Editorial Review

Pirate's plunder rewards players who discover all of the hidden objects and decipher the riddles in

Features

• CD-ROM
• Challenge your child to pick out the clues in the collages -- each clue helps them get closer to finding hidden treasure
• Put all the clues together to get the map
• Explore interesting places like lighthouses, train stations, forts, and more, while using & developing kids' rhyming skill
• Once you're done, you put together the puzzle to go off in search of the treasure left behind by pirates ages ago!

Reviews (60)

Mac Users Beware!
The product description is wrong, this is NOT OSX software.It's OS9 and can only be run in "Classic" environment.Any Mac purchased in the last two years, at least, does not come with OS9.You would need to have OS9 installed on your computer in addition to OSX.This will definitely affect the performance of the software and your machine in general.
Fun for everyone!
My kids (6 and 9 years old) and I spent hours playing this game. We took turns deciding where to go, and we all helped find the hidden images.

Great product
This was a great product - it is fun and educational and the graphics are great.It was such a fun product - that I purchased it first as a download but I went ahead and purchased the actual product so that I could have a CD of it forever.Buy it - you and your children will enjoy trying to find the items. ... Read more

Features

• CD-ROM
• Explore fantasy worlds and engage your brain
• Three fantasy worlds: Undersea, Outer Space, and Dragon's Lair
• Nine different adventures with 54 I SPY riddles
• Designed for kids age 6-10
• For one player

Reviews (36)

Buy this one Now
We have been fans of the I Spy Books & Software for some time, but this is our new favourite.The graphics are great & the levels within each "story" keep my 6 year old twin boys busy when Mummy needs a break.The I Spy Team should keep up the good work - this is a computer game that won't turn kids brains to mush!

i spy fantasy
i bought this cd rom for my son who thinks this game is fantastic, very easy for young children to use.

Neat!
My six year old daughter was reluctant to try this, but she did and she LOVES it! Great graphics, fun, challanging. Not sure how "educational" it is, but it is a neat, non-violent, gets-you-thinking game! ... Read more

Features

• Motivating reward system keeps children engaged
• 4-CD set helps children practice and build essential kindergarten skills
• Activities address 50+ skills from math and reading to music and art
• Based on state educational standards; auto leveling adjusts to child's pace
• Learning Profiler determines child's learning style and adjusts play

Features

• Brain-building games for kids 6 to 10 years old
• Explore a dark, mysterious house while building learning skills
• 3 different ways out of the house, each filled with spooky surprises
• 2 fast-paced games; 7 unique ghosts to create; a secret room to discover
• 39 riddles; special riddle tools; free I Spy book and mini-CD included

Reviews (4)

Spooky mansion
The I Spy Spooky Mansion was our first experience with the I SPY computer games.My family and I LOVED it.My daughter is 8 and my son is 4 and we found ourselves playing the game for several hours straight. The game can be just a plain seek and find for my 4 yr old, but can bring out the logical thinking for my 8 yr old.I highly recommend this game, and I am eager to try all the I SPY games!

Love it
I bought this for my 6 year old grandson.He played with it for 2 hours straight.He completed the game and has played it again and again.
A Favorite for Schoolagers!
When I ran a before and after school daycare in my home not long ago, I Spy Spooky Mansion Deluxe was one of the children's absolute favorite game choices. I owned quite a collection of games, from Barbie to Zoo Tycoon, but the mystery and puzzles of I Spy held their attention the most. The children ranged in age from 6 to 11, and I Spy was largely a favorite of the 6-9 year olds. ... Read more

Features

• Motivating reward system keeps children engaged
• 4-CD set helps kids practice and build essential 1st-grade skills
• Activities address 50+ fundamental skills in reading, math, and more
• Based on state educational standards; auto leveling adjusts to child's pace
• Learning Profiler determines child's learning style and adjusts play

Editorial Review

Pirate's plunder rewards players who discover all of the hidden objects and decipher the riddles in

Features

• CD-ROM
• Windows: Pentium 133 MHz or faster processor; Microsoft Windows 95/98/2000/Me/XP
• 32 MB RAM Minimum 12 MB hard disk space available 8X CD-ROM drive 16-bit color Windows-compatible sound card Printer optional
• Macintosh: PowerPC 120 MHz or faster processor System 7.6.1 or later 32 MB RAM Minimum 12 MB hard disk space available 16-bit color 8X CD-ROM drive Printer Optional
• Topics

Reviews (60)

Mac Users Beware!
The product description is wrong, this is NOT OSX software.It's OS9 and can only be run in "Classic" environment.Any Mac purchased in the last two years, at least, does not come with OS9.You would need to have OS9 installed on your computer in addition to OSX.This will definitely affect the performance of the software and your machine in general.
Fun for everyone!
My kids (6 and 9 years old) and I spent hours playing this game. We took turns deciding where to go, and we all helped find the hidden images.

