Review: The Froobles

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There are a fabulous new range of books out by the brilliant children's publishers Top That! called The Froobles. We were sent the titles Apps Apple and the Tooth Fairy and Orlando Orange and the Big Scary Bear to review.

The Froobles are characters based on fruit and vegetables that come to life through the power of children's imaginations. When the children in a playgroup create a scene for them, the characters enter into this magical and ever-changing world to explore it, having new adventures that only they know about.

There are twelve characters and books in the series:

  • Apps Apple and the Tooth Fairy
  • Billy Banana and the Magic Mystery
  • Bobby Blackberry and the Treasure Island
  • Charlie Chilli and the Safari Song
  • Chloe Carrot and the Greedy Witch
  • Cory Cucumber and the Farmyard Muddle
  • Little Jack Potato and the Big Surprise
  • Ozzy Onion and the Noisy Dinosaurs
  • Penny Pineapple and the Chocolate Forest
  • Sienna Strawberry and the Ice Palace Ballet
  • Tessa Tomato and the Rainforest Rainbow

The books are small and fit perfectly into change-bags for instant distraction and story-telling. There is also a sheet of stickers at the back of each book with the main characters and locations from that story, so that little ones can recreate the story. The illustrations are really funky and modern, using hand-drawn pictures alongside photographs and computer imagery.

The text is simple enough for a Foundation Phase child to attempt reading it themselves, and alongside this the font is perfect: is uses the correct type of 'a' and 'g' that are encouraged for use with early readers.

Normally retailing at £2.99, The Froobles books are available at a special reduced price of £2.69 through the publishers Top That!

The Froobles world is wide-reaching and encompasses traditional and modern media. Not only are there the twelve books, but there is also a fabulous website (www.Froobles.com) with games for each character, from dressing Little Jack Potato, skateboarding with Cory Cucumber, to playing nought and crosses with Apps Apple.

In addition to the books and website, in November, there will be a range of interactive Froobles Apps (available from iTunes App Store) featuring the voices of Johnny Vaughan, Denise Van Outen, Edith Bowman and Reggie Yates. I will definitely be downloading these as The Boy is very competent with a touch-screen but not so much on the computer; he'll be able to enjoy these on the iPod Touch.

Orchard Toys: Giant Road Jigsaw

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 The Boy has recently developed a taste for cars. Cars and jigsaws! As long as he can 'brum' a car along then he's a happy chappy. Give him a 24-piece jigsaw as well and he's in seventh heaven!

Now wouldn't it be good if someone combined the two together?

Well, the genuis that is Orchard Toys have! They've created an extra large floor puzzle in the format of a road jigsaw. Now strictly speaking this is not a typical jigsaw: as there are a great deal of combinations that can be created from the 20 chunky pieces which include corners and junctions, as well as straight roads.

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Green Laundry Liquid?

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"Would you like to review some Ecover?"

Um, yes please!

So, Ecover sent me Concentrated Non-Bio Laundry Liquid and Amongst the Flowers Fabric Softener. I've been using the Non-Bio Laundry Liquid for several years now and I cannot sing its praises enough!

We're sensitive souls in this house and so have to be quite choosy with our washing detergent. Some of the standard liquids are fine but generally one of the three of us will start itching within five minutes of wearing clothing washed in biological liquids. And well, powders don't seem to dissolve properly.

Ecover is magic stuff! It is kind to skin, environmentally friendly and smells gorgeous. I cannot even begin to convey to you how much I love smelling newborn baby clothes that have been washed in Ecover; they just smell heavenly and I used to bury my face into The Boy's clothes and inhale deeply.

They have also created Plant-astic bottles! They've come up with a system that uses sugarcane to make the ethylene which makes the 'plastic' bottles! It is 100% renewable, reusable and recyclable.

The concentrated laundry liquid sells for £6.33 (750ml) and the softener is £1.83 (750ml), both do between 21-25 washes as they are concentrated.

I was sent this product to review. My opinions are honest and based on years of using it.

TRu Review: Little Tikes Town Playhouse

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There are some serious bonuses to this blogging lark, you know. We've been really lucky and happy with all the lovely toys that we've had to test from Toys R Us, and then, just when I thought they couldn't do any better, they send us a house. Yes, that's right a house.

