children's video & dvd review

chicka chicka boom boom - scholastic video collection 

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Product Overview
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is one of four videos that kick off a new series entitled the Scholastic Video Collection. This series brings together animated adaptations of well-known and much-loved children's books.

The storybook favorite, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, is the first of four stories on the video. This musical story, featuring the letters of the alphabet in a race up a coconut tree, is a visual and audio delight. Just as soon as all 26 letters make it up the tree, they come tumbling down. There's a skinned-knee "D" and a black-eyed "P", and, what's more, "H is tangled up with I; J and K are about to cry". The alphabet "characters" are all lowercase, and they'll quite easily make an impression on preschoolers' brains. Uppercase letters get attention as well--the "mommas and poppas and uncles and aunts" make an appearance as they rush to help out the little ones.

The next animated short tells the story of a hero in preschoolers eyes--a trash collector. Trashy Town follows Mr. Gilly all around town as he juggles trash cans and cleans up Trashy Town. The infectious refrain, "Dump it in/Smash it down/Drive it 'round the Trashy Town", is right up preschoolers' alley. Kids love it when the little mouse asks, "Is the trash truck full YET?" This is a simple and satisfying story that ends with Mr. Gilly taking a bath after a full day's work.

Next up is Rosie's Walk, a simple and humorous story that follows a hen's walk through a farm ("past the mill, through the fence, under the beehives"). Little to the hen's knowledge, a fox is hot on her trail! The humor of this story lies in the hen's oblivion and the fox's mishaps. Rosie is taking a rather mundane walk through the farm, and viewers are the only ones who know that the fox--whose fumbled attempts to capture Rosie involve things like stepping on a rake and getting walloped by the post--is after her.

Finally, The Caterpillar and the Polliwog not only teaches children about the science of metamorphosis, it features a gentle lesson about self-acceptance. It stars a caterpillar who is very proud of being different. She brags to all who will listen that she is expecting to "turn into something else". She meets with general disinterest, until she comes to the polliwog. After a fish tells the polliwog that he, too, will turn into something else, he imagines all sorts of possibilities. Time passes, and the caterpillar changes into a butterfly. In the meantime, the polliwog is surprised to find that he has turned into a frog!

Some points to consider: The animations range in copyright dates from 1970 to 2001. Also, the video edition is rather short, at only 25 minutes long. (A 60-minute DVD edition, featuring three bonus stories and read-along options, is also available). Still, the video features likeable stories. Since each story is available in print, kids can reap the rewards of reading a story and viewing its video adaptation.

Dollar Value
The video retails for approximately $9.95 US. A DVD edition is available for a suggested retail price of $14.95 US, and includes three extra "shorts" and an option to "read along" with the stories.

DVD edition:

Sets of DVDs in the Scholastic Video Collection are available at reduced per-DVD rates:

Scholastic Video Collection Super Set (Amazon.com Exclusive)

Jumbo Box of Storybook Classics (Scholastic Video Collection)

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