superb music from the TV show, (also now a CD single), this package builds on many elementary educational skills to make little builders into fully fledged Bobs. And while it is not that quick to load (missing plug-ins are provided, but it may take some time) it is well worth the wait.

Testers of around two years old found this package fun and evocative of their favourite TV character, though they did require constant supervision and most of the games were beyond mastering. This is a superb educational aid and lots of fun. (Suitable for ages 2 to 6).--Lucie Naylor

Installed on Vista, 01 Sep 2008
Installed this sucessfully on Vista 64bit. Had to install the old version of Quicktime 2.1.2 - and this got stuck trying to find other versions of Quicktime, so you have to tell it to ignore.

Looks a little dated now - graphics are a bit blocky when displayed full screen, but the games are quite varied.

Just okay, 24 Apr 2006
This was the first software I bought for my under 3 year old. I found it overly complicated to navigate around. There are no instructions about how to find things or what there is to find. A lot of the things to click on a very small and not good at all for someone who is just learning to move a mouse. I wouldn't buy this to introduce a child to using computers but I can see that it might be okay for older children who already have solid basic skills.

very popular, 04 Sep 2005
This is an easy-to-find-things programme, there is a teddy-bear page where the themed tasks are (numbers, letters, space, time etc), then a large 'room' where you can click on items to play a little game or just see something happen (e.g. click on tambourine & it shakes). Woody lurks around the room and makes comments from time to time which you could find irritating if you were inclined that way but he's really not bad.

My 4 year old boy really enjoys his time on this programme. Some of the games he can't do without help (for him, it's the word ones), but I just lurk around and ask him if he needs any help. It has definitely helped him with things that he was confident doing already (numbers & space in his case), but I'm not sure if it could actually teach him anything new; I feel that the programme increases confidence and knowledge in areas that the child has knowledge of already.

That said, still excellent and would recommend.
On the technical side, it works well with no stoppages or glitches and was easy to load, important for a computer-novice like me (although probably my son could have done it for me of course...)

Loads to do, 15 Aug 2005
A great way to introduce your child to computers. I bought this for my son when he was 3 and he picked it up very quickly and was soon clicking about like a real pro! All activities are read out to the child so no reading skills required and there's a great progress report for adults so you can see how your child's doing. Woody the pencil interupts too quickly though and even irritates my son, let alone me!

Woody the Pencil, 05 Aug 2005
I bought this for my son, now 4, and he loves it. Woody the pencil is a bit annoying as you have to wait for him to stop talking before you can carry on. would be better if you had a parent key that could turn him off. Otherwise an excellent learning cd. I am amazed at how much my son can do by himself. Lots of activities to keep him amused. Well worth the money

Brilliant!, 01 Mar 2006
My 3 year old son is a huge fan of Bob the Builder and he absolutely loves this CD. The games are of varying difficulty and he does need help with some of them but his mouse skills are improving by the day. The games are fun and not too obviously educational. The only problem I have with this CD is getting him off the computer!

Yes We can, 30 Jan 2006
My 4 year old has dropped the tv for this game. It has taught him keyboard skills, mouse skills, quicker than any of those Jump Ahead cds. There are probably not enough games but he hasnt got bored after a month so thats not bad. Buy it and get your kid interacting rather than just wathcing.

Can bob entertain us?, 28 Nov 2002
The answer is "yes he can" this program is entertaining for the under 5's. There is lots of chances to help Bob with fixing pipes and building bridges and knocking them down! You can decorate amazing cakes and help round up the hedgehogs. These are just a few of the wonderfully entertaining games to play with Bob. The children won't even realise they are gaining or inproving their skills. Lots of fun.

Based on the ever popular TV series, Bob the Builder: Castle Adventure sees Bob and friends take a trip to a medieval castle where they embark on a series of fun activities and games. Taking its theme from the Knights of Can a Lot feature-length film, it has you and your child guiding Bob, Lofty, Wendy, Spud and all your favourite characters through 10 activities. Starting at the Gatehouse, there are four castle sections. These offer maze games, moat games, castle wall games and dungeon games. There are also clips from the film included in the software. You get to hear the voices of Neil Morrissey, Richard Briers and Brenda Blethyn throughout.

The interface is child friendly, being colourful, clean and easy to follow. The software is developed in line with the National Curriculum Foundation Stage, with three different skill levels to cover a range of ages and abilities from three years upwards. To start the game you set up a player and have the opportunity to choose a shield. This enables you to have several players using the software without uncovering bonuses, or completing activities and therefore spoiling surprises for a particular child. The games themselves are straightforward, with clear instructions, but good fun. You can replay as many times as you like and when you have completed a task you earn a star. When all tasks are completed you unlock some additional activities. You can also print out a certificate for your child to say that they have helped Bob fix the castle. Nice job, Bob! --Heather Wilson

Installed on Vista, 01 Sep 2008
Installed this sucessfully on Vista 64bit. Had to install the old version of Quicktime 2.1.2 - and this got stuck trying to find other versions of Quicktime, so you have to tell it to ignore.

Looks a little dated now - graphics are a bit blocky when displayed full screen, but the games are quite varied.

Just okay, 24 Apr 2006
This was the first software I bought for my under 3 year old. I found it overly complicated to navigate around. There are no instructions about how to find things or what there is to find. A lot of the things to click on a very small and not good at all for someone who is just learning to move a mouse. I wouldn't buy this to introduce a child to using computers but I can see that it might be okay for older children who already have solid basic skills.

very popular, 04 Sep 2005
This is an easy-to-find-things programme, there is a teddy-bear page where the themed tasks are (numbers, letters, space, time etc), then a large 'room' where you can click on items to play a little game or just see something happen (e.g. click on tambourine & it shakes). Woody lurks around the room and makes comments from time to time which you could find irritating if you were inclined that way but he's really not bad.

My 4 year old boy really enjoys his time on this programme. Some of the games he can't do without help (for him, it's the word ones), but I just lurk around and ask him if he needs any help. It has definitely helped him with things that he was confident doing already (numbers & space in his case), but I'm not sure if it could actually teach him anything new; I feel that the programme increases confidence and knowledge in areas that the child has knowledge of already.

That said, still excellent and would recommend.
On the technical side, it works well with no stoppages or glitches and was easy to load, important for a computer-novice like me (although probably my son could have done it for me of course...)

Loads to do, 15 Aug 2005
A great way to introduce your child to computers. I bought this for my son when he was 3 and he picked it up very quickly and was soon clicking about like a real pro! All activities are read out to the child so no reading skills required and there's a great progress report for adults so you can see how your child's doing. Woody the pencil interupts too quickly though and even irritates my son, let alone me!

Woody the Pencil, 05 Aug 2005
I bought this for my son, now 4, and he loves it. Woody the pencil is a bit annoying as you have to wait for him to stop talking before you can carry on. would be better if you had a parent key that could turn him off. Otherwise an excellent learning cd. I am amazed at how much my son can do by himself. Lots of activities to keep him amused. Well worth the money

Brilliant!, 01 Mar 2006
My 3 year old son is a huge fan of Bob the Builder and he absolutely loves this CD. The games are of varying difficulty and he does need help with some of them but his mouse skills are improving by the day. The games are fun and not too obviously educational. The only problem I have with this CD is getting him off the computer!

Yes We can, 30 Jan 2006
My 4 year old has dropped the tv for this game. It has taught him keyboard skills, mouse skills, quicker than any of those Jump Ahead cds. There are probably not enough games but he hasnt got bored after a month so thats not bad. Buy it and get your kid interacting rather than just wathcing.

Can bob entertain us?, 28 Nov 2002
The answer is "yes he can" this program is entertaining for the under 5's. There is lots of chances to help Bob with fixing pipes and building bridges and knocking them down! You can decorate amazing cakes and help round up the hedgehogs. These are just a few of the wonderfully entertaining games to play with Bob. The children won't even realise they are gaining or inproving their skills. Lots of fun.