The Little Tikes Town Playhouse is one of the best designs of outdoor playhouses that I have seen. There are four sides to the Town House and this is where the flexibility in the play lies, something for every child.

I especially like the fact that the petrol station has a pump which is compatible with the Little Tike Cozy Coupe car we have, all the children in the garden have headed straight to that to fill up the car. The other most appealing side for boys seems to be the sports side with the football net and basketball hoop. The Boy doesn't take much notice of the fire station entrance at the moment, preferring to crawl in through the tyre hole in the petrol station side.

Construction was relatively easy, it took Mr. TheBoyandMe about an hour with some extremely useful help from The Boy. Tools needed included a drill and a screwdriver, that was it.

One person on their own will not manage it as it needs one person to pull the roof into shape, while the other screws from the inside-up to firmly attach the roof. The only thing that went wrong with the building was a mis-aligned screw from Mr. TheBoyandMe which unfortunately made a small perforation in the roof. Aside from that, it was quick and simple.

The Boy could not wait to get started on playing with the sports features, incidentally this remains his most favourite side of the house to date. 

One of the other features that I really like about it is the height, it is quite a bit higher than other playhouses I've seen, which means that he is going to get a good few years play from it. So much so that when a friend came over with her three children (8 years, 6 years and 2.5 years) they played with it for well over an hour, using every single one of the sides and really playing nicely together!


If you are looking for a sturdy, outdoor playhouse, then you would be hard-pushed to find a more adaptable and engaging one than this. The Boy adores it, and happy Boy means a happy mummy!

Thank you Little Tikes and Toys R Us!

The Little Tikes Town Playhouse is available to buy from Toys R Us online and in store for £314.99. For more Toys R Us reviews, please visit the ToyBox application on Facebook by clicking on the banner below.

We Were provided with this free of charge for review. My opinions are, as always, honest.

Folly Farm

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During the Summer holidays I celebrated my 34th birthday. I know, I don't look old enough.

In order to celebrate, we decided to head down to west Wales to spend the day at Folly Farm Adventure Park and Zoo. We'd last been there over five years ago with Mr. TheBoyandMe's nieces and nephew, and I couldn't wait to show The Boy the different farm animals, the old-fashioned funfair rides and the indoor play area. Plus, I had been champing at the bit to see the only giraffes in Wales.

FollyFarm is not a theme park, thank goodness. It's been going for over twenty years, initially as a farm diversification project and then when the owners' daughter and husband joined the management, they brought their Disneyland training with them to make it more of an adventure with rides and attractions for all ages.

At the heart of FollyFarm remains the Jolly Barn which is home to a huge variety of  farmyard friends: sheep, pigs, donkeys, horses, chickens, goats, etc. While this is now a small part of the various attractions, it remains my joint favourite section and is constantly filled with children under seven years, petting, grooming and learning about everyday farm animals.

My second favourite area of FollyFarm is the Vintage Funfair. This is seriously good fun! A stunning carousel proudly dominates the centre of it, but there are the other really traditional rides; the swing-chairs, the dodgems, ghost-train, fun-house and waltzers. There are also a whole heap of other rides for younger children, and this is the first time The Boy had experienced rides like this unattended. My heart was in my mouth the entire time, but he had such fun and I saw him grow up just a little bit more in front of my eyes.

The rides in this section require tokens, which cost 50p each. Most rides are only one token, very few are two tokens. While this is a nominal amount, with the entrance fee of £9.00 for adults and £8.00 concessions (peak times), spending much time in this zone could soon mount up for a family of four or more. The Vintage Funfair is a must-see element of FollyFarm (especially if it's raining), but you will need to budget it into your expenses.

The other area that I was really excited to see was the Folly Zoo, mainly because of the giraffes. There are many different zones, equating to habitats: Desert Heat, Australian Outback, African Reserve etc. This last one was, for me, the best. There are (from what I recall) six giraffes and their facilities are fabulous. They are absolutely thriving in their environment. The zebras are also magnificent specimens with a huge paddock area for roaming, running and being quite frisky in!

