One thing that is as sure as night following day is that little children will love tractors! Whenever they spot a tractor working in a field they are spellbound. Something about the oversized vehicles is mesmerising to toddlers who can watch them for hours. It is from this that Tractor Ted was born. Using real life footage and photos, the first DVD Tractor Ted in Tractorland, was made. Not only do children enjoy watching the tractors in action, they learn about where healthy food comes from, caring for the environment and the fun of the outdoors.
Tractor Ted combines real life facts and fun to create an entertaining and educational brand that children will love. The range has expanded to include DVDs, books, clothing, toys and gifts. We were delighted to receive some lovely Tractor Ted products to try for ourselves.
My first impressions were that I loved the branding. The photography is lovely and colourful and Tractor Ted is a very appealing character. The logo gives all the products a strong identity making them instantly recognisable as being part of the Tractor Ted range.
We received the Mighty Maize Machine DVD. Tractor Ted visits two farms, a cow and a sheep dairy, where he meets the amazing forage harvester that is busy making silage from the maize and grass. The film is packed with machines such as mowers, feed wagons, rakes and JCBs. The running time is 40 minutes. Tractor Ted's narration is very informative (sometimes to the point of being quite technical). It's a bit like a mini-guide to farming in parts, which older farm fanatics will enjoy, but it was a bit too grown up to hold 2 year old Fred's attention. There are catchy, original songs alongside the imagery of life at the farm, and they did capture Fred's imagination. Don't expect a fictional story, this is educational, packed full of farming facts and the real life day to day work of farmers. This is the latest DVD in the range that now has fifteen titles to choose from. They are compatible with the Early Years Foundation Stage.
Tractor Ted Meets the Animals is a lovely 32 page picture book featuring farm animals. It explores cows, pigs and sheep, where they live and what they eat. It also shows you all the machinery used in the care of the animals including feed wagons and muck spreaders. The photography is lovely and the paper is thick and glossy. It is a really great quality book. The wording is simple but really factual and educational. There are some activities at the back of the book for little ones to do. Freddy really liked the pictures of the animals and machines. There are seven titles for your little bookworm!
The plate, bowl and cup Breakfast Set would make a lovely gift that any tractor mad tot will adore. Made of solid melamine the pieces are really robust and practical. The striking machinery design is eyecatching with the Tractor Ted logo in a central position smiling at you while you eat!
I love the idea of having Tractor Ted in the bottom of the cup encouraging children to drink up! The three piece set comes in a gift box making it a lovely present for any young child. The range of gifts includes a rucksack, jigsaw, placemat, toys and plenty more tractor related goodies! There is even a Tractor Ted Chocolate!! The merchandise is definitely suitable for even the youngest tractor fans.
The website www.tractorland.co.uk is wonderful for both kids and adults. As well as the online shop, the Tractor Ted site has fun games, pictures and video clips. There is a blog keeping readers up to date with news from the farm. Ted's even got his own fan club!
The DVDs are £9.99, Books are £4.99 and the Breakfast Set is £19.99. There are often special offers on the site so check back regularly!
Although the DVD was a bit old for Freddy, he loved the book and the Breakfast Set. Older children with a passion for farming and tractors will love the DVDs, and they do offer something quite unique and educational.
