An overwhelming theme of the reviews of Bob the Builder On Site: Roads and Bridges is the “can’t peel ‘em away” property that this DVD has. Just as reported in the first set of reviews, Bob entertains existing fans, construction aficionados, and those for whom Bob was brand-new. Alas, one otherwise-inclined girl decided she wasn’t that into Bob; however, her mom says “I have known plenty of construction-vehicle obsessed children, however, that I’m sure would love a movie like this. Most of my fellow testers… said their kids were fascinated by it. I think it’s just that my daughter is not all that into construction vehicles.” Bob crossed gender-lines, too: several reviewers had enthusiastic daughters giving the DVD their seal of approval, just as in the first set of reviews.

Sure, it was a fun DVD, but Bob the Builder On Site: Roads and Bridges isn’t just plain entertainment: one reviewer noted ”We found it very educational and informative which is always a great thing for children’s videos. Another reviewer admitted her own lack of knowledge was rectified by this program, “I thought cement and concrete were the same thing. Nope! Concrete is cement mixed with rocks. Ooops. And before watching this DVD, I’d probably lay a road right on top of dirt without digging down first. Double-ooops! She isn’t the only mom who enjoyed the education-for-adults: “I visit job sites on a regular basis. I have my own steel toe boots and hardhat. So I was thrilled to see this DVD that breaks down construction in understandable language.” Although kids are used to creating things in the sand, one reviewer notes: “when your kids are building their road in the sandbox, they can make sure they don’t use shoddy construction practices! Bob even gets into simple engineering problems and makes it understandable for toddlers.”

The enthusiasm about the DVD didn’t stop with seeing it over and over again. Instead, the reviewer-kids ended up inspired to continue the construction-theme in their homes: “The footage of really big machines made [my son] run to his room, grab a “digger” and come back to fix our living room floor into a road.” one reviewer explained. And it didn’t stop there: “Of course, I then had to read our whole library of big machine books immediately after we were done watching the show together but, hey, I’m all about the books so I didn’t mind all that much!” Another reviewer also noticed her boys gravitated towards the “Bob” themed books after watching this DVD.

Of course several reviewers’ kids were motivated to build their own construction sites: check out the photographs of a road built with “toy trucks, cookie sheets and cornmeal” and of “the only toddler in his preschool class who could manage a project site.”

Our reviewers had a couple critiques: “The only downside is that I wished the other members of Bob’s team were vocally present. It just didn’t seem right for them to be there but not speak.” said one. Another wasn’t sure about its running-time: “The length of this video is both a drawback and a plus. At one hour, it’s beyond a TV episode but short of a movie. I typically like my kids’ viewing fare in short chunks, so I can limit TV time without drawing howls of protest. Our review copy of this DVD doesn’t have scene selection… so it’s harder to skip forward and back if you want to catch certain parts only. Then again… sometimes Mama needs an hour to get something done.”

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