DVD Reviews

Crazy Hair Day And More Funny School Adventures - DVD Review

By June L. Aug 27, 2010, 14:42 GMT

Collect the entire library of Scholastic Storybook Treasures and read along on screen with your favorite classic children\'s stories, brought vividly to life on DVD. ...more

Just in time for Back To School, Scholastic Storybook Treasures presents a DVD compilation of five fun stories about school.  A read along DVD, Crazy Hair Day is fun and educational supporting reading comprehension, vocabulary building and problem solving.

The first story on the disc is Crazy Hair Day which explores the trouble caused when Stanley is a week early in his celebration.  Written and illustrated by Barney Saltzberg, the story is narrated by Zach Braff.  Children can relate to how embarrassed Stanley feels by his goof up, and what’s worse, the day is actually picture day.  Second in line is the story of Petunia, the silly goose.

Petunia finds a book and remembering someone saying that if you own and love a book, you are wise, she sets out to do that very thing.  It is only after many mistakes that poor Petunia really learns the value of her new possession and how to use it.  Petunia is written and illustrated by Roger Duvoisin.  How Do Dinosaurs Go to School! Is written and narrated by Jane Yolen, the illustrations are by Mark Teague. 

Have you ever wondered what would happen if dinosaurs came to your school for story time or recess?  What would a dinosaur do for show and tell?  See what might happen in this look at a dinosaur day at school.  Monty written and illustrated by James Stevenson is about an alligator taxi!  Monty provides a great taxi service, but when the kids overwhelm him with their griping and back seat driving he knows he needs to do something.  Monty decides he needs a vacation! 

The final story in the collection is Will I Have a Friend?  Written by Miriam Cohen and illustrated by Lillian Hoban the story is narrated by David De Vries.  Jimmy is starting school and he believes that he will not find a friend.  Once naptime arrives his entire view of school takes a turn.

Crazy Hair and More Funny School Adventures are part of the Scholastic series of Storybook Treasures that gathers timeless stories that children love.  The five stories are presented on single disc with a running time of 39 minutes, and some very nice bonus features.  Monty is presented in a Spanish language version, and there is an interview with Crazy Hair Day’s author and illustrator Barney Saltzberg.  Each story has a read along option and has discussion questions available. 

Little ones of my acquaintance love the series opening sequence and are quick to name their favorites as they gather to watch the show.  There is an aura of gentle excitement that increases the child’s anticipation for the stories geared for the 3 to 8 year olds, but enjoyable to older and younger viewers. 

The menus and features are user friendly enough for the children to manipulate, and there are plenty of laugh filled moments, as well as learning experiences to make this acceptable in both home and school libraries.

Visit the DVD database for more information.