Common Sense Media Review
By Jinny Gudmundsen
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Educational play dates with Little Bill.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
What's It About?
Little Bill, an animated Nick Jr. television show created by Bill Cosby, features 5-year-old Little Bill and his loving family. Little Bill makes his software debut in LITTLE BILL THINKS BIG, a CD-ROM that stays true to the TV show's values of teaching young children about the importance of family, building self-esteem, and learning to solve problems.
Players have four play dates with Little Bill at his house during different seasons of the year. In each season, players help Bill solve a problem by creating a seasonal surprise. To make each seasonal surprise, the player must find five objects hidden inside five games. In the games, kids sort aliens, arrange photos to create a story, match colors and shapes to create a hamster tunnel, count treasure coins in an underwater side-scrolling game, and decorate cookies by matching geometric shapes.
Is It Any Good?
Little Bill is a great role model for children because he is funny, creative, and thoughtful. He cares for his family by doing things to help them.
While there are only five games in this software (there are some extra Mini games), kids revisit them in four seasonal contexts. They also follow verbal directions to put together the seasonal surprises and have opportunities to create art. The games adjust up or down in difficulty, depending on how the player is doing. This software is most appropriate for preschoolers because its games are simple and they don't let youngsters fail.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what Little Bill learns in the game. Kids: What did you learn as you played with him?
Game Details
- Platforms : Windows , Mac
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Scholastic
- Release date : January 6, 2004
- Genre : Preschool
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : June 19, 2019
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