Superb, 13 Dec 2007
There are so many expensive poor quality offerings in the childrens games market, its refreshing to find a title that's as good as this one.
Our pre-school children love Bob's Castle Adventure.
The voices are familiar, the graphics are superb, navigation is very easy, and the range of activities is very generous... there must be close to 15 different games to play.
Strongly recommended for pre-school children.

Educational and funny, 06 Sep 2006
My four year old was absolutely thrilled with this game. Living in Greece and my child not speaking English, I thought at first it might be difficult for my child to comprehend but from the start he had no difficulty experimenting after I explained what he had to do. After that he was on his way playing without my help. (Now he wants to learn english to play more games...)
I found this game very useful in training kids to use computers (mouse, keyboard etc) and thereby learn to maniupulate shapes, solve problems in the maize, explore in the dungeons all this in the fun filled colourful setting of the game. In all a great game for the age group specified.

The best kids game out there!, 05 Sep 2003
I've purchased many childrens games in the past and most are badly disguised, boring educational games that my kids can see right through. This one's different, it looks beautiful, the characters are really brought to life and the games themselves (I've still only played half of them) are really fun, enjoyable games, okay so they do have some educational element but they're fun and thats what kids want. Even I've been playing it for hours!
Buy it, its better than watching the videos!

Crafted with brilliant colours and the lazy-summer-day pace of the celebrated series, Teletubbies 2: Favourite Games delivers the goods for the toddler set. From the first scene, where the baby-face sun rises across the computer screen, kids will be entranced. Parents will like it too--mostly for the developmental skills the teletubbies teach.

The CD-ROM is based around five games, including "Tuning In," "Gymnastic," and "Making Tubby Custard" (which features appropriately silly sound effects). "Hide and Peep" takes the traditional hide and seek game and adds bright red curtains. "Roly Poly" was a particular favourite; when you click on a teletubby it sends Laa-Laa, Tinky Winky, Dipsy, and Po rolling down gorgeous green hills.

A very big pointer triggers the game's actions, and children should be able to use it easily in developing computer skills. These games also help children to learn how to match (from the hiding game) and create ordered sequences (in the case of the custard game). In addition, the game designers have built in considerate additions for the recommended age group, two to four years old. For example, to quit the game parents need to hit the escape key--a good choice for little fingers that might otherwise click an exit icon by mistake. Charming and colourful--like the television show come to life--Teletubbies 2: Favourite Games will please and delight. --Simon Priestly

Installed on Vista, 01 Sep 2008
Installed this sucessfully on Vista 64bit. Had to install the old version of Quicktime 2.1.2 - and this got stuck trying to find other versions of Quicktime, so you have to tell it to ignore.

Looks a little dated now - graphics are a bit blocky when displayed full screen, but the games are quite varied.

Just okay, 24 Apr 2006
This was the first software I bought for my under 3 year old. I found it overly complicated to navigate around. There are no instructions about how to find things or what there is to find. A lot of the things to click on a very small and not good at all for someone who is just learning to move a mouse. I wouldn't buy this to introduce a child to using computers but I can see that it might be okay for older children who already have solid basic skills.

very popular, 04 Sep 2005
This is an easy-to-find-things programme, there is a teddy-bear page where the themed tasks are (numbers, letters, space, time etc), then a large 'room' where you can click on items to play a little game or just see something happen (e.g. click on tambourine & it shakes). Woody lurks around the room and makes comments from time to time which you could find irritating if you were inclined that way but he's really not bad.

My 4 year old boy really enjoys his time on this programme. Some of the games he can't do without help (for him, it's the word ones), but I just lurk around and ask him if he needs any help. It has definitely helped him with things that he was confident doing already (numbers & space in his case), but I'm not sure if it could actually teach him anything new; I feel that the programme increases confidence and knowledge in areas that the child has knowledge of already.

That said, still excellent and would recommend.
On the technical side, it works well with no stoppages or glitches and was easy to load, important for a computer-novice like me (although probably my son could have done it for me of course...)

Loads to do, 15 Aug 2005
A great way to introduce your child to computers. I bought this for my son when he was 3 and he picked it up very quickly and was soon clicking about like a real pro! All activities are read out to the child so no reading skills required and there's a great progress report for adults so you can see how your child's doing. Woody the pencil interupts too quickly though and even irritates my son, let alone me!

Woody the Pencil, 05 Aug 2005
I bought this for my son, now 4, and he loves it. Woody the pencil is a bit annoying as you have to wait for him to stop talking before you can carry on. would be better if you had a parent key that could turn him off. Otherwise an excellent learning cd. I am amazed at how much my son can do by himself. Lots of activities to keep him amused. Well worth the money

Brilliant!, 01 Mar 2006
My 3 year old son is a huge fan of Bob the Builder and he absolutely loves this CD. The games are of varying difficulty and he does need help with some of them but his mouse skills are improving by the day. The games are fun and not too obviously educational. The only problem I have with this CD is getting him off the computer!

Yes We can, 30 Jan 2006
My 4 year old has dropped the tv for this game. It has taught him keyboard skills, mouse skills, quicker than any of those Jump Ahead cds. There are probably not enough games but he hasnt got bored after a month so thats not bad. Buy it and get your kid interacting rather than just wathcing.

Can bob entertain us?, 28 Nov 2002
The answer is "yes he can" this program is entertaining for the under 5's. There is lots of chances to help Bob with fixing pipes and building bridges and knocking them down! You can decorate amazing cakes and help round up the hedgehogs. These are just a few of the wonderfully entertaining games to play with Bob. The children won't even realise they are gaining or inproving their skills. Lots of fun.

Superb, 13 Dec 2007
There are so many expensive poor quality offerings in the childrens games market, its refreshing to find a title that's as good as this one.
Our pre-school children love Bob's Castle Adventure.
The voices are familiar, the graphics are superb, navigation is very easy, and the range of activities is very generous... there must be close to 15 different games to play.
Strongly recommended for pre-school children.

Educational and funny, 06 Sep 2006
My four year old was absolutely thrilled with this game. Living in Greece and my child not speaking English, I thought at first it might be difficult for my child to comprehend but from the start he had no difficulty experimenting after I explained what he had to do. After that he was on his way playing without my help. (Now he wants to learn english to play more games...)
I found this game very useful in training kids to use computers (mouse, keyboard etc) and thereby learn to maniupulate shapes, solve problems in the maize, explore in the dungeons all this in the fun filled colourful setting of the game. In all a great game for the age group specified.

The best kids game out there!, 05 Sep 2003
I've purchased many childrens games in the past and most are badly disguised, boring educational games that my kids can see right through. This one's different, it looks beautiful, the characters are really brought to life and the games themselves (I've still only played half of them) are really fun, enjoyable games, okay so they do have some educational element but they're fun and thats what kids want. Even I've been playing it for hours!
Buy it, its better than watching the videos!

one of my kids favourites, 13 Oct 2003
This is a fantastic childrens cdrom. The visual quality is tremendous. You can tell that much thought went into the development. The only criticism I could have is that there is not much content, however, this is compensated for by the quality of the features. It has my kid occupied for hours on end - I've even passed a few hours at it too! Definately a recommended purchase.

tubby brilliant!, 09 Oct 2003
This is a fantasticly produced cdrom.
My kid adores it. Although he finds it hard to get a go of it as I'm playing with it most of the time! I was surprised that it worked so well on my kids pentium I, videos large clickable areas, large mouse pointer and easy navigation makes it immediately accessible to the kids.. just pop it in the cdrom and have hours of peace! The only complaint I have - not meriting a star loss - is the fact that there is not much content.. however, the quality content does make up for this.

