Oscar the Balloonist Discovers the Farm

Other products by Viva Media

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004T4VQ
• Item model number: 978393137226X
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 22, 2000
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,124 in Software (See Bestsellers in Software)

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Sassy and smart, this charming CD-ROM series combines early-childhood education and humorous storytelling with a distinctly European flavor--something along the lines of Doctor Doolittle meets Monty Python meets Beatrix Potter. Our hero, Oscar, is a small, curious British boy who tours the world in a hot-air balloon that enables him to switch among the four seasons with the click of a mouse. His companion, Carmela, is a treasure chest who often goes missing. In this escapade, Oscar crash-lands his balloon on the thatched hut of a timid animal researcher named Balthasar Pumpernickel, who lives on a farm amid fields of talking pigs, cows, sheep, and chickens. Carmela is there, too, stocked with a dozen delightful animal-theme games to play. Children are free to go straight to the games chest or explore the farmyard--and talk to the animals--in depth, across all four seasons of the year.

Along with this CD-ROM's elevated level of illustration, there's a fearlessness about content that is uncommon in America these days. The presence of dung on a farm, for example, is clearly acknowledged in the program with a special matching game (whose icon is a toilet bowl) that requires kids to "click and drag each animal to its droppings." As well, adults aren't the all-knowing educational founts here; Professor Balthasar, afraid of the animals, hides all day in his hut. "Outside lurk a thousand dangers!" he sniffs. Parents and kids alike will appreciate the goofy inanity of a farm-facts guessing game that poses such true-or-false questions as "Cows love to eat frogs," and "Sheep sleep on poles." Most powerful of all, however, are the stirring scenes of the animals: from sunny days in the fields to deliciously snowbound days inside the barn. (Ages 4 to 8) --Jean Lenihan

Amazon.com Product Description

Balthasar Pumpernickel is an animal researcher determined to find out where food comes from. Unfortunately, he is scared of all the animals on the farm, so he is delighted when Oscar arrives in his seasons balloon and offers to help. Join them as they explore life on the farm. As you progress through each of the four seasons, you'll gain a unique view of a year in the country.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A little difficult for our 4 year old, January 1, 2002

By	Laurie White (Loveland, CO USA) - See all my reviews

The game has lovely graphics, and creative-educational games. My son enjoys matching the poop with the correct farm animal. However, it is a little difficult for him to understand what the directions are or what he's supposed to be doing in the game. It's a bit "word heavy" for a boy who has an auditory processing disorder, but he does enjoy clicking on the animals to see if they'll poop. In fact, anything to do with poop will entertain him. It's really better geared towards older kids and younger children who can handle higher level learning.