For more than 40 years, Sesame Street has delighted and taught children around the world. Heck, even I watched it as a kid back in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Now your kids can have fun and learn with Big Bird and the gang with Cookie’s Counting Carnival and Elmo’s A to Zoo Adventure for Wii and DS (Wii versions reviewed here).

In Cookie’s Counting Carnival, your kids will join Cookie Monster and Big Bird for a day at the fair (shouldn’t The Count be at the Counting Carnival?). They’ll learn basic math skills like counting, number recognition, pattern recognition, size comparison, shape identification, and basic addition skills. Knock over the correct number of cans in the arcade, serve monsters the correct number of fruit at the food court, help Cookie ring the bell a certain number of times in the Strongman game, use the Wii remote like a pump and compare balloon sizes, and add monsters in roller coaster carts at the Midway. Plus much more.

In Elmo’s A to Zoo Adventure, your kids will go on a safari with Elmo and Zoe and learn about animals and the alphabet. They’ll practice letter recognition, upper and lower case letter matching, phonics and letter sounds, and basic reading and spelling skills. Listen to parrots and match the same letter of the alphabet they say. Spell animal words with a group of monkeys. And much more.

Controls for the game are very simple for young players. To make a selection, just tilt the Wii remote, and push the “2” button to pick your answer. Sometimes you must use the Wii remote like a scoop to pick up rubber ducks in the water, or like a pump to blow up balloons. There are always spoken instructions and picture cues every time you play. Only problem with the controls is that you really have to tilt and jerk the remote around to make a selection. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but the picture cues show the remote only being gently tilted, which may confuse young players.

There is a special parents section where adults can see how many games their young ones have played, limit the number of times they can play games in one sitting, and other options. Also, the parent assist mode lets older players take over the game temporarily with a second Wii remote if a kid needs help. Make sure to read the instruction booklet on how to do this, though. One small problem is that once you start a game, you can’t go back to the main menu, you’ll have to reset. I can understand why they did this, but it’s still a bit of a pain.

The coolest thing about these games is they come with a remote cover. They’re soft and treaded on the bottom and are meant for young gamers to help them hold the controls easier. Plus they look so darn cute. But they aren’t perfect. There is no hole at the top, so you can only use these covers while playing these games. You will have to put them on after the game has started and take them off when finished. Still, I think they’re pretty spiffy and might even protect your remotes from grimy kid hands. Heck, if they made a green Oscar the Grouch one, I might just use it myself! 🙂

Young players will love learning with these games, but they might get a teeny bit frustrated at the controls. Plus the games are a tad bit short, and it’s hard to tell if the game changes difficulty depending on your child’s performance. Even so, it’s great to see such learning games like this on the Wii. Both are rated EC for Early Childhood. In the comments section, let me know who YOUR favorite Sesame Street character is (mine is Oscar).

Tags: Game Reviews