My kid has to fight me away to play this!, 08 Oct 2003
This is a fantastic production. I was overwhelmed with the visual effects on my kids pentium 1 pc! The games are ideal for young kids pre-reading, there's a great hide-and-seek game (my personal favourite!). Coming from a computing background myself I find this technically fantastic.. if there was one complaint I could make it is that the content is quite small, however, it has still occupied my hyperactive kid for hours and hours. A recommended buy!

Woody has been abducted by toy collector Al McWhiggin and his Toy Story pals are off to rescue him. In Toy Story 2--part of the Disney Hotshots series--the toys are camouflaged as traffic cones and you have to guide them across the road to find their kidnapped friend.

Using the arrow keys on your keyboard you can quickly move the cones to the left and right as they make their way across the busy road. The fate of the likes of Mr Potato Head, Slinky Dog and Rex are literally in your hands as big lorries, racing fire engines and cars hurtle towards you.

As the Cone Chaos game gets progressively harder, the traffic speeds up. If it gets too tense, you can always take cover at a manhole. Overall this is a quick-paced game which is easy to learn and entertaining to play.

In the second game in this title, Toy Shelf Showdown, you help Buzz take on and defeat the evil Emperor Zurg. The task is to assemble a rocket ship while avoiding hostile robots and lots of bouncing balls. This is an action-packed game with lots of different twists and turns. Buzz can stun the robots with lasers and if you run out of shots, you have to find a battery for recharging.

Both animated games are introduced by Buzz and Woody and there are good clear instructions with the title on how to play and where to get help. This is your chance, as Buzz says, to go to "interactivity and beyond." --Justin Hunt

Installed on Vista, 01 Sep 2008
Installed this sucessfully on Vista 64bit. Had to install the old version of Quicktime 2.1.2 - and this got stuck trying to find other versions of Quicktime, so you have to tell it to ignore.

Looks a little dated now - graphics are a bit blocky when displayed full screen, but the games are quite varied.

Just okay, 24 Apr 2006
This was the first software I bought for my under 3 year old. I found it overly complicated to navigate around. There are no instructions about how to find things or what there is to find. A lot of the things to click on a very small and not good at all for someone who is just learning to move a mouse. I wouldn't buy this to introduce a child to using computers but I can see that it might be okay for older children who already have solid basic skills.

very popular, 04 Sep 2005
This is an easy-to-find-things programme, there is a teddy-bear page where the themed tasks are (numbers, letters, space, time etc), then a large 'room' where you can click on items to play a little game or just see something happen (e.g. click on tambourine & it shakes). Woody lurks around the room and makes comments from time to time which you could find irritating if you were inclined that way but he's really not bad.

My 4 year old boy really enjoys his time on this programme. Some of the games he can't do without help (for him, it's the word ones), but I just lurk around and ask him if he needs any help. It has definitely helped him with things that he was confident doing already (numbers & space in his case), but I'm not sure if it could actually teach him anything new; I feel that the programme increases confidence and knowledge in areas that the child has knowledge of already.

That said, still excellent and would recommend.
On the technical side, it works well with no stoppages or glitches and was easy to load, important for a computer-novice like me (although probably my son could have done it for me of course...)

Loads to do, 15 Aug 2005
A great way to introduce your child to computers. I bought this for my son when he was 3 and he picked it up very quickly and was soon clicking about like a real pro! All activities are read out to the child so no reading skills required and there's a great progress report for adults so you can see how your child's doing. Woody the pencil interupts too quickly though and even irritates my son, let alone me!

Woody the Pencil, 05 Aug 2005
I bought this for my son, now 4, and he loves it. Woody the pencil is a bit annoying as you have to wait for him to stop talking before you can carry on. would be better if you had a parent key that could turn him off. Otherwise an excellent learning cd. I am amazed at how much my son can do by himself. Lots of activities to keep him amused. Well worth the money

Brilliant!, 01 Mar 2006
My 3 year old son is a huge fan of Bob the Builder and he absolutely loves this CD. The games are of varying difficulty and he does need help with some of them but his mouse skills are improving by the day. The games are fun and not too obviously educational. The only problem I have with this CD is getting him off the computer!

Yes We can, 30 Jan 2006
My 4 year old has dropped the tv for this game. It has taught him keyboard skills, mouse skills, quicker than any of those Jump Ahead cds. There are probably not enough games but he hasnt got bored after a month so thats not bad. Buy it and get your kid interacting rather than just wathcing.

Can bob entertain us?, 28 Nov 2002
The answer is "yes he can" this program is entertaining for the under 5's. There is lots of chances to help Bob with fixing pipes and building bridges and knocking them down! You can decorate amazing cakes and help round up the hedgehogs. These are just a few of the wonderfully entertaining games to play with Bob. The children won't even realise they are gaining or inproving their skills. Lots of fun.

Superb, 13 Dec 2007
There are so many expensive poor quality offerings in the childrens games market, its refreshing to find a title that's as good as this one.
Our pre-school children love Bob's Castle Adventure.
The voices are familiar, the graphics are superb, navigation is very easy, and the range of activities is very generous... there must be close to 15 different games to play.
Strongly recommended for pre-school children.

Educational and funny, 06 Sep 2006
My four year old was absolutely thrilled with this game. Living in Greece and my child not speaking English, I thought at first it might be difficult for my child to comprehend but from the start he had no difficulty experimenting after I explained what he had to do. After that he was on his way playing without my help. (Now he wants to learn english to play more games...)
I found this game very useful in training kids to use computers (mouse, keyboard etc) and thereby learn to maniupulate shapes, solve problems in the maize, explore in the dungeons all this in the fun filled colourful setting of the game. In all a great game for the age group specified.

The best kids game out there!, 05 Sep 2003
I've purchased many childrens games in the past and most are badly disguised, boring educational games that my kids can see right through. This one's different, it looks beautiful, the characters are really brought to life and the games themselves (I've still only played half of them) are really fun, enjoyable games, okay so they do have some educational element but they're fun and thats what kids want. Even I've been playing it for hours!
Buy it, its better than watching the videos!

one of my kids favourites, 13 Oct 2003
This is a fantastic childrens cdrom. The visual quality is tremendous. You can tell that much thought went into the development. The only criticism I could have is that there is not much content, however, this is compensated for by the quality of the features. It has my kid occupied for hours on end - I've even passed a few hours at it too! Definately a recommended purchase.

tubby brilliant!, 09 Oct 2003
This is a fantasticly produced cdrom.
My kid adores it. Although he finds it hard to get a go of it as I'm playing with it most of the time! I was surprised that it worked so well on my kids pentium I, videos large clickable areas, large mouse pointer and easy navigation makes it immediately accessible to the kids.. just pop it in the cdrom and have hours of peace! The only complaint I have - not meriting a star loss - is the fact that there is not much content.. however, the quality content does make up for this.

My kid has to fight me away to play this!, 08 Oct 2003
This is a fantastic production. I was overwhelmed with the visual effects on my kids pentium 1 pc! The games are ideal for young kids pre-reading, there's a great hide-and-seek game (my personal favourite!). Coming from a computing background myself I find this technically fantastic.. if there was one complaint I could make it is that the content is quite small, however, it has still occupied my hyperactive kid for hours and hours. A recommended buy!

Not so Hot, 08 Apr 2003
I bought this software for my Three year old son.
It is a Disney interactive game which has two arcade games with Three levels of difficulty and ten diffrent puzzles for each level.
The first game is CONE CHAOS were you need to rescue Woody from the Toy Collector(as in Toy Story 2 ) Basically you need to lead the toys across a busy main road whilst camoflaged as traffic cones, it sounds really easy but believe me it isnt and im 25 !! There are obsticals such as holes in the road and cars and trucks trying to run you over.
The next game is TOY SHELF SHOWDOWN were you have to help Buzz Assemble a rocket ship and take the Emperor Zurgs batterys out to destroy him whilst avoiding or stunning the Emperor Zurgs robots but you only get five lasers so you have to use them carefully but you can also crush them with falling spaceshipparts if they are directly below you, you can use bouncing balls to help you jump up and land on each shelf. Again there are three levels of play with unlimited replayability, this game is slightly more easy and alot more fun but does get alot harder as you progress to further levels.
Although there are only two games to play this is definatly goodvalue for money with excellant animation and graphics and a great reality too the film.
It will keep the kids AND YOU entertained for ages but it can become a bit tedious after a while as you only have the choice of two games, but as i said it is definately value for money and you get what you pay for so i think this is quite a bargain.
Overall i would recommend this for children age three and up but it depends on the individual child as to there understanding of the controls, but they are both easy to learn games so most children will quickly get the hang of them and enjoy seeing and playing with a popular and favorite character.

