When I was a child (which wasn?t really that long ago - honest), I used to be a big fan of Sesame Street and Big Bird in particular because he was "the man". Later on, I found out that he wasn?t real and was played by a women but in my eyes he will always be a real, talking, walking, educational bird.

So you can probably imagine my delight when, last year, I was shopping for my little cousin?s birthday in the toy department of Woolworths and came across Peek-a-boo Big Bird. Immediately I had no hesitation but to buy him, not as a birthday present, but for myself - at last I could have my very own Big Bird.

However, he is no ordinary Big Bird - oh no, he can talk and play and is a really good friend to have. Obviously, the older you are the whole "Big Bird Ideal" is lost as you really want one that you can go out shopping with, help with the housework and go to a club with. However for a child, this is the perfect interactive buddy.

I would say that this particular Big Bird would be best suited to children over two years old so that they would be able to understand and play his games. There are four different games that can be played:

** Pat-a-cake: When you clap his hands together, he recites the Pat-a-cake rhyme in his distincitve voice

** This little piggy: If you press his toes he begins to recite "This little piggy went to market" . You have to press each of his three toes to hear the full rhyme.

** Tickle me: As with a lot of the Sesame Street toys, if you press his tummy he starts to laugh.

** Peek-a-boo: When you cover and uncover his eyes he shouts "peek-a-boo" at the top of his little voice. However as the peek-a-boo function is controlled by a light sensor, whenever there is a change in light density eg. going from a dark room to a bright one or switching on a light, you will hear that familiar voice.

The toy itself is bright yellow and
instantly recognisable as being Big Bird. His voice is remarkably similar to the real thing too. He is very soft apart from his eyes and beak and because of this, he may not be suitable for very young children.

He is a decent size, about 17 inches/43cm (yes, I measured him!!) and you can replace his batteries (unlike some talking toys). He takes standard AA ones but I have had mine for about eighteen months and the original batteries are still going strong although his voice is a good bit quieter. This is actually okay because it was very loud in the first place.

If, like me, you find his voice to be a bit too loud at first then you can quieten him down by covering his main speaker. I have found that black tape is very effective to wrap around the speaker which is not too difficult to take out of his tummy (but obviously a child couldn?t get at it because it is hidden). When the batteries are a few months old, you can then remove the tape to boost the volume again.

The only thing about this particular Big Bird is that he may be a bit hard to find as he was first available about two years ago priced around £20.00. However, I have seen him recently in some toyshops so he is still available - usually for half price.

So if you have children or are a big kid like me then Peek-a-boo Big Bird is lots of fun to have around and I have to say that he is my new best friend. If only I could teach him to type so that he could be a dooyooer too!