Clifford The Big Red Dog Thinking Adventures

by Scholastic

Product Features

• Build Skills on Your Way to Clifford's Big Party! Product Information Clifford The Bit Red Dog may be big and red, but as far as he's concerned he'sjust like any other dog. That's why, when Clifford tries to do what other dogsdo, things can get a little out of hand. Sometimes he gets into trouble.Sometimes he saves the day. Most of the time he has a lot of fun. All of thetime he's a good dog

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.8 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004TTU8
• Item model number: 21545
• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 1, 2000
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,409 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #27 in Software > Children's Software > Interactive Books
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

It's Clifford the Big Red Dog's birthday, and Emily Elizabeth has a long list of tasks to accomplish before she can throw a party for her colossal canine pal. As the original "big dog" wreaks havoc--then comes to the rescue--throughout this program, it's easy to see why the affable Clifford has been a hit with early readers for nearly four decades. Kids strengthen recall, problem-solving, and creativity skills as they travel through town with Emily Elizabeth and Clifford, getting ready for the party.

The program begins with the efficient Emily Elizabeth explaining all that needs to be done to prepare for the party: groom Clifford, decorate a birthday cake, pick up a present from the post office, build a birthday-dog collar, and clean up the backyard. As the duo sets out to accomplish these tasks, guided by your child, unplanned events and Clifford-caused accidents throw them off task, giving them additional problems to solve. A knocked-over grocery display case must be put back together before decorating the birthday cake, the needed package isn't at the post office, and the only dog groomer in town refuses to service the gigantic specimen. This program does a great job of encouraging the nonlinear thinking that's sometimes necessary to get through real life.

There are seven places to visit and explore in town, ranging from the beach to the home of the crotchety Bleakmans, elderly neighbors with a large swimming pool (hint, hint). In addition to the overall task of figuring out how to get ready for the big bash, there are also eight activities that can be played using three difficulty levels. One of the standouts is a game in which Clifford must deliver cars safely home after causing a traffic jam; it teaches spatial reasoning and how to follow directions, and there's just something delightful about seeing Clifford with a minivan in his mouth. Other activities range from purely creative (decorating the cake, grooming Clifford) to the game-like (helping Clifford dodge seaweed and refuel by eating fish sticks as he swims out to sea to rescue a doggy pal). The overall concept of the program is stronger than the individual games--a 6-year-old game whiz may find that Clifford moves a bit too slowly. We think disciples of the Big Red Dog will love it, as it features everything from Clifford's helpful heroism to Emily Elizabeth's odd circular kneecaps. (Ages 4 to 6) --Anne Erickson

Product Description

Build Skills on Your Way to Clifford's Big Party!Product InformationClifford The Bit Red Dog may be big and red but as far as he's concerned he'sjust like any other dog. That's why when Clifford tries to do what other dogsdo things can get a little out of hand. Sometimes he gets into trouble.Sometimes he saves the day. Most of the time he has a lot of fun. All of thetime he's a good dog and true friend.Children direct this skill-building journey through Clifford's neighborhoodlooking for ways to make his party big fun!Throughout the adventure entertaining activities encourage each child to usetheir thinking and reasoning skills as well as their imagination. In additionkids are presented with challenges that require them to use their problemsolving skills to complete various steps. The celebration begins once childrenhave everything they need to throw a party big enough for Clifford!Skills Learned Problem solving Logic & Reasoning Classifying & Sorting Matching Memory Colors & Shapes Counting Spatial Reasoning Creativity Fine Motor Skills Following DirectionsProduct HighlightsFollowing DirectionsHelp Emily Elizabeth prepare for Clifford's birthday party. Get ready for funthinking adventures and activities along the way!Problem SolvingElroy Kibble is stuck in a tree! Use your problem solving skills to figure outhow to get him down.Fine Motor SkillsSwim through the ocean to save Clifford's pal Rocky. Eat fishsticks for energyand watch out for the seaweed it slows you down!ImaginationUse your creativity to make Clifford a special birthday cake. Spell out amessage put on sprinkles pick your favorite flavor and more!Memory & MatchingBuild memory skills while fixing up the backyard. Clifford has buried objectsthat go together - see if you can find them!Following Directions Memory & LogicIt's a fire drill1 As a volunteer firefighter you can help by listening to thefire chief

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

82 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Woof Woof!! Excellent For Kids, Fun For Adults, Too!, February 21, 2001

By 

D. Scott "D. Scott" (Athens, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Clifford The Big Red Dog Thinking Adventures (CD-ROM)

Although Clifford's Thinking Adventures is rated for children ages 4-6, my 3 1/2 has been playing with it, loving it, and learning (without knowing it!) since we received it from Amazon a week ago. There are three difficulty levels, and even on the Easy setting I have been impressed with the level of thinking my daughter has shown in figuring out the puzzles and also in the long term goal of getting Clifford to his birthday party.