Parent assisted learning at its best, these CDs are fantastically simple, encouraging pre-schoolers to think for themselves through play. Windows 95/98/XP, Mac.The superb, interactive My First Dictionary from Dorling Kindersley has been purposely designed so that very young children can use it to learn along with their parents, or alternatively, older children can use it alone. The age range therefore is quite broad, but it is aimed primarily at 3-7 year olds. Older children can use it to great benefit to practice specific areas which may need extra work.

It's been proven that a child's learning becomes fun when it is presented in an entertaining, instructive and structured way (so they often learn without them even realising). My First Dictionary CD-ROM follow these rules. The easy-to-use games and activities, with more than 1,000 word definitions, are accompanied and supported by brightly coloured and appealing animations and narrations that will engage and interest children who are just learning to read, as well as those who have more advanced reading skills. Using this CD-ROM will help your child to learn the meaning of words, to practice spelling, to develop an awareness of relationships between words, to build vocabulary, to learn and extend PC skills (particularly mouse control), to acquire knowledge and practice alphabetical order, to recognise phonetic sounds, and to gain good, solid foundations in reading and spelling.

There are four easy-to-use word and sound games: "Spell It", "Alphabet Scramble", "Guess What?" and "What's That Noise?", all accessible via the menu. Particularly entertaining is the "Surprise Me!" game, accessible via the tool bar. In addition, dictionaries can be personalised, entries can be copied and printed, stars can be earned as rewards, stickers can be collected, and the spelling activities have three levels of difficulty. The package is not accompanied by an instruction pamphlet, but simple instructions for installation are displayed on the CD-ROM itself and excellent help for parents on every aspect of the package can be accessed via the tool bar. Explanations and animations can be switched off for older children. --Susan Naylor

Installed on Vista, 01 Sep 2008
Installed this sucessfully on Vista 64bit. Had to install the old version of Quicktime 2.1.2 - and this got stuck trying to find other versions of Quicktime, so you have to tell it to ignore.

Looks a little dated now - graphics are a bit blocky when displayed full screen, but the games are quite varied.

Just okay, 24 Apr 2006
This was the first software I bought for my under 3 year old. I found it overly complicated to navigate around. There are no instructions about how to find things or what there is to find. A lot of the things to click on a very small and not good at all for someone who is just learning to move a mouse. I wouldn't buy this to introduce a child to using computers but I can see that it might be okay for older children who already have solid basic skills.

very popular, 04 Sep 2005
This is an easy-to-find-things programme, there is a teddy-bear page where the themed tasks are (numbers, letters, space, time etc), then a large 'room' where you can click on items to play a little game or just see something happen (e.g. click on tambourine & it shakes). Woody lurks around the room and makes comments from time to time which you could find irritating if you were inclined that way but he's really not bad.

My 4 year old boy really enjoys his time on this programme. Some of the games he can't do without help (for him, it's the word ones), but I just lurk around and ask him if he needs any help. It has definitely helped him with things that he was confident doing already (numbers & space in his case), but I'm not sure if it could actually teach him anything new; I feel that the programme increases confidence and knowledge in areas that the child has knowledge of already.

That said, still excellent and would recommend.
On the technical side, it works well with no stoppages or glitches and was easy to load, important for a computer-novice like me (although probably my son could have done it for me of course...)

Loads to do, 15 Aug 2005
A great way to introduce your child to computers. I bought this for my son when he was 3 and he picked it up very quickly and was soon clicking about like a real pro! All activities are read out to the child so no reading skills required and there's a great progress report for adults so you can see how your child's doing. Woody the pencil interupts too quickly though and even irritates my son, let alone me!

Woody the Pencil, 05 Aug 2005
I bought this for my son, now 4, and he loves it. Woody the pencil is a bit annoying as you have to wait for him to stop talking before you can carry on. would be better if you had a parent key that could turn him off. Otherwise an excellent learning cd. I am amazed at how much my son can do by himself. Lots of activities to keep him amused. Well worth the money

Brilliant!, 01 Mar 2006
My 3 year old son is a huge fan of Bob the Builder and he absolutely loves this CD. The games are of varying difficulty and he does need help with some of them but his mouse skills are improving by the day. The games are fun and not too obviously educational. The only problem I have with this CD is getting him off the computer!

Yes We can, 30 Jan 2006
My 4 year old has dropped the tv for this game. It has taught him keyboard skills, mouse skills, quicker than any of those Jump Ahead cds. There are probably not enough games but he hasnt got bored after a month so thats not bad. Buy it and get your kid interacting rather than just wathcing.

Can bob entertain us?, 28 Nov 2002
The answer is "yes he can" this program is entertaining for the under 5's. There is lots of chances to help Bob with fixing pipes and building bridges and knocking them down! You can decorate amazing cakes and help round up the hedgehogs. These are just a few of the wonderfully entertaining games to play with Bob. The children won't even realise they are gaining or inproving their skills. Lots of fun.

Superb, 13 Dec 2007
There are so many expensive poor quality offerings in the childrens games market, its refreshing to find a title that's as good as this one.
Our pre-school children love Bob's Castle Adventure.
The voices are familiar, the graphics are superb, navigation is very easy, and the range of activities is very generous... there must be close to 15 different games to play.
Strongly recommended for pre-school children.

Educational and funny, 06 Sep 2006
My four year old was absolutely thrilled with this game. Living in Greece and my child not speaking English, I thought at first it might be difficult for my child to comprehend but from the start he had no difficulty experimenting after I explained what he had to do. After that he was on his way playing without my help. (Now he wants to learn english to play more games...)
I found this game very useful in training kids to use computers (mouse, keyboard etc) and thereby learn to maniupulate shapes, solve problems in the maize, explore in the dungeons all this in the fun filled colourful setting of the game. In all a great game for the age group specified.

The best kids game out there!, 05 Sep 2003
I've purchased many childrens games in the past and most are badly disguised, boring educational games that my kids can see right through. This one's different, it looks beautiful, the characters are really brought to life and the games themselves (I've still only played half of them) are really fun, enjoyable games, okay so they do have some educational element but they're fun and thats what kids want. Even I've been playing it for hours!
Buy it, its better than watching the videos!

one of my kids favourites, 13 Oct 2003
This is a fantastic childrens cdrom. The visual quality is tremendous. You can tell that much thought went into the development. The only criticism I could have is that there is not much content, however, this is compensated for by the quality of the features. It has my kid occupied for hours on end - I've even passed a few hours at it too! Definately a recommended purchase.

tubby brilliant!, 09 Oct 2003
This is a fantasticly produced cdrom.
My kid adores it. Although he finds it hard to get a go of it as I'm playing with it most of the time! I was surprised that it worked so well on my kids pentium I, videos large clickable areas, large mouse pointer and easy navigation makes it immediately accessible to the kids.. just pop it in the cdrom and have hours of peace! The only complaint I have - not meriting a star loss - is the fact that there is not much content.. however, the quality content does make up for this.

My kid has to fight me away to play this!, 08 Oct 2003
This is a fantastic production. I was overwhelmed with the visual effects on my kids pentium 1 pc! The games are ideal for young kids pre-reading, there's a great hide-and-seek game (my personal favourite!). Coming from a computing background myself I find this technically fantastic.. if there was one complaint I could make it is that the content is quite small, however, it has still occupied my hyperactive kid for hours and hours. A recommended buy!

