Buddy Brush and the Painted Circus

System Requirements: Macintosh OS System 7.5 or higher, 120 MHz PowerPC or faster, 16MB RAM, 8X CD-ROM Drive, 20 MB hard disk space, Apple Sound Manager 3.0

Windows 95/98 100 MHz Pentium or faster, 16MB RAM, 8X CD-ROM Drive, 20 MB hard disk space, 16 bit PCM Sound Card

Buddy Brush Painted Circus is the big tent in a box. The set includes a cardboard circus scene, a coloring and activity booklet (includes finger puppets), and an interactive CD-Rom which doubles as an audio CD. Seven of the 24 tracks are historic circus music played by the Heritage Circus Band. Other songs include "Hobo Hop," "Caught on Candy," and "Buddy Bop." All of the music is light, cheerful, and appealing to both kids and grown-ups.

My sons, ages 1 and 4, were entranced with the warm mix of color and music as we played the CD-Rom together. First you watch a circus train meander across the countryside, then five colorful circus wagons roll off.

The Prop Wagon is the one on the left. Click on it for a musical painting activity. Choose one of ten props in the wagon. Each prop will lead you to a picture to color. Each time you choose a color an instrumental phrase will be played. The more colors you use, the more complex the tune becomes. Children are intrigued with experimenting with combinations of both sound and color. These masterpieces are printable.

The Clown Wagon is to the right. There are three things to do here. Click on the closet and play a clown matching game. Match hats with costumes and watch Buddy come to life in full color and animate. Or if you are feeling creative click on the rack of clothes and go to another musical painting activity. Here you can color the costumes as you like while you compose a tune. Every clown needs the perfect face paint. Click on the mirror to help Buddy put on a whimsical circus face.

Once both the Prop Wagon and Clown Wagon have been visited, two more wagons pop up to full size. The red tent is the Juggling Tent. Buddy Brush is waiting inside for you to help him choose from eight different props including a chair, can of paint, and a box of popcorn. Up to five props may be chosen at a time. Different combinations will result in different animations. The Acrobat Tent is yellow. Buddy is ready for his balancing act. Decide whether he should perform on the high wire, swing, or platform. Then choose up to four out of the eight props. A ladder, a suitcase, and a bucket of water! Good luck Buddy!

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