It was quite a chilly and wet day when we went there, and so we didn't spend a huge amount of time outside. However there are masses of areas and attractions for little, and big, ones to play on. They have had a ferris wheel installed since the last time we were there, but the JCBs, sand-diggers, ride-ons, adventure playgrounds are all still there and covered in swarming children. It's a very popular aspect of the park.

The central area is where most of the food outlets are. There's a range including the usual burger and chips, along with a family restaurant and a cafe (bizarrely there's also a fully-licensed bar), and a sandwich/light meals section. Hot drinks are around £1.50, a baguette £3.25, a baguette meal (including crisps and drink) is £5.35. These are average places for a tourist attraction. There are also two large areas (one indoor, one outdoor) for picnics, which is what we took with us. There are plenty of bins around and recycling facilities, along with people sweeping up dropped litter.

We had a good time in Folly Farm: the range of attractions are wide-ranging and aimed at family entertainment without a cacophony of sirens and screams, the facilities are good and the atmosphere is fun. The entrance fee does vary with season and there are additional costs for rides, so check the website before you go.

And one last thing, it's in West Wales and on a hillside: take a pac-a-mac with you, along with your sunscreen. When it's hot, it's a sun-trap and glorious. When it rains: don't let it spoil your fun!

We were provided with free entrance tickets for the purpose of this review. My opinion is, as always, honest.

TRU Review: Jack & Jill Game (Orchard Toys)

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The Boy is obsessed, seriously obsessed, with singing nursery rhymes at the moment. And he does so beautifully, right up until the time that I get the Flipcam or voice recorder on my phone out. Then he clams up and refuses to utter a sound. However, one way to get him singing it to play the 'Nursery Rhymes jigsaw set' with him. When the 'Jack and Jill game' from Orchard Toys was delivered for review in our recent Toyologist box, I saw an opportunity! He knew what the picture on the box was showing straight away and started singing it. Could I get the Flipcam out in time? What do you reckon?

This is a beautifully illustrated and brilliant game designed to encourage your little one's to communicate, share and play together nicely. I'm more and more aware of the need to develop The Boy's socialisation skills over the forthcoming months (Nursery next September, eek!) and so sharing is a target to work on.

The set contains:
* four double-sided boards,
* four different coloured character pieces and stands,
* a spinner
* a numbered die
* a coloured die

Each board has a coloured stone at the beginning of the path up the hill, this matches up with the colour of your Jack and Jill. The player boards are double-sided for differentiatied playing. One side has coloured spots on each stone in the path; the other side has a plain stone path. The spinner has six sections on it; three wells and three spilt buckets. It is worth noting that the wells sections are bigger than the spilt buckets, which means the chance of having to 'move back' a space is lower than moving forward. Always a good thing with little ones who want to be the winner!

Players roll the colour-spot die, move their Jack and Jill card to that matching stone on the path and then spin the spinner. If the arrow stops on a well, then the player stays on that stone; if it lands on a spilled bucket then they must move back to the beginning. Play then moves to the next player who repeats the process. Obviously, the first person to reach the top of the hill, and the well, wins.

In the counting game, the numbered die is used. The only difference between the coloured game and the numbered game is the obvious one: move the number of places shown on the die, not to that colour. This variant of the game is designed for older children than three who have a better understanding of counting.

We have just used the colour game so far as The Boy is too young to try the counting game, additionally we've not used the spinner with him because he didn't understand why he had to go back to the beginning once he'd started to move up the path. However, this is one of the things that I love about Orchard Toys; the games are adaptable to the needs of your child. Technically this game is for three years and older, but The Boy is two and he is capable of playing it and enjoying it.

I tested the two 'proper' levels out on my five year old nephew and eight year old niece, and they both understood them and thoroughly enjoyed them.

This game is brilliant fun and of course, encourages your little one's development in various ways:

  • identification of colours and matching (colour on die to stone on path) is a mathematical and pre-counting skill
  • counting the number of spaces to move from the number on the die
  • turn-taking develops social interaction
  • language skills are developed through singing the nursery rhymes, following instructions and discussion.

Do you know what Mr. TheBoyandMe and I have always wondered though about that rhyme?

Who on Earth builds a well at the top of a hill?

The 'Jack and Jill' game is available in-store at Toys R Us. For more reviews, please click the banner below.