Not so Hot, 08 Apr 2003
I bought this software for my Three year old son.
It is a Disney interactive game which has two arcade games with Three levels of difficulty and ten diffrent puzzles for each level.
The first game is CONE CHAOS were you need to rescue Woody from the Toy Collector(as in Toy Story 2 ) Basically you need to lead the toys across a busy main road whilst camoflaged as traffic cones, it sounds really easy but believe me it isnt and im 25 !! There are obsticals such as holes in the road and cars and trucks trying to run you over.
The next game is TOY SHELF SHOWDOWN were you have to help Buzz Assemble a rocket ship and take the Emperor Zurgs batterys out to destroy him whilst avoiding or stunning the Emperor Zurgs robots but you only get five lasers so you have to use them carefully but you can also crush them with falling spaceshipparts if they are directly below you, you can use bouncing balls to help you jump up and land on each shelf. Again there are three levels of play with unlimited replayability, this game is slightly more easy and alot more fun but does get alot harder as you progress to further levels.
Although there are only two games to play this is definatly goodvalue for money with excellant animation and graphics and a great reality too the film.
It will keep the kids AND YOU entertained for ages but it can become a bit tedious after a while as you only have the choice of two games, but as i said it is definately value for money and you get what you pay for so i think this is quite a bargain.
Overall i would recommend this for children age three and up but it depends on the individual child as to there understanding of the controls, but they are both easy to learn games so most children will quickly get the hang of them and enjoy seeing and playing with a popular and favorite character.

DK - Starting to read, 13 Oct 2004
Our four year old son loves this CD. He sits still for up to an hour at a time learning without realising it. This is quite something as he can't usually sit still for two minutes without being distracted. The games/tasks are simple and simply presented. Rewards are given after each task in the form of an electronic sticker book and electronic certifiacates, which really motivate him. The only minor draw back is the programme only runs in window mode, ie it does not fill the whole screen.
All in all I would definately recomend this product.

DK- My First Dictionary, 10 Oct 2002
This is a fantastic way to get young children familiar with letter sounds, spelling and meanings of words. Each letter comes with a picture index to choose your word then each word not only will read its own text to you to explain about it but one click on the picture will set off animations and or sounds to match making a much more interactive, enjoyable and memorable way to learn than looking up in a book. I thouroughly reccomend it my son is just 3 1/2 and loves this.

Installed on Vista, 01 Sep 2008
Installed this sucessfully on Vista 64bit. Had to install the old version of Quicktime 2.1.2 - and this got stuck trying to find other versions of Quicktime, so you have to tell it to ignore.

Looks a little dated now - graphics are a bit blocky when displayed full screen, but the games are quite varied.

Just okay, 24 Apr 2006
This was the first software I bought for my under 3 year old. I found it overly complicated to navigate around. There are no instructions about how to find things or what there is to find. A lot of the things to click on a very small and not good at all for someone who is just learning to move a mouse. I wouldn't buy this to introduce a child to using computers but I can see that it might be okay for older children who already have solid basic skills.

very popular, 04 Sep 2005
This is an easy-to-find-things programme, there is a teddy-bear page where the themed tasks are (numbers, letters, space, time etc), then a large 'room' where you can click on items to play a little game or just see something happen (e.g. click on tambourine & it shakes). Woody lurks around the room and makes comments from time to time which you could find irritating if you were inclined that way but he's really not bad.

My 4 year old boy really enjoys his time on this programme. Some of the games he can't do without help (for him, it's the word ones), but I just lurk around and ask him if he needs any help. It has definitely helped him with things that he was confident doing already (numbers & space in his case), but I'm not sure if it could actually teach him anything new; I feel that the programme increases confidence and knowledge in areas that the child has knowledge of already.

That said, still excellent and would recommend.
On the technical side, it works well with no stoppages or glitches and was easy to load, important for a computer-novice like me (although probably my son could have done it for me of course...)

Loads to do, 15 Aug 2005
A great way to introduce your child to computers. I bought this for my son when he was 3 and he picked it up very quickly and was soon clicking about like a real pro! All activities are read out to the child so no reading skills required and there's a great progress report for adults so you can see how your child's doing. Woody the pencil interupts too quickly though and even irritates my son, let alone me!

Woody the Pencil, 05 Aug 2005
I bought this for my son, now 4, and he loves it. Woody the pencil is a bit annoying as you have to wait for him to stop talking before you can carry on. would be better if you had a parent key that could turn him off. Otherwise an excellent learning cd. I am amazed at how much my son can do by himself. Lots of activities to keep him amused. Well worth the money

Brilliant!, 01 Mar 2006
My 3 year old son is a huge fan of Bob the Builder and he absolutely loves this CD. The games are of varying difficulty and he does need help with some of them but his mouse skills are improving by the day. The games are fun and not too obviously educational. The only problem I have with this CD is getting him off the computer!

Yes We can, 30 Jan 2006
My 4 year old has dropped the tv for this game. It has taught him keyboard skills, mouse skills, quicker than any of those Jump Ahead cds. There are probably not enough games but he hasnt got bored after a month so thats not bad. Buy it and get your kid interacting rather than just wathcing.

Can bob entertain us?, 28 Nov 2002
The answer is "yes he can" this program is entertaining for the under 5's. There is lots of chances to help Bob with fixing pipes and building bridges and knocking them down! You can decorate amazing cakes and help round up the hedgehogs. These are just a few of the wonderfully entertaining games to play with Bob. The children won't even realise they are gaining or inproving their skills. Lots of fun.

Superb, 13 Dec 2007
There are so many expensive poor quality offerings in the childrens games market, its refreshing to find a title that's as good as this one.
Our pre-school children love Bob's Castle Adventure.
The voices are familiar, the graphics are superb, navigation is very easy, and the range of activities is very generous... there must be close to 15 different games to play.
Strongly recommended for pre-school children.

Educational and funny, 06 Sep 2006
My four year old was absolutely thrilled with this game. Living in Greece and my child not speaking English, I thought at first it might be difficult for my child to comprehend but from the start he had no difficulty experimenting after I explained what he had to do. After that he was on his way playing without my help. (Now he wants to learn english to play more games...)
I found this game very useful in training kids to use computers (mouse, keyboard etc) and thereby learn to maniupulate shapes, solve problems in the maize, explore in the dungeons all this in the fun filled colourful setting of the game. In all a great game for the age group specified.

The best kids game out there!, 05 Sep 2003
I've purchased many childrens games in the past and most are badly disguised, boring educational games that my kids can see right through. This one's different, it looks beautiful, the characters are really brought to life and the games themselves (I've still only played half of them) are really fun, enjoyable games, okay so they do have some educational element but they're fun and thats what kids want. Even I've been playing it for hours!
Buy it, its better than watching the videos!

one of my kids favourites, 13 Oct 2003
This is a fantastic childrens cdrom. The visual quality is tremendous. You can tell that much thought went into the development. The only criticism I could have is that there is not much content, however, this is compensated for by the quality of the features. It has my kid occupied for hours on end - I've even passed a few hours at it too! Definately a recommended purchase.

tubby brilliant!, 09 Oct 2003
This is a fantasticly produced cdrom.
My kid adores it. Although he finds it hard to get a go of it as I'm playing with it most of the time! I was surprised that it worked so well on my kids pentium I, videos large clickable areas, large mouse pointer and easy navigation makes it immediately accessible to the kids.. just pop it in the cdrom and have hours of peace! The only complaint I have - not meriting a star loss - is the fact that there is not much content.. however, the quality content does make up for this.

