A hit with a 9-year-old
597848
When my grandson saw I'd gotten him the latest Rick Riordan novel, he came running at me with a big hug. Now, that says a lot about an author having a well-earned, great reputation for delivering an engaging story.
4408070
My 9-year-old daughter was entertained by her scratch and sketch book for hours.  She worked very hard to copy the pictures, and it was fun to see her show off the results.  She had fun and learned about famous works of art in the process.  I think 9 is about the right age for these - young children will struggle to copy the pictures and get frustrated.  We really liked the American history one as well.  Getting her more for Christmas.
642429
My 9 year old really enjoyed the book. The stories were well paced to keep his interest. He asked me to download another, so it looks like it was a hit.
2179711
Even though she's 9, she loved it.  Purple is her favorite color and having something that "responds" is always fun!
4258349
My 9-year old received this for Christmas from Grandma and hasn't stopped playing with it.  Her 12-year old cousin also loves it, and asks her to bring it when they visit Grandma's house.  To leave the playroom, they issue each other "Hall passes" - very cute!
3362743
This birthday present has delivered a fair amount of fun so far and my granddaughter (just turned 7) enjoyed building her first creation, but I question a couple of things.  As a newly self-proclaimed tomboy :) she insisted on presents a boy would like, and I hoped this would fit the bill.  She's not had the basic gear set but I hoped she'd be successful with this one and would be especially motivated because of the motorized action and lights.  The set comes in a nice barrel shaped tub which makes clean up fairly easy and storage super.  The tub is plenty big enough to hold all the pieces without a problem, however you do have to take apart the base to fit those pieces in.  We may have just gotten a set with extra tough fasteners, but putting those flat squares together to form the base was REALLY hard.  They didn't want to slide together or be pushed together and I ended up with a few bruises for my efforts (very forceful pushing), but eventually got them to fit together.

The kids (big brother helped just a little) then set to figuring out how to get the gear pieces to interlock so that they turned one another in multiple directions.  After a few false starts they had success and developed a fairly elaborate setup that would go both forward and backward with the motorized control and the lights flashed appropriately (and were greatly enjoyed).  They were very pleased with their creation, but then disassembled it and put the pieces back in the tub.  I wonder if it will be sought out for play again.  So far, it hasn't.

I think that for children who love building and are always looking for another way to satisfy that urge, plus are reasonably handy with interlocking pieces, this set is a good choice.  It offers the opportunity for imaginative play and repeated use for the right child.  On the other hand, it may be a one-trick wonder for children who don't have that natural need to build and rebuild.
4412171
My nine-year-old loves this book, because he gets to make fun projects while finally understanding why his grandfather loves to watch old WWII movies.

It's the perfect pick-me-up for a rainy day, a big plus for the budding history buff and fun for Mom and Dad, too. Buy one with a few project supplies for a unique birthday gift.
650991
This was a birthday present for my 9 year old daughter. She wanted it and she loves it, of course.
4784958
My 9 month old grandson loves this toy. And his older cousins like to play with it, too.  There's enough variation in the sounds to prevent it from becoming too maddening for mommy & grandma.
3595980
Needed a gift for a 9-year-old who has absolutely everything - this fit that bill.  She was surprisingly excited about something learning-based, but I honestly don't think she realized it was a science experiment.  It was one of the first things she did after the party excitement and she was very impressed.  I say try for something different for the kids and you might realize you can make their learning fun! :)
2289603
My nine-year old niece was thrilled with this gift!
1992811
This works really good for the 3 year old next door and the 9 month old is having fun to.
988842
A birthday gift for 9 year-old grandson.  He LOVES it.  I visited recently and he showed me all the tricks he had learned.  A big hit.
306216
9 year old boy loves it - little slow to load/work on our computer - but still a big hit
12645
My 9-year-old niece loved this set of books that we purchased as a gift for her birthday. She read several of them "like a million times already." Love sharing books I loved as a child with her.
3774675
My granddaughter has enjoyed this book since she was 6 moths old and still enjoys it at 9 months. I suspect she will enjoy it even more as she understands the words more as she gets older.
1783844
Purchased this for my grandson's ninth birthday so he could enjoy it as much as I had when I was nine. He read it quickly and loved it. But then, who doesn't love this book?