Danny and the Dinosaur... and More Friendly "Monster" Stories (Scholastic Video Collection) (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)I borrowed this DVD from the library because my 4 year old son is named Danny and he loves dinosaurs. He has watched it continuously for the past few days, and now I find I'd better buy it. The title story isn't his favorite, though. He loves the Island of the Scog, which is a cute little story with a surprise ending. He also enjoys Stanley and the Dinosaur, which I find quite frightening, with scary-looking cavemen and a scary-sounding narrator. But it has a good message.

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Don’t be scared! These monster stories just want to have a little fun! DANNY AND THE DINOSAUR (By Syd Hoff) When Danny visits the museum, he thinks it would be nice to play with a dinosaur. Well, the dinosaur is as eager to play with Danny, and they spend a whole day together. THE ISLAND OF THE SKOG (By Steven Kellogg, Narrated by Anthony Edwards, with Diana Canova, Steven Kellogg and Mary Beth Hurt) A band of mice and their leader set sail to an island inhabited by a hostile Skog with gigantic feet. But when the two parties finally meet face to face, they find they have a lot in common. THE BEAST OF MONSIEUR RACINE (By Tomi Ungerer) Monsieur Racine lays a trap and catches a marauder, a strange but harmless-looking beast, who has been stealing his prize pears. What happens when Monsieur Racine presents his catch to the Academy of Science throws Paris into an uproar. DVD Features: 2 Extra Bonus Stories Exclusive to DVD - "Here Comes the Cat" By Frank Asch and Vladimir Vagin, "Stanley and the Dinosaurs" By Syd Hoff; Read Along; Interactive Menus; Story Selection; Auto-Play

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The Wheels on the Bus... and More Sing-Along Favorites (Scholastic Video Collection) (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)I was looking for a few sing-along DVDs for my 28 month old son and picked this one up along with a few others.
The first one I put in was a Sesame Street, Sing Yourself Silly. He screamed and threw a tantrum crying for his Math Circus DVD. Didnt go over so well. Glutten for punishment, I put this DVD in instead of his Math Circus.
When it came on, the introduction was cute, and I thought, this is kind of nice. Then the Wheels on the Bus came on. And the people and the drawings made it look like some sort of psychodelic vision. I thought it was creepy. Plus the song was kind of slow and I was disappointed becuase I thought it would be something he could sing along with and this was way more drawn out. Thinking this was a disaster I looked over at my son who, through tear stained eyes, said:
"ooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"
Um, he loved it. Creepy people and all. He gets all excited by various parts and wants to watch it over and over again. He is even singing along. Now, Im so used to it, I kind of dig the singing (which is more bluesy or something, not sing songy kiddish) and I like it too.
Having not learned my lesson, I was again shocked at the Dem Bones being all these dead skeletons that appeared to have been drawn by a (not particularly talented) five year old, but once again, he thought it was great (wasnt scared) and starting singing to that one too (and pointing out the various parts on him, which impressed me he could make the connection to the freaky skeletons and himself). He asks for this DVD all the time now.
So Scholastic obviously knows something I dont and based on my son's reaction, I have no choice but to give this five stars.

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Hop on the bus and sing along with these favorite children’s songs! THE WHEELS ON THE BUS (By Paul O. Zelinsky) The classic children’s ditty comes to glorious life with Paul O. Zelinsky’s eye-popping art and a lively musical score by The Bacon Brothers. DEM BONES (By Bob Barner) A skeleton band will tickle your funny bone with words and music to the well-known song based on the African-American spiritual. OVER IN THE MEADOW (By John Langstaff, Illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky) This endearing version of an old counting song for children is filled with the beauty and wonder of meadow life. I KNOW AN OLD LADY WHO SWALLOWED A FLY (By Rose Bonne and Alan Mills) Sung by the legendary Burl Ives, this old lady ends up swallowing much more than just the fly. DVD Features: 2 Extra Bonus Stories Exclusive to DVD - "I Want A Dog" by Dayal Kaur Khalsa and "The Chinese Violin" by Madeleine Thien; Read Along; Interactive Menus; Scene Selection; Auto-Play

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Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Kids (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)My daughter Lily loves Miss Spider. I rented this for her and she has watched it every day. I"m going to buy it for our vacation. The movie has all the bright colors like the book and the voice of Brooke Shields as Miss Spider. It is not loud and it is very soft and well done. The DVD has extras that are well worth the money. David Kirk reads the book and there are also more stories. Miss Spider also talks about all her kids and their names and personalities. You can't miss with this purchase and get the book too.

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Now you can laugh, dance and sing along with Miss Spider and all her friends in their very own adventure! Brooke Shields and Rick Moranis give voice to Miss Spider and her husband Holley in this irresistible tale of friendship and familyand eight-legged funbased on the best-selling children's book series by David Kirk.Spring has arrived with five bundles of joy for Miss Spider and Holley! Now, with Snowdrop, Pansy, Spinner, Wiggle and Squirt, there's never a dull moment around the web. But when Squirt tries to reunite a lost chicken egg with its mother, Miss Spider and Holley must hatch a daring plan to rescue him and his new friends...before they all become chicken feed!!

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Human Family Tree (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)The National Geographic Society research on the Genographic Project is a genetic analysis of the human species origin in Africa and its spread throughout the world. Using samples, the lab results tell a story of the many branchings of the human tree. From the mitochondrial DNA, the researchers found that everyone in the world descends from one women in Africa some 150,000 to 200,000 years ago, while using the Y-chromosome they found we all descend from one man some 70,000 years ago. Mutations created branches through time in both areas and these are used to show the basic migration routes for the people, through their genes.
That these branches happened appears to be well researched. However, the researchers give approximate dates for these events and that is an area open to question. Is it really 150,000 or is it 1.5 million years ago for the scientific "Eve"? One issue glossed over is that the genetic evidence is not matching well with the archaeological and human paleontological data. For example, the genetic data showed a date of 15-20,000 years ago for the peopling of the New World and assumes that Clovis people were the first. How then are the dozens of well-dated sites in South America from 30,000+ years going to fit the genetic model. One statement was potentially wrong, when they said that Native Americans were isolated until Columbus. This negates the Viking settlement in Labrador, Canada, as well as possible contact with Chinese. The Eskimo and Aleut who came later to America are also not included.
Another issue that needs to be discussed better in this film is that Europe and Asia were well occupied about a million years ago, and that genetic links between Homo erectus fossils in China and modern Asians exist in their shovel-shaped incisors. Similarly, some of the Java Homo erectus specimens show traits still found there. Clearly, those populations today have some ancestors who did not migrate out of Africa some 70,000 years ago. Researchers also are still debating if Neanderthals left their genes in us.
Going back to 150,000 years ago and assuming 25 years per generation, each of us had 2 to the 6000th power ancestral lines in our massive genealogy. (Two to the 30th power is a billion!) This film portrays only two of those lines.
The film is well worth seeing. However, in many ways it contains the fallacy of extrapolation because it looks only at those two lines. Nevertheless, an important point made repeatedly in the film is that we are all cousins in the human family and that research on the great chain of being is worthwhile. I ordered my kit today from National Geographic.

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Italian for Kids: Learn Italian Beginner Level 1 Vol. 1 (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this video (and the first part, too) for my 2 year old son to strengthen his emerging Italian. My husband is American and we live in the States, but I am Italian, so I speak only Italian to him. He enjoys watching the video over and over again and repeats sentences and songs. Yes, the video is short and easy, however it is for children not for adults, and I think it has just the perfect duration to keep their attention high.
The story line is nice. The songs in the video are catchy and stick in the mind for the longest time. The themes are basic: telling time, recognizing objects, expressing likes and dislikes,... At the end of each unit there are a review and a quiz.
Overall I like this course. The only criticism I have is the choice of the actors. Some you can hear are native speakers, but others like Nonna Romano or some of the children have a good pronounciation of the single words but a terrible intonation of the sentence.
For the price I would certainly suggest you buy this video. If you just want something for your kids to watch to learn a couple of structures, this is a very good product.

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ITALIAN FOR KIDS volume 1 introduces this beautiful language to kids in a way that engages them from start to finish. Starring native speakers and 3-D animated characters, this video teaches the Italian language within the context of a fantastic birthday party - full of lively songs, delicious food and playful games. Marina and her cute puppy, Momo, clearly demonstrate useful phrases for everyday situations, such as meeting and greeting, eating, playing and much more. Words for colors, numbers, and parts of the body are explained in an entertaining and lively manner.Narrated and subtitled in English, ITALIAN FOR KIDS is perfect for beginner students of all ages.Incorporates Language Trees breakthrough Multi-Cognition Approach , developed by a Stanford University Cognitive Scientist Contains 6 complete lessons on everyday conversation Includes interactive DVD games that test a childs comprehension Introduces over 100 practical phrases and vocabulary words Upbeat sing-a-long songs reinforce new words and phrasesDVD comes accompanied with a learning book so parents or teachers can review lessons together with their child.

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Wayside - The Movie (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)My kids and I absolutely love the Wayside School books for their highly entertaining stories and for the joyfully clever ways they play with language and storytelling. Unfortunately, very little of that comes through to the movie. Sure, the movie fits in LOTS of elements from the books, but many of them are introduced inexplicably and have little role in the story. What's missing is the zany logic that makes the books so charming. If you know the books, you may enjoy the references, but the movie itself ends up being pretty standard cartoon slapstick. My five-year-old still enjoys watching it, but I was disappointed that the special intelligence and heart of Wayside School has mostly been lost.

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Harold and the Purple Crayon - The Complete Series (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)My son absolutely loves Harold. Overall, the shows are great; they integrate music and images really nicely. The only caution I have to parents with young children is this: One of the episodes is about Harold losing the moon so that he is left in the dark. My three year old was never afraid of anything until he watched this episode. He wanted to watch it over and over after he saw it the first time. Then, at night in his bed, he was freaking out saying he saw an eye on his bed (a piece of metal on his bed that shone in the light of the night light) and he has been afraid of being in a separate room from me from time to time since. Anyway, I would highly recommend the series; it is great wholesome fun- just don't let your child watch the one when Harold loses the moon. Also, be sensitive to the fact that there is one sad episode where a goldfish dies.

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Charlotte's Web (Widescreen Edition) (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've seen several movie versions of CHARLOTTE'S WEB. The story of the friendship between a runt pig and a spider in the barn has been around entertaining children for dozens of years. But I have never seen a production that came even close to the new movie in theaters everywhere.
The recent release of CHARLOTTE'S WEB is simply amazing. I can't wait for the DVD to come out, and I'll really be disappointed if there isn't some in-depth special features regarding the making the of the film, particularly the computer animation aspects. Watching the animals talking and interacting onscreen was nothing short of magical.
There is an incredible shift from the human point of view in the film to the animal one that is almost seamless unless you're looking for it. I was, and it was still so effortless that the transition doesn't jar viewers at all. The handoff is smooth and remains highly believable.
My 9-year-old went with my wife and I, and even though he'd seen the story a number of times on DVD, he fell in love with it all over again. I loved hearing him laugh, and I couldn't help but remember the first time I'd heard CHARLOTTE'S WEB read to me by a schoolteacher.
The story is timeless and will always be around. But it's been waiting all this time for movie-making magic to truly unlock a way for audiences to watch it presented so much in the flesh.
No only is the video aspect so good, but the voice talent gathered for the film is outstanding. Julia Roberts, Steve Buscemi, Oprah Winfrey, Cedric The Entertainer, Reba McEntire, and many other recognizeable voices (including Sam Shepard as the narrator) all contributed to this amazing experience.
If you want to have a great time and be a child again, go see CHARLOTTE'S WEB. If you want to bring delight to a child, take one with you. You'll be glad you did.

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The classic story of loyalty, trust, and sacrifice comes to life in this live-action adaptation. Fern (Dakota Fanning) is one of only two living beings who sees that Wilbur is a special animal as she raises him, the runt of the litter, into a terrific and radiant pig. As Wilbur moves into a new barn, he begins a second profound friendship with the most unlikely of creatures – a spider named Charlotte – and their bond inspires the animals around them to come together as a family. When the word gets out that Wilbur's days are numbered, it seems that only a miracle will save his life. A determined Charlotte – who sees miracles in the ordinary – spins words into her web in an effort to convince the farmer that Wilbur is "some pig" and worth saving.

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Inside Planet Earth (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have to say; when it came to understanding and researching the center of the Earth and the planet's contstruction for my novel, this show covered it well. The extra feature, Inside The Volcano, was a perfect bonus, (although the bonus is rather long and not as well paced owing to the time it was made).
I should point out that Patrick Steward IS on this DVD--he is in the bonus feature documentary, Inside The Volcano, produced about 1996. He is there, but not in the main feature. That's where the confusion comes from. I own it, and I recognized his voice.
Good stuff overall :)

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It's the ultimate voyage our world has to offer: a journey from the temperate surface of our world to the fiery core of the Earth. With the aid of stunning visual effects, the unexplored interior of the Earth is split wide open, giving us an unbelievable view. From glowing seams of pure iron ore to sparkling diamond caverns to the magnetic field that keeps us safe from the lethal radiation of space... for now, this is the fantastical world we live in -- and never see.
Bonus Feature: Amazing Earth

From the heights of Mount Everest to the molten lava fields of Hawaii to the very core of our planet, the geologic forces that have changed the planet's face over the past 4.6 billion years are revealed. With state-of-the-art effects and the latest scientific information, this is the story of striking meteorites, gigantic eruptions, the movement of continents and other geologic events that have shaped our AMAZING EARTH.

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