Great product
This was a great product - it is fun and educational and the graphics are great.It was such a fun product - that I purchased it first as a download but I went ahead and purchased the actual product so that I could have a CD of it forever.Buy it - you and your children will enjoy trying to find the items. ... Read more

Features

• Motivating reward system keeps children engaged
• 4-CD set challenges kids with time-traveling puzzles and wild adventures
• Develops skills in math, history, science, art, and critical thinking
• Based on state educational standards; auto leveling adjusts to child's pace
• Learning Profiler determines child's learning style and adjusts play

Reviews (1)

Challenging and fun
I love how this comes with 3 CD roms so my daughter won't get bored with one. This computer game is very challenging but still fun enough to keep my daughter playing for hours! I didn't like the way the voice sounded but for kids it's probably interesting. It really helped her stay on top of learning during a difficult time in our lives. I recommend it. ... Read more

Features

• CD-ROM
• Dozens of new challenges are here for any child between the ages of 5-9 to explore
• With more than 1600 object-and-word searches in hundreds of clever pictures. Your kids will learn many new words and how to use them
• Play with riddles, puzzles, and games to develop your child's thinking skills
• As they play, children develop important learning skills such as reading, matching, and problem solving
• I Spy School Days challenges kids to use their heads

Reviews (16)

Avoid at all costs
I agree with the reviewer who urges you to stay away from this and other Scholastic products if you run Windows XP.I received School Days and Spooky Mansion today but can't get either to run on XP, even though I am generally quite adept at working with computers.I will never buy another product from this company, even if it works well on XP.These products say they work with "Windows 95, 98, 2000 or later."Don't believe it.

Not Windows XP Compatible
I just tossed this one in the trash. It looked like a good game for my girls but unfortunately Scholastic doesn't believe in updating or supporting their products. I'd be very leary of buying any software from this company since software returns are difficult to negotiate. I would appreciate a list of truly Windows XP compatible children's software titles. Windows XP has been around for at least a couple of years now. I don't understand why compatibility is such a problem. Their support site cites that the problem is "you have too much installed RAM." Well, for most software, that is not a "bad" thing.

I spy school days! FUN!!!
Just a great fun game with so many rooms and levels. My 7 year old loves it and it helps in learning to concentrate! I like watching her play. There is a room where she can make her own clues for an I spy game. How fun is that and gives a child the room to invent and create!! Buy!! ... Read more

Features

• Motivating reward system keeps children engaged
• 4-CD set helps kids practice and build essential 2nd-grade skills
• Covers reading, writing, math, science, social studies, art, and music
• Based on state educational standards; auto leveling adjusts to child's pace
• Learning Profiler determines child's learning style and adjusts play

Reviews (1)

Parent review
would prefer if CDs came in jewel cases for storage.Jump Start Game locks up our Dell computer frequently. ... Read more

Features

• MODEL- HAVCD72018WMAE VENDOR- KNOWLEDGE ADVENTURE FEATURES- JumpStart Typing- Home Edition (1 user) Grade Level: 2 - 5 Build typing proficiency interactively - the JumpStart way! Timed typing lessons and engaging activities build proficiency through repetitive training and interactive demonstrations. Diagnostic technology adapts to each student's skill level, teaching hand placement, posture, ke

Reviews (6)

Mac OSX in Classic mode only
If you want to run on a mac, this product requires OS9 or "Classic" mode under OSX.As a result it will NOT run on a new intel mac.

Good
Although my 6 year old son does not have the focus to put his fingers in the correct places he likes to play the games and is learning where the letters are just by searching for them

OS X
I bought this product in July and can't get it to work with OS X. The computer wants to launch OS9 every time. A big disappointment and a waste of money.
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Editorial Review

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Reviews (7)

love it!
i have two kids ages 6 and 4 and we have had this game for over 4 years. we love it! we have had numerous other computer games but this one is right up there in our top two. my 4 year old still loves all the games (bubble castle and baby basket bingo are favs), and my 6 year old is still into the alphabet train. i love making music, the little ducks are my favorite! adorable sights and sounds in this game. beware though, the tunes from this are going to get stuck in your head for days, but are cute so it's worth it.:)

