publication date: Sep 4, 2007
Toby's allegiance to
Dora has endured eighteen months and
shows no sign of
stopping despite an
obsession with trains and "
big boys programmes" like
Numberjacks!
Dora is a
bi-lingual explorer with a
tomboyish nature and a
good line in
t-shirts and
shorts. Her
clothing goes a long way in
helping engage boys who would otherwise
lose interest. My example, Toby immediately
associates Disney's "
girlie" princesses with his
cousin Lydia, but they can
both enjoy Dora. Dora's
companion on her
adventures is her little
red boot-wearing friend,
Boots the
monkey. Episodes never
deviate from the
winning formula as
Dora and
Boots are
helped on a
three-stage journey by her
talking Backpack and Map,
solving puzzles and
helping people along the way.
Episodes are set out like
computer adventure games with a
mouse showing the
different decisions that Dora and the viewers will make. Dora
pauses for
responses and our two and a half year old is more than
happy to give them. There is just the r
ight amount of repetitiveness to keep him
satisfied, such as the
simple songs sung by the map and the backpack, as well as Dora's
signature song, "Vamonos," "let's go" in Spanish (as any Dora fan will be able to tell you!). At the same time,
new characters, like Dora's cousins Diego and Daisy, turn up to keep things
interesting.
This DVD includes
two episodes which
celebrate Dora's
family: in
Big Sister Dora, Dora and Boots have some e
xciting news and
hurry home to meet a
new family member. On the way, they
guess whether the
baby will be a
boy or a
girl and the
episode ends with a l
ovely surprise. In
Dora Saves the Game, Dora's cousin
Daisy is playing in a big
football game and the
family have
gathered to watch her play
on TV. Daisy's
team is missing a
player, can Dora reach the
sports stadium in time to help
save the game?
There are also
two bonus episodes
Job Day and
A Letter for Swiper.
Why do I like
Dora? She's
resourceful and always
solves her adventures by being
clever at
riddles or
counting and she is
physically active. Dora is
entertaining and
educational, I can't think of
another character that has taught
toddlers basic
Spanish phrases. The
formulaic style appeals to
boys and
girls and
Toby does find Dora very "
cute". Dora
teaches, but in the best way
possible, as children are
having too much
fun with the show to
realise they're actually
learning something in the
process.
To order the DVD from Amazon please click the link below:
Dora - Big Sister Dora [2004]
