NumberJacks are on their way (out the door) (Numberjacks Annual 2009)

Member Name: cmh4135

Product:	Numberjacks Annual 2009
Date:	06/02/09 (117 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good theming

Disadvantages: Nothing new and aimed at a muddled age group

Annuals are the thing that childhoods are made of. I recall, as a child, being thrilled to receive a Bunty annual. It was familiar territory, deeply unsatisfying, yet, somehow, thrilling stuff. I didn't think that I'd be entering annual territory again quite so soon but, at the tender age of 2 ½ my son received his first annual - Numberjacks 2009.

The thrill was obvious. Would the annual live up to my recollection of all that makes annuals good?

Whilst said 2 year old is clearly enthralled by the book I suspect that (a) he's a little too young to really understand and (b) that were he older he'd think much the same as me.... it's a poor offering.

The style of the annual is typically "comic". It's your typical mix of stories, facts and activities. However there's nothing new. All of the stories are condensed versions of the TV scripts with the pictures being screen shots together with a couple of comic characters. Not only are the scripts condensed, they're badly condensed. They're condensed in such a way that even a 2 year old can tell (and he's only seen the programme a few times). They lack flow.

Interspersed through the text of the stories are little questions designed to check understanding of the text. I'm really not sure who these are aimed at. For the child who can read they are patronising in the extreme. For the child who needs the story read to them they make no sense - it's over-parenting at its worst. If you can't interact with your child when reading then these questions aren't going to add much.

The activity pages are similarly confusing. The questions are too simple for those who could read alone and rather like an exercise book if viewed from the perspective of the child who can't read. At 2 ½ I can honestly say that my son is unchallenged by any of the questions - it's an odd pitch. There are a few activities which require the child to draw or write on the book. Personally I have an issue with this - children should learn not to draw on books. Maybe if the books contained wipe clean pages or even detachable activity pages? Whatever, you do the task once and it's done forever. And you've taught your child to draw in books.

The rest of the book is stuffing. You have the words to the Numberjacks songs and pages explaining who the Numberjacks are and where they live. Frankly, this is not an annual that will appeal to a child who has no clue who the Numberjacks are, and any child who has seen the programme a couple of times will be more than aware of who, what and where.

At the end there's the compulsory promotion of the Numberjacks magazine. Marketing at its worst.

I'm really not sure who this was aimed at. It would have been nice to have some new things there. It would have been good to see something other than poorly condensed scripts and lyrics. I find it very odd that a 2 ½ year old has no issues with the problems posed and questions asked. Either I have a very bright son or the publishers pitched it wrong.

Either way I wouldn't recommend this and it won't be on the Christmas list for next year.

Summary: A poor annual