Frankie

Frankie is a male dog character who first appeared in JumpStart 1st Grade (1994). He originally appeared mainly in products for 1st Graders. Nowadays, he is the mascot of JumpStart and stars in games for a wide variety of ages.

Appearance
Frankie originally had brown fur and wore only a green collar.

In JumpStart 1st Grade (2000), he wears a red vest and a brown collar. There are several minor changes made to his body, such as his legs being shorter and wider, his eyes and nose being slightly smaller, and his snout being thinner.

In JumpStart Around the World, Frankie underwent some minor design modifications and began wearing an outfit consisting of a blue collar red sweater with yellow trim, a V-neck, and the yellow letters "JS" on it. He continued to wear a similar outfit in other games of the Advanced/pre-Advanced era, with small modifications, such as the font in which JS was written. Starting in the JumpStart Advanced series proper, the JS was dropped. In the JumpStart All Stars feature of JumpStart Advanced, as well as the title screens of JumpStart Advanced games, Frankie wears a red shirt with blue stripes and stars on it.

In JumpStart 3D Virtual World, he has light brown fur, and he wears a blue collar, a maroon shirt with two thin stripes and a darker maroon stripe on the front, and blue jeans. Unlike the other characters, his appearance doesn't change between grade levels.

Personality and characteristics
Frankie is friendly and outgoing. He likes to interact with others, and is a dependable friend. The JumpStart Blog says,"As Camp JumpStart’s head counselor, Frankie wants to make sure you have a good time at camp. If you ever need advice, directions or just a little encouragement, you can count on Frankie."

Frankie's profile in JumpStart World says, "Frankie is the Camp leader. Frankie can always find an answer to any problem. He loves to help the new scouts. Frankie says, 'Everyone is a winner.' "

In the JumpStart Advanced series, Frankie's unique learning style is 'The People Person'. JumpStart Advanced 2nd Grade's manual says, "Frankie teaches children using his interpersonal learning style. He can relate every problem to a social situation and usually finds an answer."

On a now-defunct site for the JumpStart All Stars, Frankie's profile said, "Frankie tries to be everyone's pal, and is ready to rally the JumpStart team around the latest dilemma. He sticks his nose into a few too many situations, but he always strives to bring about a peaceful resolution. He'd like to run for office when grows up, as long as there's an adequate supply of bones and chew toys."

Frankie is also fun-loving, and he can be silly. The JumpStart website says, "Frankie is full of energy, loves jokes, and is always trying new things- sometimes silly things!".

Earlier entries in the series tended to portray Frankie with more canine characteristics than later ones. He was even sometimes depicted as living in a doghouse in an unknown person's backyard, such as in JumpStart Numbers and JumpStart Math for First Graders. Later entries in the series tend to portray Frankie as more human, though with occasional nods to his doghood, such as depicting him as enjoying dog biscuits or bones.

JumpStart 1st Grade (1994)
Frankie is a dog who goes to a first grade school. He has a doghouse out by the playground.

JumpStart Math for First Graders
Frankie has been shrunken down to the size of an ant by the Queen Bee. The player helps Frankie navigate the now enormous backyard and play activities to get him back to his normal size.

JumpStart Reading for First Graders
Frankie must save circus performers from Mel the Magician.

JumpStart Numbers
The player explores three of Frankie's dreams and helps him find dog biscuits.

JumpStart ABC's (1999)
Frankie is a train engineer. He appears in a few cutscenes and drives the train.

JumpStart 1st Grade (2000)
The player plays activities with Frankie in a first grade school, and helps him find treasures.

JumpStart Around the World (2000)
Frankie is the player's travel buddy in the first grade version.

JumpStart Artist (2000)
Frankie appears in the activity "Frankie's Paint-Along Songs". In this activity, the player helps Frankie make a movie. First the player chooses one of four movies to work on. Then the player illustrates three frames that will appear the movie.

JumpStart Advanced Preschool (2002)
Frankie is one of the JumpStart All Stars. The player can select him as their partner and call him for help.

JumpStart Advanced Kindergarten (2002)
Frankie is one of the JumpStart All Stars. The player can select him as their partner and call him for help.

JumpStart Advanced 1st Grade (2002)
The player can visit Frankie's house and help him make pizza.

Frankie is also one of the JumpStart All Stars. The player can select him as their partner and call him for help.

Disc 1: Fundamentals
In this game, Frankie works at JumpStart Headquarters and gives assignments to CJ and Edison.

Frankie is also one of the JumpStart All Stars. The player can select him as their partner and call him for help.

In Videos
In JumpStart Preschool: Who Left the Juice in the Caboose?, Frankie is a train engineer.

Quotes

 * "I'm Frankie, and what I love most are my friends. I love to talk to them, listen to them, and play games with them. I am a really good friend because I really care about you." - Self-introduction from JumpStart Advanced 2nd Grade
 * "He's more than a mascot, he'll help you a whole lot, he is really super silly, he's Frankie." - Frankie's theme song from JumpStart 1st Grade (1994)

Trivia

 * In JumpStart Math for First Graders, Frankie calls himself a "wiener dog", implying that he is of the dachshund breed.