The Read and Share Bible: The Jesus Series, Life and Miracles DVD

(review by Julie)
I recently received the Read and Share Bible: The Jesus Series, Life and Miracles DVD from Thomas Nelson Publishing to review it and unfortunately, I'm not very impressed.

I was excited about letting my two year old watch some bible stories, but the animation was stiff and the characters were monotone and almost mechanical. The Bible has some really exciting stories with a lot of drama- why make it rigid and expressionless?  After seeing a lot of PBS kids programming lately, I felt like this DVD was second class. I'm just so sad that this DVD ended up boring.

The stories seem to be consistent with the bible, which is great.  However it tried to cover large time periods of Jesus' life with vague pictures and minimal voice-over, so I'm not sure my son got a lot of Bible story knowledge. That being said, my son said he liked it, but then, he's never met a cartoon he didn't like.

The DVD has coloring sheets, but it's just 8 pages and 2 of them are too random to be applicable (a daisy in a pot?)

I give it 1.5 stars and I don't suggest you buy it.  Just pick up a bible and read to your kids.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Mouse and the Motorcycle but Beverly Cleary

(review by Deanna)

Beverly Cleary is a classic young children's author.  We read The Mouse and the Motorcycle to my son as one of his first chapter books.  The story is of a mouse names Ralph who lives in a hotel and a boy who befriends him and gives him a mouse-sized motorcycle, which he can ride by making a motorcycle noise.  Ralph has many adventures and gets into a few tight spots by being bold with his motorcycle.  It has a great themes of friendship, loyalty and responsibility.

It's very sweet and fun.  The writing level is a good read-aloud for an older four-year old and up.  I would guess it's about a second-grade reading level.  I think boys or girls would enjoy this book but it is particularly good for drawing in a young boy.

My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

(review by Deanna)

This is a really wonderful book.

When we were ready to find my son, Zack, some longer, more involved material for me to read to him, I went searching for great early chapter books.  This series got multiple recommendations for the best place to start reading chapter books.  We started with My Father's Dragon and requested the other two books.  Later, we were thrilled to be given the series in one volume, Three Tales of My Father's Dragon. 

The story is told by a boy recounting the adventures his father had helping an alley cat to rescue a baby dragon from enslavement by an island of selfish animals.  The young hero uses a series of clever and funny tricks to distract the island's animals and give himself time to find the dragon. 

The plot is very entertaining without being harrowing.  Although there is dramatic tension in the story, it is age-appropriate, something that is hard to find even in young children's books. The language is old-fashioned in the best way.  There are illustrations every few pages, just enough to introduce a pre-schooler to chapter books.

This series would be great for boys or girls, age four and up.  I give it the highest recommendation!

Armadillo Rodeo by Jan Brett

(review by Julie)
Jan Brett has written a whole collection of kids books with fun story lines and amazing artwork. Armadillo Rodeo is no exception!

My 2 year old son loves for me to read Brett's books to him, but what I love about this book, above her other books, is it's setting in Texas and it's subject matter of a curious armadillo, Bo, who mistakes a red boot for a new friend.

As is Brett's tradition, there's the art work in the center of each page, but there is also art work on the sides of the pages, telling a little more of the story than the words on the page. For example, the image below shows the main story line where Bo gets his first taste of a hot chili pepper. But on the side, you see his mom and brothers talking to a cow, I assume, to ask if he's seen Bo.  These additional illustrations give me and my son something extra to talk about. I like to draw him deeper into the story line by asking him to imagine what might be going on.

I have a lot of friends from Texas, a sister who lives in Texas- I was even born in Texas!  So, I feel a little connection with the book.  Right now we have it from the library, but I've really been wanting to buy it. In fact, I'd like to order a dozen of them for gifts!  I guess for now, I'll just renew the book for another three weeks.