My kid has to fight me away to play this!, 08 Oct 2003
This is a fantastic production. I was overwhelmed with the visual effects on my kids pentium 1 pc! The games are ideal for young kids pre-reading, there's a great hide-and-seek game (my personal favourite!). Coming from a computing background myself I find this technically fantastic.. if there was one complaint I could make it is that the content is quite small, however, it has still occupied my hyperactive kid for hours and hours. A recommended buy!

Not so Hot, 08 Apr 2003
I bought this software for my Three year old son.
It is a Disney interactive game which has two arcade games with Three levels of difficulty and ten diffrent puzzles for each level.
The first game is CONE CHAOS were you need to rescue Woody from the Toy Collector(as in Toy Story 2 ) Basically you need to lead the toys across a busy main road whilst camoflaged as traffic cones, it sounds really easy but believe me it isnt and im 25 !! There are obsticals such as holes in the road and cars and trucks trying to run you over.
The next game is TOY SHELF SHOWDOWN were you have to help Buzz Assemble a rocket ship and take the Emperor Zurgs batterys out to destroy him whilst avoiding or stunning the Emperor Zurgs robots but you only get five lasers so you have to use them carefully but you can also crush them with falling spaceshipparts if they are directly below you, you can use bouncing balls to help you jump up and land on each shelf. Again there are three levels of play with unlimited replayability, this game is slightly more easy and alot more fun but does get alot harder as you progress to further levels.
Although there are only two games to play this is definatly goodvalue for money with excellant animation and graphics and a great reality too the film.
It will keep the kids AND YOU entertained for ages but it can become a bit tedious after a while as you only have the choice of two games, but as i said it is definately value for money and you get what you pay for so i think this is quite a bargain.
Overall i would recommend this for children age three and up but it depends on the individual child as to there understanding of the controls, but they are both easy to learn games so most children will quickly get the hang of them and enjoy seeing and playing with a popular and favorite character.

DK - Starting to read, 13 Oct 2004
Our four year old son loves this CD. He sits still for up to an hour at a time learning without realising it. This is quite something as he can't usually sit still for two minutes without being distracted. The games/tasks are simple and simply presented. Rewards are given after each task in the form of an electronic sticker book and electronic certifiacates, which really motivate him. The only minor draw back is the programme only runs in window mode, ie it does not fill the whole screen.
All in all I would definately recomend this product.

DK- My First Dictionary, 10 Oct 2002
This is a fantastic way to get young children familiar with letter sounds, spelling and meanings of words. Each letter comes with a picture index to choose your word then each word not only will read its own text to you to explain about it but one click on the picture will set off animations and or sounds to match making a much more interactive, enjoyable and memorable way to learn than looking up in a book. I thouroughly reccomend it my son is just 3 1/2 and loves this.

Bananas Fun Time, 05 Oct 2001
I purchased this having been delighted with the success of "It's Party Time". My verdict, good but not quite as interesting as the former. Maybe that is only my opinion as my 2 year old daughter loves it and has no preference which one we play. It is easy for grandparents to use with children and the graphics are clear and entertaining.

The concept is similar to It's Party Time as you go to a number of locations and have activities to do in each place. Very good way to get your child comfortable with a mouse and it is somewhat educational.

I would recommend you get It's Party Time first and then this game.

Emma B (London)

Bananas Fun Time, 05 Oct 2001
More fun and games with B1 & B2. This was the second of the games I have purchsed for my 2 year old daughter and she loves them. Easy to operate (both grandmothers can start up the game and the instructions are easy to operate.

Suggest that the game "It's Party Time" is a better product, although my daughter likes either game.

Banana's in Pyjamas - Its Fun time, 10 Nov 2000
Initially this kept my daughter busy and interested for hours. She received the CD as a gift and had never watched the television show before, but that didn't spoil her enjoyment. A lot of the games are quite easy and now it is a CD she plays only from time to time. I would say it is for the younger children. My daughter enjoyed it when she was 3 but by the time she was four it was a little too easy.

Dorling Kindersley has produced an excellent series of interactive parent-assisted learning packages designed for young children, of which My First Number is one. The CD-ROM is aimed at children aged 3-5 years and is especially useful for pre-school children or those needing more practice in early learning number skills.

The package has been specifically designed to give youngsters an introduction to counting and sorting, and to help them gain confidence in using a computer. The games have been developed to allow children to play them on their own, but help may be needed initially, until youngsters get used the format. Make the sessions happy and relaxed, helping your child to learn with lots of fun. When playing alone, the fun will continue as they make decisions for themselves, and so their learning carries on without them even knowing. Game speeds and levels of difficulty can be altered, progress can be tracked and measured and help is automatically adjusted according to a child's responses.

There are five easy games to play and they have been designed to be played in order. Meet Little Penguin and White Bear, appealing and humorous characters who use lots of songs, rhymes and animations to give practice in counting, number recognition, colour, and recognition of 2-D shapes, ordering numbers to create correct counting sequences, and practice in developing problem-solving skills.

The CD-ROM is easy to install (instructions are on the disc, and there are comprehensive support notes for parents with full explanations about the games and activities that are accessed from the parent icon on the tool bar). This is a valuable introduction to key mathematical concepts capitalising on the natural eagerness young children have to learn. --Susan Naylor

Installed on Vista, 01 Sep 2008
Installed this sucessfully on Vista 64bit. Had to install the old version of Quicktime 2.1.2 - and this got stuck trying to find other versions of Quicktime, so you have to tell it to ignore.

Looks a little dated now - graphics are a bit blocky when displayed full screen, but the games are quite varied.

Just okay, 24 Apr 2006
This was the first software I bought for my under 3 year old. I found it overly complicated to navigate around. There are no instructions about how to find things or what there is to find. A lot of the things to click on a very small and not good at all for someone who is just learning to move a mouse. I wouldn't buy this to introduce a child to using computers but I can see that it might be okay for older children who already have solid basic skills.

very popular, 04 Sep 2005
This is an easy-to-find-things programme, there is a teddy-bear page where the themed tasks are (numbers, letters, space, time etc), then a large 'room' where you can click on items to play a little game or just see something happen (e.g. click on tambourine & it shakes). Woody lurks around the room and makes comments from time to time which you could find irritating if you were inclined that way but he's really not bad.

My 4 year old boy really enjoys his time on this programme. Some of the games he can't do without help (for him, it's the word ones), but I just lurk around and ask him if he needs any help. It has definitely helped him with things that he was confident doing already (numbers & space in his case), but I'm not sure if it could actually teach him anything new; I feel that the programme increases confidence and knowledge in areas that the child has knowledge of already.

That said, still excellent and would recommend.
On the technical side, it works well with no stoppages or glitches and was easy to load, important for a computer-novice like me (although probably my son could have done it for me of course...)

Loads to do, 15 Aug 2005
A great way to introduce your child to computers. I bought this for my son when he was 3 and he picked it up very quickly and was soon clicking about like a real pro! All activities are read out to the child so no reading skills required and there's a great progress report for adults so you can see how your child's doing. Woody the pencil interupts too quickly though and even irritates my son, let alone me!

Woody the Pencil, 05 Aug 2005
I bought this for my son, now 4, and he loves it. Woody the pencil is a bit annoying as you have to wait for him to stop talking before you can carry on. would be better if you had a parent key that could turn him off. Otherwise an excellent learning cd. I am amazed at how much my son can do by himself. Lots of activities to keep him amused. Well worth the money

Brilliant!, 01 Mar 2006
My 3 year old son is a huge fan of Bob the Builder and he absolutely loves this CD. The games are of varying difficulty and he does need help with some of them but his mouse skills are improving by the day. The games are fun and not too obviously educational. The only problem I have with this CD is getting him off the computer!

Yes We can, 30 Jan 2006
My 4 year old has dropped the tv for this game. It has taught him keyboard skills, mouse skills, quicker than any of those Jump Ahead cds. There are probably not enough games but he hasnt got bored after a month so thats not bad. Buy it and get your kid interacting rather than just wathcing.

