DVD Review: Bob the Builder On Site: Houses and Playgrounds

August 21, 1:01 PMEarly Childhood Parenting ExaminerAngele Sionna

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Bob the Builder is back with a new DVD. The best way to describe it is a combination of Bob the Builder meets TV handyman Bob Villa.

Bob the Builder On Site: Houses and Playgrounds is informative for kids and adults alike. My two year old daughter Ava loves cars, trains, bugs and other "boy" things just as much as her princesses and ponies. And now I've found out I can add Bob and his other animated buddies to the list.

Houses and Playgrounds is really entertaining and educational. Kids learn all that goes into building houses and playgrounds. Bob includes information on how to build an environmentally friendly house using solar panels and recycled materials where possible. (A nice little extra for moms like me who are trying to teach eco-consciousness whenever and wherever I can.) They even build a dog house, which Ava particularly enjoyed.

Bob goes back and forth between his cartoon world and the real world helping kids to understand. I learned a thing or two myself about how houses are made, plus now I know what to do if we decide to put a playground set in our own backyard or build our dog Clarkie his own dog house finally. Another fun part (which I knew Ava would love) are the big rig construction machinery that rolls out to help in the building process in the real world.

At first I was worried that it was over Ava's head when they started explaining how the house is built. It kept her attention and she even asked to watch it later that night, the next morning, and so on. So now I'm happy with it's level of explanation because we can keep watching this DVD for several years to come.

The whole DVD is 100 minutes, including the "Fireman Sam" bonus episode. Ava didn't care too much for the "Fireman Sam" episode and asked to watch the house segment again instead. I think we'll be tuning in to see Bob and his buds build more things. The new season of his PBS show Bob the Builder - Project Build It airs next month.