When you play, you first choose 4 jewels for Clifford's collar, which show up along the way as you explore the game and work on the more difficult, multi-part tasks which must be completed before Clifford's birthday party may begin. These tasks involve your putting together various items you find in the game to solve problems. For instance, one of the tasks is for Clifford to get a bath and brush so he will look spiffy for the party. Fair enough, but this task cannot simply be accomplished by going to the dog groomer's shop (Clifford is too big to get through the door!). Later, as the game is played, you will find that the groomer, who previously closed his shop at the mere sight of the humongous Clifford, is taking a balloon ride in the park. What do you do when his balloon gets stuck in the tree and he can't get down? Think think think...how about using that rope ladder we saw earlier by the fire station? When the groomer gets down, he is so greatful that he gives Clifford a grooming kit he can use, if he can find enough water to bathe in. Where is there enough water? Think think think...was that a swimming pool I saw on the map??

There are plenty of games and puzzles along the way to the party as well. For instance, when Clifford accidentally knocks over the stand in front of the grocery store, you have to piece the broken sign back together (puzzle - spacial relationships) and put the grocery items back on the proper shelves in a certain order (following directions, counting).

I have noticed that the games and item locations can change from game to game for repeat playability. The game is also automatically saved wherever you happen to be, even if you do not close out of the game properly. This is a nice feature for small kids.

I have very few criticisms of the game. Actually moving Clifford around on the map in the game where you take people (and their cars) home according to their directions ("I live in the yellow house next to the three apple trees") can be a little bit tricky to master. Also, I first thought that it was a little annoying that the game does not give you a cursor to click until the characters in the scenes stop talking. I now think that this is a good idea, because it forces you to listen and to think about what the characters are saying instead of just clicking away as on an arcade game.

I changed my sound card a few nights ago, and went into Clifford to test it after my daughter had gone to bed. I ended up playing an entire game myself using one of the more difficult modes. About halfway through my wife walked in and started giving her suggestions over my shoulder. Yes, we really enjoyed Clifford too!

69 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Favorite of the kids, December 23, 2000

By 

Turbo - See all my reviews

This review is from: Clifford The Big Red Dog Thinking Adventures (CD-ROM)

Our kids have used many products. This became their favorite because of it's content as well as having Clifford which they knew from the books we have. This CD is pretty much what the title suggests - it's a thinking game. It gets them to remember items they saw on other screens and bring them to other screens to solve problems. I was pretty impressed at the success it had getting the kids to think - without our help. They sometimes play for hours till we tear them away. Both our 2 1/2 year old and 4 year old love it. I'd say that 3 year olds can probably start using it on their own if they are familiar with using programs of this type & the mouse. 2 year olds will need help solving some problems but love the graphics, painting and games. The box says ages 4-6.

142 of 151 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent piece of software, November 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Clifford The Big Red Dog Thinking Adventures (CD-ROM)

This is one of the best children software around. When I first got my hands on it, I thought I could solve it in Hard mode in a few hours and expected a simple gameplay interface, being a 18-year-old who enjoys reading children's books (including Clifford). I was wrong. I ended up playing with this software for a few days, and the gameplay which requires you to move around from one place to another to solve puzzles is interesting and challenging. When I finally won the game, I decided to have another go. To my surprise, I found that some activities that was available during the last play has become unavailable, and some which was unavailable during the last play become available, just by changing choosing other options during the starting of a new game. This increases the replay value of the software. Couple this with the other fully interactive activities available; some which you can print out the results, eye-catching graphics, a bit of comedy, interactivity, and big red dog and his owner, and you get a time-enduring educational software that you would want to play again and again. The only drawback was the lack of background music during play (this might be a good thing, as voice instructions tend to clash and get distorted with the background music). Overall, this is one of the best educational software I've ever played with. I highly recommend it to any Clifford fan, old or young.