Can bob entertain us?, 28 Nov 2002
The answer is "yes he can" this program is entertaining for the under 5's. There is lots of chances to help Bob with fixing pipes and building bridges and knocking them down! You can decorate amazing cakes and help round up the hedgehogs. These are just a few of the wonderfully entertaining games to play with Bob. The children won't even realise they are gaining or inproving their skills. Lots of fun.

Superb, 13 Dec 2007
There are so many expensive poor quality offerings in the childrens games market, its refreshing to find a title that's as good as this one.
Our pre-school children love Bob's Castle Adventure.
The voices are familiar, the graphics are superb, navigation is very easy, and the range of activities is very generous... there must be close to 15 different games to play.
Strongly recommended for pre-school children.

Educational and funny, 06 Sep 2006
My four year old was absolutely thrilled with this game. Living in Greece and my child not speaking English, I thought at first it might be difficult for my child to comprehend but from the start he had no difficulty experimenting after I explained what he had to do. After that he was on his way playing without my help. (Now he wants to learn english to play more games...)
I found this game very useful in training kids to use computers (mouse, keyboard etc) and thereby learn to maniupulate shapes, solve problems in the maize, explore in the dungeons all this in the fun filled colourful setting of the game. In all a great game for the age group specified.

The best kids game out there!, 05 Sep 2003
I've purchased many childrens games in the past and most are badly disguised, boring educational games that my kids can see right through. This one's different, it looks beautiful, the characters are really brought to life and the games themselves (I've still only played half of them) are really fun, enjoyable games, okay so they do have some educational element but they're fun and thats what kids want. Even I've been playing it for hours!
Buy it, its better than watching the videos!

one of my kids favourites, 13 Oct 2003
This is a fantastic childrens cdrom. The visual quality is tremendous. You can tell that much thought went into the development. The only criticism I could have is that there is not much content, however, this is compensated for by the quality of the features. It has my kid occupied for hours on end - I've even passed a few hours at it too! Definately a recommended purchase.

tubby brilliant!, 09 Oct 2003
This is a fantasticly produced cdrom.
My kid adores it. Although he finds it hard to get a go of it as I'm playing with it most of the time! I was surprised that it worked so well on my kids pentium I, videos large clickable areas, large mouse pointer and easy navigation makes it immediately accessible to the kids.. just pop it in the cdrom and have hours of peace! The only complaint I have - not meriting a star loss - is the fact that there is not much content.. however, the quality content does make up for this.

My kid has to fight me away to play this!, 08 Oct 2003
This is a fantastic production. I was overwhelmed with the visual effects on my kids pentium 1 pc! The games are ideal for young kids pre-reading, there's a great hide-and-seek game (my personal favourite!). Coming from a computing background myself I find this technically fantastic.. if there was one complaint I could make it is that the content is quite small, however, it has still occupied my hyperactive kid for hours and hours. A recommended buy!

Not so Hot, 08 Apr 2003
I bought this software for my Three year old son.
It is a Disney interactive game which has two arcade games with Three levels of difficulty and ten diffrent puzzles for each level.
The first game is CONE CHAOS were you need to rescue Woody from the Toy Collector(as in Toy Story 2 ) Basically you need to lead the toys across a busy main road whilst camoflaged as traffic cones, it sounds really easy but believe me it isnt and im 25 !! There are obsticals such as holes in the road and cars and trucks trying to run you over.
The next game is TOY SHELF SHOWDOWN were you have to help Buzz Assemble a rocket ship and take the Emperor Zurgs batterys out to destroy him whilst avoiding or stunning the Emperor Zurgs robots but you only get five lasers so you have to use them carefully but you can also crush them with falling spaceshipparts if they are directly below you, you can use bouncing balls to help you jump up and land on each shelf. Again there are three levels of play with unlimited replayability, this game is slightly more easy and alot more fun but does get alot harder as you progress to further levels.
Although there are only two games to play this is definatly goodvalue for money with excellant animation and graphics and a great reality too the film.
It will keep the kids AND YOU entertained for ages but it can become a bit tedious after a while as you only have the choice of two games, but as i said it is definately value for money and you get what you pay for so i think this is quite a bargain.
Overall i would recommend this for children age three and up but it depends on the individual child as to there understanding of the controls, but they are both easy to learn games so most children will quickly get the hang of them and enjoy seeing and playing with a popular and favorite character.

DK - Starting to read, 13 Oct 2004
Our four year old son loves this CD. He sits still for up to an hour at a time learning without realising it. This is quite something as he can't usually sit still for two minutes without being distracted. The games/tasks are simple and simply presented. Rewards are given after each task in the form of an electronic sticker book and electronic certifiacates, which really motivate him. The only minor draw back is the programme only runs in window mode, ie it does not fill the whole screen.
All in all I would definately recomend this product.

DK- My First Dictionary, 10 Oct 2002
This is a fantastic way to get young children familiar with letter sounds, spelling and meanings of words. Each letter comes with a picture index to choose your word then each word not only will read its own text to you to explain about it but one click on the picture will set off animations and or sounds to match making a much more interactive, enjoyable and memorable way to learn than looking up in a book. I thouroughly reccomend it my son is just 3 1/2 and loves this.

Bananas Fun Time, 05 Oct 2001
I purchased this having been delighted with the success of "It's Party Time". My verdict, good but not quite as interesting as the former. Maybe that is only my opinion as my 2 year old daughter loves it and has no preference which one we play. It is easy for grandparents to use with children and the graphics are clear and entertaining.

The concept is similar to It's Party Time as you go to a number of locations and have activities to do in each place. Very good way to get your child comfortable with a mouse and it is somewhat educational.

I would recommend you get It's Party Time first and then this game.

Emma B (London)

Bananas Fun Time, 05 Oct 2001
More fun and games with B1 & B2. This was the second of the games I have purchsed for my 2 year old daughter and she loves them. Easy to operate (both grandmothers can start up the game and the instructions are easy to operate.

Suggest that the game "It's Party Time" is a better product, although my daughter likes either game.

Banana's in Pyjamas - Its Fun time, 10 Nov 2000
Initially this kept my daughter busy and interested for hours. She received the CD as a gift and had never watched the television show before, but that didn't spoil her enjoyment. A lot of the games are quite easy and now it is a CD she plays only from time to time. I would say it is for the younger children. My daughter enjoyed it when she was 3 but by the time she was four it was a little too easy.

my first number, 26 Sep 2001
Whilst my 3 year old enjoys playing these games, I was disappointed in the lack of reference to numbers. There is a puzzle sorting game where the pieces must be put in number order. The numbers are never spoken by the software, so it is purely a picture puzzle to my daughter. This does not help her to associate the written number to the words that she knows. I have not heard numbers spoken at any point in any game which seems a serious omission compared to other pre school software.

my first cd-rom number, 23 Mar 2001
A very good first number cd rom. I will be recommending this cd to my work place. I tried my first toddler school and my daughter was losing interest as she could complete it. Then i saw this cd rom and as she enjoys working with numbers i though i would try it. She cant get enough. Every time i turn the computer on she is there and wants to play the cd. There is four games to complete before you can play the supergame. She really wanted to play the supergame so she knew she had to complete the other four games. the first game and second game are very good matching games. Im not so sure about the third game as it is a bit confusing for a three year old especially as sometimes you start from number two instead of one. Then the forth game is about patterns which is ideal for a slightly older child. over all a very good cd.

Getting Ready for School Pre-school topics such as phonics, letter and number recognition, directions, counting, ordering and sequencing objects. Includes detailed progress tracking. Not XP compatable.Dorling Kindersley has produced yet another outstanding and completely new interactive learning system-- My First CD-ROM: Getting Ready For School--to help children develop key pre-school skills while providing parents with advice and information on child development. It has been written in consultation with Sue Robson, a renowned early years' teacher, educational consultant and author, who is a senior lecturer at the Roehampton Institute.

