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Good for older kids, but a little too goal driven

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 8 / 11
Date: November 14, 2002
Author: Amazon User

The program installed easily and had nice graphics. But I felt the games were too focused upon earning "points" and pushed the child to finish one task and go onto the next. Make sure your child has advanced mouse skills because some of the games are quite difficult, even at level 1.

Nice graphics, BAD music

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 7
Date: January 15, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The graphics are top notch, but the music is terrible. It feels like you're watching MTV or VH1, hip-hop, rap, rock. Do you really want to TRAIN your kids to be mindless, 24-hour-a-day MTV junkies AT THIS EARLY AGE? They will learn to like this type of music from their friends later, when they are ready. Why force it upon them now? Jumpstart could have provided more age appropriate music that is just as engaging, but they didn't. Just like many parents, they want to force kids to grow up too quickly.

Good, but not the best JumpStart game

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: January 20, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Hello, I'm StoryMaker. I've been enjoying JumpStart products since I was in Kindergarten. When I was about 8 years old, I got JumpStart Animal Adventures from the library. It taught me a few animal facts and has great graphics, but I wouldn't say it's the best JumpStart game.

Info:
CJ Frog, Edison Firefly, and CJ's tadpole nieces & nephews find out that Frankie the dog is holding a contest. To win, you must visit 4 different habitats - a rainforest, a temperate forest, a tide pool, and a savanna - and take photos of certain animals. Kids help CJ & friends succeed by playing this game. You visit the different habitats. Then, you click on animals to hear information about them and, on some occasions, play a game. Take photographs of the animals using the camera button and clicking on the desired animal. Then, place the photo on the correct slot on the contest sheet. The slots are labeled things like "Mammal", "Makes its own shell", and "Predator". Once all 4 contest sheets are complete and all of the games are played, you get to play the "Animal Smarts Game" to review everything you learned. You receive a printable certificate from Frankie.

Pros:
This game has excellent graphics and songs. It taught me some nice animal facts, and the games were very fun. It used a nice method for learning, I think: it teaches kids facts about animals and quizzes them later using contest sheets and, of course, the Animal Smarts Game. The Animal Smarts game was also VERY good. It is for 1 or 2 players. There is a category similar to the categories on the content sheets. Animals start appearing, and the player must select the animal that fits the category. I think JumpStart Animal Adventures is good enough, and teaches about animals.

Cons:
For one thing, I thought that this was just a teensy weensy bit obnoxious. I was annoyed how the tadpoles blabbed "WE'RE GUNNA WIN DAH CON-TEST! WE'RE GUNNA WIN DAH CON-TEST!" Of course, this is one of the more minor cons, as many kids could get past this fact easily. For another thing, though, a lot of the games seemed more like arcade-styled just-for-fun games than teaching tools - they usually didn't teach anything beyond what the child found out from clicking on the animal. I know, it's review work, but it really didn't teach much of anything most of the time. The leaf-cutter ants game seemed pretty educational though. Also, this game seemed kind of "pushy". Whenever you finish the contest sheet and played all the games for one habitat, they won't let you go back to that habitat until the game is finished. It's really "pushing" you to finishing the game, even if you don't want to. Also, although I did learn some animal facts, I didn't learn that much - it might be better suited for younger children who don't know as much about animals as I do.

Overall, I'd say that, if you have a young child (maybe 4-6 years old) then go for this game. If you have an older child, you might consider getting it from the library, but I wouldn't buy it. Also, check out these other great JumpStart computer games.
-JumpStart Explorers
-JumpStart Advanced 1st Grade
-JumpStart Advanced 2nd Grade
-JumpStart Kindergarten Deluxe 2 CD Set
-Jumpstart Advanced Study Helpers V2.0
Also, although I've never played it, I've read that the disc entitled "Animal Field Trip" in Jumpstart Advanced Kindergarten V2.0/Jumpstart Advanced Kindergarten (PC & Mac) is really JumpStart Animal Adventures renamed.

Signed, StoryMaker. "Gotta trust the kid's review!"

Good game for preschoolers

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: May 20, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This is a great game that teaches kids not only about animals but how to maneuver around the keyboard. Hitting the "?" will pictorially show kids which button to push for each game. I was amazed that by the second day my son was actively using the keyboard. Most preschool games focus on mouse skills only so this is a good next step game.

one of the best Jumpstart games

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: August 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Jumpstart Animal Adventures is a fun, educational game. My 4 year old son loves the current music and funny music videos of the animals. The crab music video "Regeneration" (about defending your territory and occasionally losing a limb that grows back) makes me and my son giggle every time (think: a "clean" Green Day song).

We have tried many many kids games from our local library before buying, and this is one of the best for the 4-6 age group. It is not goal oriented, unless you want it to be, and you can explore the world as long as you like. The information is presented very well for small children: colorful but realistic animated environments, helpful facts and games that help children remember major facts about a particular animal.

educational and really holds their attention for hours

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 06, 2005
Author: Amazon User

My daughters- five and six year old have really loved this CD. They play it everyday and have not yet got bored. I am very happy because they have picked up quite a lot of things about habitats and biomes. The catchy songs and the games that allow them into the world of animals in different biomes are very educational. They have not just educated the kids but their Mom (me) too!! The game has 3 levels- easy to hard and i dont think my girls are going to get bored of this one soon. I only wish the software also included deserts and the Asian continent to which we belong (we live in India). However, given that i have not found anything as good and fun for the kids, i would highly recommend this product to all moms ( Asian ones too!)

Lots of entertainment

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 05, 2007
Author: Amazon User

My kids love this one. They learn about the great variety of the natural world in an entertaining way. My main problem with the JumpStart CDs is that you have to use the disc to run them rather than copying it onto the computer. With children being children this usually leads to scratched and damaged discs. I've deducted 1 star for this.

The GREAST Game-Education Program I Have seen in a long time

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: July 07, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This is a Jump Start Title - they make only the best! However, this one the Jump Start Animal Adventures - is very easy to use -I help at a day care center - in the computer department - working with three, four and five year olds on the computers - they went wild over this title - the graphics are great the music is great - it still uses the mouse for picture taking but in the games the introduction to the use of the arrow keys and the space bar is a nice, very nice touch. It has got "just the right balance of knowledge learning and game fun - the three skill levels are great with this added touch all children can progress at their own speed - I have a five year old, girl, whos birthday came at the wrong time of the year last year for her to go to kindergarten this last year - she is playig it on level 3 and loves it - she really loves the "Animal Smarts" game at the end. I also have a four year old boy who is at the same level as my five year old girl. Yes, I must admit, I am the five year old girl's Grandmother as well as I have her in my computer class at day care - Buy this - you will "NOT" be SORRY - Thank you!

Fantastic fun and games

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: July 12, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This is a first rate game. My two boys, ages 3& 5 drive me nuts asking to play all the time. The vocbulary lessons are first rate. The music catches their attention and they sing along with the songs. The information is wonderful and requires them to use abstract thinking skills. There are crafts, stickers and a certificate. Lots of well thought out programing went into this game.

Better than excellent!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: July 17, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Well I can't say enough about this program! My 3-year-old daughter is a complete animal nut and when I got her JumpStart Animal Adventures, she dove right in. The graphics and animation are incredible and the music is really fun. I wish Knowledge Adventure would make a million more of these titles! They're great!

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