After Big Jake informs Jay Jay that he is ready for his first solo delivery route, children help the friendly plane pick up six special packages and get them back to Tarrytown Airport. Kids visit such places as Smiling Meadow, Lightning Bug Lake, and Frosty Pines, where multi-level learning activities await. At Ridgeway Airport, Jay Jay discovers that the runway is in bad shape. In order to repair it, players need to place puzzle pieces onto the runway. Once the track is in place, a package is earned! At Easy O'Malley's Ranch, children listen to clues and click on all the animals that match Oscar's description. For example, kids may need to "click on the only animal that has babies called fawns". Other activities help reinforce number and color recognition, require children to match sound patterns, and involve measuring objects ("how many trees high is this slide?).

Children can adjust the difficulty levels in any activity. There are three difficulty levels to choose from, and each level provides slightly different challenges, all of which are age-appropriate. In the activity at Frosty Pines, for example, children must help Jay Jay's friend "ski" down a wintry hill by moving him past numbered flags that Jay Jay requests, ten times over. On the easiest level, children must recognize the numbers 1-10; on level 2, players need to identify numbers up to 20; and on the highest level, children solve addition problems.

Once all of the packages have been collected and returned to the airport, Jay Jay gets a surprise, and children can enjoy a simple coloring activity. Though the ending sequence is fun, it is less engaging than the one in the other Jay Jay title, Sky Heroes to the Rescue.

The program includes plenty of sharply-rendered videos (short videos introduce the activities) and live-action video clips that feature Brenda Blue. These latter videos teach children some nature facts.

The program's strengths include an easy-to-understand interface, plenty of Jay Jay, and positive themes (after all, Jay Jay is "never too busy to help a friend"). However, instructions for the games cannot be bypassed with a click of the mouse. Although feedback from the characters is encouraging, it is repetitive and quickly becomes a nuisance. Even when kids return to activities they have already played, they must sit through the instructions again. Additionally, incorrect answers prompt a "try again" instead of some form of help. Nevertheless, for young fans of the television show, this title is very straightforward to play and the educational content is age-appropriate.

Technically Speaking
Minimum system requirements are Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP, Pentium 266 MHz, 64 MB RAM, 16-bit DirectX-compatible 2MB memory video card, and 8X CD-ROM. Mac users require a G3 266 MHz or faster, System 8.6-9.2, OS X in Classic Mode, 64 MB RAM (32 MB free RAM), and 8X CD-ROM. The program requires 35 MB of hard drive space.

Skills Covered
Children develop skills in number recognition (1-20), addition, sorting, color recognition, sound patterns, pattern recognition, observation, following directions, shape recognition, measurement, and mouse skills.

Educational Value
Each activity provides three levels of age-appropriate educational content. The games are not particularly original, but they are educationally sound.

Entertainment Value
The featured games are simple and rather fun. The opportunity to play and learn with popular PBS characters will draw young fans to the software.

Design
Testers complained that they were unable to click through instructions that were no longer necessary. However, the program's interface is very easy to understand for young players.

Replayability
Although three difficulty levels are offered, the program's six activities can be worked through rather quickly. Once the mission is complete, there is little incentive to play the game over again. The first time through, however, should be quite enjoyable for Jay Jay fans.

Dollar Value
This title retails for $19.99 US.