I’ve been reluctant to do reviews lately; PR companies are still getting in touch, but I’m going with “if it doesn’t interest/apply to me or The Smalls, or prove you haven’t read my blog by starting your email with ‘Dear Mocah Bean Mommy’ then you can bet I’m going to say no.”
Out of the blue, the very lovely Harry Jones got in touch with an email that started off “Hi Jay, I love your blog! I have been reading lots of parenting/kids blogs recently and found yours one of the most honest and humorous out there. Watching you, Noah and Isaac reviewing the Zingzilla’s album was hilarious!” Well, I couldn’t say no, could I?
Harry was offering the opportunity to review something called “The Land of Me”, an interactive, digital story book which you play with kids from 2 years old on a mac or PC. On downloading it to my MacBook Pro, my first reaction? Absolutely BRILLIANT. Remember those books you had as a kid where you could literally create your own story by choosing options as you went along? Well this is very much like that. Only a million times better and suitable for tiddlers up to as old as you dare push it. Literally like stepping in to a whole new world where the child has control, there’s so much interactive fun to be had.
One thing that struck me straight away was how this was helping Noah’s speech improve, and how (since doing the vlog) he was starting to recognise more words. Anything that can do that is a WIN in my book. Geeze, I could rave on about this for MONTHS.
But instead? Best just watch the vlog. 
Interested? (You SHOULD be…) Here’s the info:
It is an interactive, digital story book which you play with young children on a mac or PC. It inspires creativity, conversation, fun and learning. There are six chapters to go adventuring in, covering subjects like Shape, Size and Colour, Rhythm & Dance and Story Time.
You can also discover over 100 free printable activities like masks to make, puzzles to complete and games to play. Unlike any other computer game for children, The Land of Me combines traditional illustration and animation with cutting edge technology to bring you an interactive, captivating learning experience that’s a lot of fun too!
The best thing to do is to check out the video on our homepage and just click ‘watch video’. The first chapter is free to download from our website. We also publish activity books and sell all 6 chapters as a DVD Rom for £29.95.
**This product was sent to me for free on the proviso it was to be reviewed and shown on this blog. And I’m glad I did, because me and The Smalls think it’s awesome.
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Watched this review with hubby and baby and that's saying something as hubby NEVER looks at blogs. Really enjoyed it. Would get it if Aaron was a little older.
Liska x
Hi Liska
How old is Aaron? I have to say, Isaac isn't even 2 yet and he REALLY enjoyed watching what was happening and pointing at various things on the screen. I'd say you could easily get away with 5 – 10 mins at a time from the age of a year, if only to read the visual stories to them. Aged 2 upwards, that's when there's a surprising amount they can do for themselves. Either way, I reckon it's entertainment for all. My kiddos haven't enjoyed any other product as much as this!
Hi,
I wasn't expecting a reply…. oooooh….
He's 8 months going on 18
I will download the first chapter as it says. Only just read the "" but now as had only read your intro and watched the video before. £29 seems reasonable.
I'll let you know how Ch.1 goes.
Liska
Hi
I love your blog (not least because I like the style – I'm with wordpress and can't find anything as lovely).
I am a teacher of learners with dyslexia and trying out transmedia storytelling with primary kids. I heard about The Land of Me through work and bought it for my grandchildren (3 tomorrow and 7 soon) for Christmas. Their mum and dad are not convinced so haven't given the time to take a look. I'll send them this link to try to persuade them!
Otherwise I might have to hijack the littlies and see for myself!
Thanks
Ahw thank you for your lovely comment! (PS If you want design help then just give me a shout – I edited this one myself)
I just have one response to this – HIJACK!! Seriously. I suspect many parents won't be interested for various reasons, whether it's technology, time or whatever, but at the end of the day, multimedia and IT is the way our children are moving forwards. I still love traditional storybooks, don't get me wrong. The Smalls have more books than I do, they're EVERYWHERE. But this somehow seems to improve on the storybook and importantly, the kids learn a lot and ENJOY IT in the process. As an ex-teacher myself, the most important thing was that learning be made fun.
You're welcome to get the parents to drop me an email anytime, or if they're on twitter you can find Made In Me:
Best of luck and keep me posted!
Thanks so much. We may well be in touch!
I'm reviewing this just now it really is great x
I fell in love with the free download of this when Jay mentioned it on Twitter – instant like (no love) for this product. K'Boo was mesmorised and it captured her attention and imagination in seconds. She loved changing themoptions, which make perfect sense and the characters are so different from what you normaly expect in children's books these days – a found them 'friendly' as opposed to 'in your face' or 'colourfully addictive' like a lot of characters we introduce to our kids these days (and then the merchandise to go with it). You could play this over and over and change the story each time. It does give your child the control to change the story and this is a great way to teach them 'choice', independance in reading, how to use the computer and how to best use their imagination when immersing into books.
I'm cringing with jealousy that I don't have this to review – but will most likely buy it anyway (possibly for when we return home after Easter – away in Canada). I think that you get a lot for your money, given that there are 6 chapters and lots and lots of crafty stuff to download too. Go and check out their website now and download the 'freebie' – you know you want to!