From a Grandmother's point of view
This program is totally interactive.My grandson -- who is two and a half and has a two and a half year old's attention span spent 25 to 30 minutes at a time playing with the shapes and bubble castle.A wonderful experience

Absolutely Wonderful
My grandson just turned 3.He loves this CD.It is easy for him to use because he doesn't need to click the mouse.It is still difficult for him to hold the mouse steady when he clicks.If the mouse moves, he doesn't get a response and then gets very frustrated.This CD eliminates that problem.The activities are great fun for him.He likes the coloring and the "bubble castle" best.I highly recommend this CD. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. colors, shapes, counting    2. alphabet, early reading    3. early math, logic   

Features

• Motivating reward system keeps children engaged
• 4-CD set challenges kids with exciting mysteries and wild adventures
• Reinforces math, geography, grammar, science, and more
• Based on state educational standards; auto leveling adjusts to child's pace
• Learning Profiler determines child's learning style and adjusts play

Reviews (2)

Jumpstart Advanced 4th Grade Problem
Normally this is a great product. I have purchased K-3 without any problems but this year there is a problem that requires a patch. Calling their helpdesk is somewhat useless since they promise to send you a link but never do. Here is the link I found on my own: [...]. The problem that I experienced was a white screen then if you click a key there is an introduction that has a lady speaking about the cave's history. Then it freezes. This link should solve you problem. Just download and run.
First CD of this set is defective
I love Jumpstart in general and bought this hot off the shelf.The fundamentals CD was defective, so Amazon replaced it.The fundamentals CD from the second set had the same defects.My guess is the first batch is messed up and Jumpstart will rectify the problem once enough returns are made. ... Read more

Features

• Motivating reward system keeps children engaged
• 4-CD set helps kids practice and build essential preschool skills
• Activities address 50+ skills from math and pre-reading to music and art
• Based on state educational standards; auto leveling adjusts to child's pace
• Learning Profiler determines child's learning style and adjusts play

Reviews (2)

GREAT!
We bought this for our 3 year old, and she was able the pick up on it very quickly!It has helped prepare her for preschool tremendously!We are going to get her the Kindergarten one for Christmas this year.

This is a total waste
For Christmas, I purchased this item for my two and half year old son, who is fairly advanced for his age. The program is reccomended for 2-4.I was totally disappointed in this product.Before you begin to use the product, the child is given an assessment test, which was fairly good.However, it gave you the illusion that the program would be like that, when it is not.Your child is scored and based on the score, the questions are supposed to be geared toward the skills that the child does not know or needs improvement on.First of all the programs were difficult to understand for most adults (my husband and I are both college educated).Both my husband and myself sat down with my son and could not figure out the concept of the games.My son was easily bored with the product and seemed disinterested.He seemed to prefer some of his other computer software, (School Zone(preschool) and Disney for Toddlers.I would tell anyone to invest their money in another software. ... Read more

Editorial Review

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Features

• CD-ROM

Reviews (23)

disappointing
My 4 year old son has been playing computer games for about 6 months and does really well at navigating the mouse and listening for instructions.I sit with him until I know he knows how to play.I can't leave him with this one.You have to search to find where you want to go and the information I think it gives on the dinosaurs is either below or above his level.He knows alot about dinosaurs and this doesn't expand on anything.I think maybe if it were a little more realistic...and the game gets stuck and acts slowly.

Great lessons on the ocean
This piece is great for kids. You should also consider the adventures of Captain -- Captain Jon's Island Adventure and Captain Jon Explores the Ocean.

Great game if you want to learn about marine biology!!
This is such a cool game!The Magic School Bus games are all quite good.I really like how you can visit many different ocean zones so you can see that not all parts of the ocean are alike.It is unique that you can "perform" your own science experiments on the same program that you can play fun games on.I like the game with the crab. :)
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Editorial Review

With brain-teasing graphics and puzzling riddles to solve, this spooky addition to the Read more

Features

• CD-ROM
• Solve 26 picture riddles, create seven ghosts, play fast-paced games, and make your own picture ridd
• Play independently or team up with a friend
• Scenes are personalized with your name
• Amusing sound effects, fun animations, and musical surprises
• Save your game to finish later

Reviews (39)

Macintosh OS X Native Users
This information was taken from Scholastic's Technical Support website.
I Spy Spooky Mansion
My kids (4 and 7 yrs old) love this game.The haunted house element of this game adds a nice twist that makes this game even more fun than the other I Spy games.These games also have some educational value and are fun to play with multiple players or with the entire family.Highly recommended.