A Special Birthday Delivery

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Can you believe that Postman Pat has been going 30 years? I know, me neither! Although, I used to watch it as a child, and seeing as though I'm 34 now, it shouldn't come as a surprise. However, it is true: Postman Pat, celebrates 30 years of delivery adventure this September. As the longest running animated TV series on the BBC, Postman Pat has captivated audiences for three decades and will be celebrating his birthday in style this autumn with a very 'special delivery'.

I don't know what it is about Pat that draws people in, and I say people because it's not just little ones that like him, parents enjoy watching his stories too. Well, we certainly do. However, we never seem to catch him at the right time of day, therefore when we were sent an advance copy of the limited edition ‘Happy Birthday Pat’ DVD to review, I was over the moon.

This special DVD will be available from 12thSeptember from all retailers, and includes eight special episodes with more than three hours of fun.

"Everyone in Greendale is helping to arrange a surprise party for a special someone’s birthday… Postman Pat! The preparations are underway with kids, adults and even Ted’s machines helping out.  But all the while Pat thinks friends and family have forgotten his special day.  Will everything go to plan and be ready in time for the big surprise?"

There's also a free limited edition party CD with 15 tracks to sing along to; we've been listening to it while doing craft activities and The Boy has started dancing to it.

I really would recommend buying this DVD as it is excellent value and is traditional Postman Pat at his very best!

For more frivolity visit www.postmanpat.com

We were provided with this DVD for the purpose of this review. Our honest opinions of him are based on thirty years watching (although clearly not continuosly) and our enjoyment.

Postman Pat images: Postman Pat© 2010. Woodland Animations Limited.  Original writer John Cunliffe.  Lic. Royal Mail Group plc.

TRU Review: North Pole Camouflage

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Written by Mr. TheBoyandMe who has commandeered this game.

I'm starting to suspect that, somewhere in a deep dark basement, the people who run Smart Games have Ernő Rubik tied to a desk and forced to invent games for them (and not simply as punishment for inventing the Rubik's Clock).

With Camouflage North Pole, Smart Games have another head-scratcher on their hands. 48 different pictures, each representing a different arctic landscape, make up the individual levels of difficult, whilst six mostly transparent pieces are provided that fit into a four-by-four frame; each has either a polar bear, a fish or both printed on it. The challenge is simply to lay these six pieces onto the map so that all the polar bears are on the land and the fish are in the sea!

It takes a few levels to get the hang of how to play, so its advantageous that the first 12 levels give the position of one of the pieces. Once past there, the difficulty ramps up nicely to the verging-on-impossible Expert levels.

One aspect that has been thought through specifically is the packaging; Camouflage itself comes in a rigid plastic box that the individual level cards fit snugly into along with the six puzzle pieces, with a recess in the lid to complete the puzzles in.

As games go, it lacks the “fun” element present in its stablemate “Anti-Virus” that can keep younger children trying different solutions for hours upon end. However, the frustration factor of “just one more try” means that elder children are likely to return to the individual puzzles again and again until they finally crack them.

For more Toyologist reviews, please click the banner and visit the Toy Box on Facebook.

We were provided with this game, free of charge, in order to review it for the Toyologist programme. Mr. TheBoyandMe's opinion is unbiased and honest.

LeapFrog Tag Junior Reading System

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I'll admit to being sceptical about this when I heard that I was going to have it to review. I had misunderstood its purpose, thinking it was more complicated than it is, and I will retract all of my scepticism now.

Because this is fab!

The reading system comprises of the handheld device and the specially created story books. The little handheld gadget is very cute and fits nicely into the palm of a two year old (aimed at 2-4 year olds).There is a very simple on-off button and when the Tag Junior is pressed down against one of the books, the reader in it interprets the specially embedded dots in the surface of the books. Most of the books have over 150 sounds attached to them, not just the written word, but the pictures and even the background have sounds accompanying it.

Set-up is a little bit of a pain because it requires you to connect it to an Internet-accessible computer, download software for each book and then install it onto the Tag Junior. I'd say it took half an hour to do this for the five books that we were provided with, so set-up is definitely needed before letting your little one lose on it. However, I love that you can program your child's name into it, so when it is turned on it greets him, and turned off it says goodbye personally. The downside to the downloading (ooh, that was clever of me) is not only the time, but also that only five books can be stored at any point. While there is a library of over twenty books available, if you wanted to put a sixth one on, you'd have to remove one of those books to upload the other.

