This particular title is recommended for children at stage 2 of the LeapPad library, which is children between 6 and 8 years old. The story itself features the popular cartoon character Scooby-Doo and his friends and is 55 pages (8 chapters) long--an ideal length for young readers starting to read by themselves. Viewers of the Scooby-Doo TV series wont be surprised to learn that Scooby-Doo and the Haunted Castle closely follows the same story format. The gang is driving though a dark and stormy night (what else?) when the Mystery Machine gets a puncture. Going to the nearest house for help (which turns out to be the usual spooky Gothic mansion), the gang is invited to stay for supper by the owner, Clift Montgomery (like the actor Montgomery Clift--get it?). It turns out that Clift has recently agreed to donate the house to the local council as a museum. Their fellow dinner guests include various prominent local citizens who all have their objections to the plan. Clifts sudden dramatic disappearance gives the gang a new mystery to solve, although as always Scooby requires bribery in the form of his favorite Scooby Snacks before hell join in. Naturally, when the villain is eventually unmasked, his parting riposte is, "I would have gotten away with it if it werent for those kids and their pesky dog."
The LeapPad comes with a special touch-sensitive pen--follow the story by using it to touch the words on the page. The story is read aloud by a male American voice, which can sound rather stilted during the dialogue between characters, especially Shaggy and Scooby, who have their own distinctive styles of speaking. Touch the pictures of the