FIX for running under Windows XP
In reading the review from Angry Dad, I thought it best to give the "workaround" for the running of this game under Windows XP.
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Features

• CD-ROM
• Fun, systematic approach to learning to read
• Record and playback technology; 40 interactive storybooks
• Alliterative speech, colorful animations, and engaging sound effects
• Monitors abilities; adjusts levels; provides help; tracks progress
• For ages 4 to 6

Editorial Review

Based on the I Spy book series by Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick, Read more

Features

• CD-ROM
• Animate the puppets while writing their lines -- try to pick the word that rhymes
• Match the words and pictures & solve the riddles
• Design your own handmade puppets and scenery
• Sort the props into their correct cubbies
• Multiple backgrounds and puppets encourage creativity

Reviews (6)

I agree - Not perfect but very good
This is a fun computer game.My 3 year old enjoys it, but finds it pretty easy.There are times in her week when such a game fits that bill.I will be buying more copies for gifts.The graphics are a little disappointing.

Independent game
My youngest son is 3 and really enjoys computer games.I limit his time, especially since many that have entered our house don't seem to have many redeeming qualities or he can't do them himself.This is a game he can play by himself, which occaionally comes in handy, and I feel that it is not devoid of educational value.He also enjoys playing I Spy Treasure Hunt and Spooky Mansion with his 6 year old brother.

Boring...
This was so heavily hyped, I had to have it for my five-year old twin girls.What a bore.They're either too old for it, or there is the outside chance that Scholastic really didn't put a lot of effort into this.It would bore a three-year old.Compare to Spooky Mansion or Treasure Island - can't compare with these gems.I'm 50 and play the latter two. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Kids (ages 5 to 7) discover core learning skills in this delightful age-appropriate learning environment featuring Reader Rabbit and friends. Team up with Irvin-the-Inventor and the Cloud Queen to discover why it's raining umbrellas, raincoats, and galoshes. While traveling to Raingear Forest and Cloud Nine, kids explore seven fun activities full of adventure and discovery. Along the way, Reader Rabbit and friends cover reading, math, science, problem solving, and more, creating a forecast that calls for fun-filled learning.Read more

Features

• CD-ROM

Reviews (9)

Great product
I was afraid this was a limited version software for the price- but it wasn't. It was better than I expected, and my first grader loves it.

Kept my 6 yr old entertained
My six year old spent several hours playing this the first couple of weeks.I'd like to add that the game is fairly complex and he needed help. The thing I liked was he was learning while having fun!

Good but difficult to use
I bought this for my 6 yr. old grandson who just completed kindergarten. However, his favorite activity in kindergarten was computer lab so I decided to give him the opportunity to use a computer at home. I purchased Reader Rabbit 1st Grade. My opinion about the program is mixed.
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Editorial Review

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Features

• CD-ROM

Reviews (7)

Preschool Computer Lab Teacher = Thumbs Up!
I have taught preschool computer lab for two years and have successfully used this software with my 1, 2 & 3 year old students during both school years.I love this software because no mouse clicks are required - only moving the mouse which greatly increases my students hand-eye coordination with the mouse.
Easy for kids to do and FUN
Reader Rabbit Toddler is the best software I have bought so far - its easy for my son to use (if kids cannot use the mouse yet most games work just by hitting keys) and has alot of fun activities. From the main menu you move a "Star flower" to one of nine fun activities - includingan alphabet train where you match the letter key to the boxcar to see it open;a musical meadow where you move a bee from flower to flower to hear them play;a bubble castle where you pop bubbles to free the animals - it has a variety of fun activities that my son has loved from 18 months to 3+.

Great fun but a bit buggy
This program is a lot of fun and has a variety of activities to delight little ones.Because the activities can all be done just by moving the mouse or trackball (without pressing buttons), even a very beginning mouser can manage it.Pressing (or pounding on) keys also causes things to happen on the screen, so even without using the mouse your child can have a great time if you are brave enough to let him or her pound on your keyboard (not necessarily recommended - my daughter made off with my Z last week!)Many of the toddler activities are simple enough to do that a younger child can enjoy them too (but they still have learning potential for the toddler).My only complaint is that the program seems a bit buggy.It periodically locks up my computer so I have to reboot, which is very frustrating for my daughter.Overall it's a lot of fun.Read more

Features

• Fun, educational software for kids age 2 to 4
• 10 irresistible interactive puzzles, games, and play areas
• Covers 30+ skills including letters, numbers, shapes, and colors
• Colorful classroom bursting with animation and song
• Guides include Casey Cat, Kisha Koala, Pierre the Bear, and others