I've got to say how completely and utterly indestructable the Tag Junior appears to be! Ok we haven't dropped it into water or driven a car over it, but The Boy has given it a fair few drops on different surfaces and it just rolls along undamaged.

The Tag Junior comes with a book to get you started: , and we were sent four others to review.

  • If I Were: This starter book, which comes with the Tag Junior, is a really endearing story of a little boy imagining his toy animals in their natural habitats. Written in prose, there are amusing sound effects.
  • ABC Animal Orchestra: for each letter of the alphabet there is an illustration of an animal playing an instrument, e.g. Baboon's bassoon. The letter name is pronounced (I'd have preferred the letter sound), the musical instrument sound is played and the words are read out.
  • Toy Story 3 To Imagination and Beyond: The story to this is quite an entertaining one with plenty of sound effects. Unfortunately the voices are not the original ones which doesn't affect The Boy's enjoyment but I find irritating.
  • Cars 2 World Adventure: This is aimed at the older end of the spectrum for the Tag Junior system I suspect. There's not many sounds, the cars' voices are again not the original ones and quite difficult to understand. It's informative rather than fun, although it does introduce the 'reader' to different cultures around the world.
  • Thomas & Friends Best Friends: This is The Boy's favourite, and mine, and daddy's! The story is really lovely, there are plenty of sounds embedded throughout to keep him entertained, and it is the one book out of all five that he keeps going back to.

I would thoroughly recommend this as a way of developing your child's enjoyment of reading books.

For more reviews on this item, please click on the banner below.

We were provided with the Tag Junior reading system and software titles free of charge as a part of the Toys R Us review programme. My opinion is, as always, honest as both a parent and a teacher.

It's Party Time!

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It never fails to amaze me the absolute tat that people put into their child's party bags. I know, it's appalling isn't it? I am a party bag snob.

Ok perspective here: a friend's son's 1st birthday party bags contained Refresher chewy lollies, sherbet sweets, balloons and those little army men thingies. For one year olds. ONE! Another bag from another friend contained more appropriate items (he was three) including a foam pirate hat, a little spy-glass and a packet of buttons.

Now don't get me wrong, I know party bags are a relatively new commodity. When I was a child, we were sent off with a slice of cake. Nowadays, they are expensive business and it is difficult to spend less than £1.50 or £2.00 on each bag, and if you want to put anything other than plastic cracker fillings in it, then you're struggling. I was a few months ago when I was trying to do The Boy's 2nd birthday party bags.

Which is why you should investigate The Enchanted Party Shop.

They sell the whole caboodle: the bags (including nice fabric, resuable ones), party hats, balloons, toys, games, sweets and chocolates. All perfect for filling your child's party bags with age appropriate and quality goods at prices that won't have your purse weeping.

We were sent a boy's party bag as an example of the types of goods that are sold:

I was thoroughly impressed with this bag (which was assembled for the purpose of this review) and the quality of the items included.

  • yellow, wooden ladybird yo-yo = 89p
  • blue, wooden watch is elasticated for easing wearing and has moving hands = £1.40
  • multi-coloured wooden tamtam = £1.00
  • animal stickers = 80p
  • blue raspberry rock = 50p
  • swirly lollipop = 52p
  • pirate ring = 60p

Obviously the quantity of items sent were to highlight the range. In The Boy's party bags I tend to include a decent toy, a little chocolate, a slice of cake, maybe a hat or a blower or something, and I try very hard not to spend more thatn £2.00 a bag. Clearly the amazing range that The Enchanted Party Shop stock allows for this to be possible, and find quality items to suit your theme, age of child and budget. When I was browsing around the store, I also came across these items which I really liked:

  • wooden animal clappers = £1.20
  • farm stickers with playsheet = 40p
  • novelty chocolate frogs = 34p
  • wooden spinning tops = 90p
  • wind-up chattering teeth = 25p

I know that I will definitely be visiting The Enchanted Party Shop for The Boy's next birthday, and quite possibly if my toddler group needs goodies for the Hallowe'en or Christmas parties!

We were sent a party bag to review. My opinion, as always, is honest.

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