Meet Zack, a Jack-in-the-box and friendly on-screen guide whose aim is to make learning fun. Hear his clear explanations and animated instructions on how to play the six easy games. Each one can be adapted to suit your child's level of understanding and their fine motor skills. For example, choices can be made between using the mouse or the keyboard, or selecting different speeds or levels of difficulty, choosing between hearing letters as phonetic sounds or as names, and so on. This flexibility enables games to be adapted over and over again as your child's skills develop, so building and developing a child's confidence.

The package is designed for 3-5 year-olds, under parental supervision, or for slightly older children to use on their own. Progress can be monitored and difficulty levels can be adjusted according to age and ability. The games aim to acquaint and help children with the key topics covered in the first year at school, and include number recognition, logic, counting, mathematical language, shapes and sizes, spatial awareness, speaking and listening, letter recognition and letter sounds. Work sheets can be printed out which can extend learning beyond the PC. Buy this package for your youngster, and lay firm foundations with its highly effective approach to parent-assisted learning. --Susan Naylor

Installed on Vista, 01 Sep 2008
Installed this sucessfully on Vista 64bit. Had to install the old version of Quicktime 2.1.2 - and this got stuck trying to find other versions of Quicktime, so you have to tell it to ignore.

Looks a little dated now - graphics are a bit blocky when displayed full screen, but the games are quite varied.

Just okay, 24 Apr 2006
This was the first software I bought for my under 3 year old. I found it overly complicated to navigate around. There are no instructions about how to find things or what there is to find. A lot of the things to click on a very small and not good at all for someone who is just learning to move a mouse. I wouldn't buy this to introduce a child to using computers but I can see that it might be okay for older children who already have solid basic skills.

very popular, 04 Sep 2005
This is an easy-to-find-things programme, there is a teddy-bear page where the themed tasks are (numbers, letters, space, time etc), then a large 'room' where you can click on items to play a little game or just see something happen (e.g. click on tambourine & it shakes). Woody lurks around the room and makes comments from time to time which you could find irritating if you were inclined that way but he's really not bad.

My 4 year old boy really enjoys his time on this programme. Some of the games he can't do without help (for him, it's the word ones), but I just lurk around and ask him if he needs any help. It has definitely helped him with things that he was confident doing already (numbers & space in his case), but I'm not sure if it could actually teach him anything new; I feel that the programme increases confidence and knowledge in areas that the child has knowledge of already.

That said, still excellent and would recommend.
On the technical side, it works well with no stoppages or glitches and was easy to load, important for a computer-novice like me (although probably my son could have done it for me of course...)

Loads to do, 15 Aug 2005
A great way to introduce your child to computers. I bought this for my son when he was 3 and he picked it up very quickly and was soon clicking about like a real pro! All activities are read out to the child so no reading skills required and there's a great progress report for adults so you can see how your child's doing. Woody the pencil interupts too quickly though and even irritates my son, let alone me!

Woody the Pencil, 05 Aug 2005
I bought this for my son, now 4, and he loves it. Woody the pencil is a bit annoying as you have to wait for him to stop talking before you can carry on. would be better if you had a parent key that could turn him off. Otherwise an excellent learning cd. I am amazed at how much my son can do by himself. Lots of activities to keep him amused. Well worth the money

Brilliant!, 01 Mar 2006
My 3 year old son is a huge fan of Bob the Builder and he absolutely loves this CD. The games are of varying difficulty and he does need help with some of them but his mouse skills are improving by the day. The games are fun and not too obviously educational. The only problem I have with this CD is getting him off the computer!

Yes We can, 30 Jan 2006
My 4 year old has dropped the tv for this game. It has taught him keyboard skills, mouse skills, quicker than any of those Jump Ahead cds. There are probably not enough games but he hasnt got bored after a month so thats not bad. Buy it and get your kid interacting rather than just wathcing.

Can bob entertain us?, 28 Nov 2002
The answer is "yes he can" this program is entertaining for the under 5's. There is lots of chances to help Bob with fixing pipes and building bridges and knocking them down! You can decorate amazing cakes and help round up the hedgehogs. These are just a few of the wonderfully entertaining games to play with Bob. The children won't even realise they are gaining or inproving their skills. Lots of fun.

Superb, 13 Dec 2007
There are so many expensive poor quality offerings in the childrens games market, its refreshing to find a title that's as good as this one.
Our pre-school children love Bob's Castle Adventure.
The voices are familiar, the graphics are superb, navigation is very easy, and the range of activities is very generous... there must be close to 15 different games to play.
Strongly recommended for pre-school children.

Educational and funny, 06 Sep 2006
My four year old was absolutely thrilled with this game. Living in Greece and my child not speaking English, I thought at first it might be difficult for my child to comprehend but from the start he had no difficulty experimenting after I explained what he had to do. After that he was on his way playing without my help. (Now he wants to learn english to play more games...)
I found this game very useful in training kids to use computers (mouse, keyboard etc) and thereby learn to maniupulate shapes, solve problems in the maize, explore in the dungeons all this in the fun filled colourful setting of the game. In all a great game for the age group specified.

The best kids game out there!, 05 Sep 2003
I've purchased many childrens games in the past and most are badly disguised, boring educational games that my kids can see right through. This one's different, it looks beautiful, the characters are really brought to life and the games themselves (I've still only played half of them) are really fun, enjoyable games, okay so they do have some educational element but they're fun and thats what kids want. Even I've been playing it for hours!
Buy it, its better than watching the videos!

one of my kids favourites, 13 Oct 2003
This is a fantastic childrens cdrom. The visual quality is tremendous. You can tell that much thought went into the development. The only criticism I could have is that there is not much content, however, this is compensated for by the quality of the features. It has my kid occupied for hours on end - I've even passed a few hours at it too! Definately a recommended purchase.

tubby brilliant!, 09 Oct 2003
This is a fantasticly produced cdrom.
My kid adores it. Although he finds it hard to get a go of it as I'm playing with it most of the time! I was surprised that it worked so well on my kids pentium I, videos large clickable areas, large mouse pointer and easy navigation makes it immediately accessible to the kids.. just pop it in the cdrom and have hours of peace! The only complaint I have - not meriting a star loss - is the fact that there is not much content.. however, the quality content does make up for this.

My kid has to fight me away to play this!, 08 Oct 2003
This is a fantastic production. I was overwhelmed with the visual effects on my kids pentium 1 pc! The games are ideal for young kids pre-reading, there's a great hide-and-seek game (my personal favourite!). Coming from a computing background myself I find this technically fantastic.. if there was one complaint I could make it is that the content is quite small, however, it has still occupied my hyperactive kid for hours and hours. A recommended buy!

Not so Hot, 08 Apr 2003
I bought this software for my Three year old son.
It is a Disney interactive game which has two arcade games with Three levels of difficulty and ten diffrent puzzles for each level.
The first game is CONE CHAOS were you need to rescue Woody from the Toy Collector(as in Toy Story 2 ) Basically you need to lead the toys across a busy main road whilst camoflaged as traffic cones, it sounds really easy but believe me it isnt and im 25 !! There are obsticals such as holes in the road and cars and trucks trying to run you over.
The next game is TOY SHELF SHOWDOWN were you have to help Buzz Assemble a rocket ship and take the Emperor Zurgs batterys out to destroy him whilst avoiding or stunning the Emperor Zurgs robots but you only get five lasers so you have to use them carefully but you can also crush them with falling spaceshipparts if they are directly below you, you can use bouncing balls to help you jump up and land on each shelf. Again there are three levels of play with unlimited replayability, this game is slightly more easy and alot more fun but does get alot harder as you progress to further levels.
Although there are only two games to play this is definatly goodvalue for money with excellant animation and graphics and a great reality too the film.
It will keep the kids AND YOU entertained for ages but it can become a bit tedious after a while as you only have the ch