I'm a list person. My days are governed by to-do lists and shopping lists, and it feels like those lists never end. When you scratch off one task, you add another. If you're an adult with a job and a family and a social life, you can probably relate. Personally, my lists cover the gamut, including things I need to do for myself and things I need to do for others. I thought that the to-do list phenomenon was strictly an adult habit, until I met Penny Proud.

Penny Proud is the star of the new Game Boy Advance game The Proud Family (and the television sow of the same name), and for a young girl, she has an even longer to-do list than I do! In this game, Penny has to raise money to buy her parents an anniversary present, so she takes on odd jobs around town (either by choice or by circumstance), and must complete them all so that she can raise money to buy the gift (which is so expensive it has to be bought in pieces). As a result, Penny has to do things like clean up litter in the streets (this is a never ending process because after everything is clean, a spaceship flies by and drops more trash), collect scattered cola cans, collect basketballs that have bounced away from the recreation center, wait tables, and invent a snack that will appeal to three picky judges, among lots of other tasks. Interspersed throughout are other things that she has to do, including picking up dry cleaning for her boss at the pizza parlor, and finding diet cola that she can trade at school for pork rinds.

The game is straightforward and fun, and the constant different tasks keep it interesting. The atmosphere is not all that interesting, taking place in Penny's city along the street. It's pretty much a static background, but you are usually so busy trying to accomplish your goals that you forget to pay attention.

The game is really easy, so young players will have a lot of fun playing it, however, young readers may have a difficult time. The tasks are all given to you in text-based dialog, so unless your child is a strong reader, you might want to wait until they've learned a bit more. The only real complaint has to do with the music, which is a terribly annoying melody. Music on the Game Boy Advance is never all that great, but this takes the proverbial cake in terms of annoyance. I ended up turning my volume down all the way and playing in silence, which made the experience much more bearable.

Although this game is skewed to a young audience, I had a lot of fun playing through the tasks and making as much money as I could. Waiting tables was particularly fun, and kept me on my toes. I highly recommend The Proud Family to younger gamers looking for a fun and active game. The Proud Family is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB.