Reviews

In an effort to get away from a 'cloud of death' which is following one of the heroine's family members, the main character and her family embark on a trip to the 'edge of the world'. First, this novel has a unique and very interesting world. It is a mix of our own reality and a fantasy one where dragons burn down local stores occasionally and you have to watch out for Yeti when driving through wooded areas. The world-building the author did was inventive and fun to discover as you read through the book. However, the plot and most importantly, the character development lacked a great deal, in my opinion. The ending (which I won't give away) was disappointing. The main character had absolutely no respect for her father (and he was never portrayed in a way that really deserved any respect - he was a pathetic, self-absorbed wimp of a man) and the rest of the family felt one-dimensional. There were several instances where the family is warned not to do something well in advance, and of course, predictably, does so anyway. It simply wan't an enjoyable book to read.

This is designed for little kids, and it was definitely made on the cheap (the amount of re-used animation in every episode is pretty high). It was made to bombard kids with colorful images that zip across the screen quickly (which is not good for little brains). On the positive side, it does do a tiny bit of teaching about different cultures (in a stereotypical way), including how to say 'hi'. However, the geography portion is a little strange - rather than have the global map oriented in a standard way, the Americas are presented on the right rather than the left (it bothers me every time I see it!). I don't like this show and don't recommend it to others, but it's not quite trash - there are worse choices out there.

First, this is a wordless book, so a "reader" has to make up their own words to this story (if reading it aloud, which I am doing with my kids). But the action is clear and it is easy to narrate even without words, although a second or third read-through might make it easier since you are more likely to catch the foreshadowing after you know what's coming. I think this book would work best with a 3-year old and older, but my almost-two-year-old enjoyed it a lot and asked for several re-reads while we had the book (it was from the library). Since it is wordless, any child could enjoy it, regardless of reading level.

It's an adorable story, really. Each animal has so much personality! My toddlers both loved it. Although my sensitive child will cover his eyes when the 'scary and mean' dragon shows up, it really isn't very scary and resolves fairly quickly. The visual gags are cute and keep your kid's attention and adults find it amusing too. This is very well done and I recommend it, despite its lack of educational value.

Although I think kids younger than 9 would be fine sitting through this movie, personally, I thought it was funny because I've seen so many superhero movies and this one spoofed them - thus I think an older child (who has seen some superhero shows or movies) is a better audience. It takes cliches and flips them around, creating quite a few hilarious moments. Unlike another reviewer here, I'd disagree with the idea that this has negative messages. There is bullying (unpunished), but the main character is one who overcomes the situation in the end, which is a positive message. The main character temporarily is the 'bad guy', conforming to society's expectations, but the story shows how he rises above that, which is honestly a lot harder than staying in the safe, known, rut. I'd consider that redemption both a truer achievement and a more realistic one than having the bully punished somehow. The fact that the 'good guy' gets tired of the hero-ing and lives selfishly is actually a great lesson on how we shouldn't idolize beautiful, talented people (especially actors or singers) because they are flawed too (sometimes pretty badly) and aren't worthy of being put on such a high pedestal. Overall, a great movie with some deep lessons about overcoming stereotypes, and how underdogs sometimes do win. And a whole lot of laugh-out-loud humor! It's on our must-see list for when my baby boy is older.

As animated fare, this definitely isn't Disney. It feels darker than most animated movies with many scenes of peril and times when a sensitive child might get scared (those spiders and goblins can be nasty!) The animation is pretty detailed and not 'cute/cartoony' (none of the characters would every be considered good looking - not even an elf). However, this definitely isn't the live-action movie(s) either. It's generally kid-friendly and quick-paced. Biblo is the star - the dwarves all blend together as a group and there's not a lot of emotional impact when *spoilers* any dwarf dies. This can be a positive thing (young kids won't come away in tears) or a negative thing (we don't really care that someone died?). Although the book is better, as a first introduction to Middle Earth, this is pretty good and well worth watching - especially for kids who are too young to see Peter Jackson's version. I'd include this on a must-see list.

While there's absolutely nothing objectionable or questionable about this story, it's too verbose to be great for a 2-year old, I think. I own this book and read it to my nearly-two year old, but I've shortened the story a bit (kind of summarizing the pictures), and adding sound effects (the lamp goes CRASH!) which keep him engaged in the story. I also think that some of the concepts are better for a slightly older preschooler as I don't think a 2-yr old will grasp that when the bear claims something (like saying that the e store is "a palace"), that he is mistaken. For a 4 year old, who is much more familiar with both stores and palaces (from Disney movies?), the humor is more readily apparent. Other than that, however, the book is sweet and cute and a nice prelude to the Toy Story ideas where toys have thoughts and feelings too.

We'd watched all the seasons of Blue's Clues too many times to count and needed something new. This was a perfect successor. My two year old loved it and I felt he was learning excellent skills. The format was fun and encouraged my son to interact with the characters - solving problems along with them. Which he did! Some other reviewers have mentioned gender stereotypes - but I think I disagree. Patterns and measurement is not inherently more "girly", even if they do use her dress and hair ribbons. There's even an episode where the girl single-handedly rescues the other two characters. I think people are being overly sensitive on this.

The slow pace (especially in reference to camera changes), repetition (the 'phases' of the show are very predictable), the educational content (each show teaches some concept), and the cute, fun storyline make this the absolutely perfect show to introduce your youngest child to TV. It has all the things that scientists say should be present in pre-school TV. Namely it contains: few camera transitions, opportunities for the child to interact with the show (there are pauses for answering questions and making guesses to puzzles). This is the only show I feel comfortable letting my toddler watch on the occasion when I need a break.