GRAND Magazine - April 2009 - 29

s p ec i a l pa rT n e r s h i p s ec T i o n Kids First! What will we watch today? The best of DVDs and television shows for the grandchildren Preschool Being green. Hollywood star Paul rudd plays Mr. earth, who teaches elmo and abby cadabby how to be environmentally conscious by recycling, reusing and conserving water and energy. in her desire to help elmo to be more “green,” abby accidentally turns elmo the color green and can’t remember how to change him back! lots of fun ensues as abby is eventually able to poof elmo red again and cookie Monster, rosita and Telly Monster pitch in, pledging to be eco-friendly, because earth rocks! dVd. 45 min. $14.93. Ages 2-5. Genius Products. Stuart LittLe aniMated: a LittLe FaMiLy Fun. america’s favorite mouse, Stuart Little, and his “big” brother George find adventure everywhere around them. The Stuart Little Animated TV series stars the voice talents of two-time Golden Globe® winner hugh laurie (the Stuart Little feature films, TV’s House) and Kathy najimy (Sister Act, TV’s King of the Hill). now they come to your TV in new-toDVD episodes. includes “he said, she said,” “a little Big record,” “no Job is Too little” and “adventures in housekeeping.” dVd. 89 min. $12.99. Ages 2-5. sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Stuart LittLe aniMated: going For tHe goLd. Based on the characters created by famous children’s author e.B. White (Charlotte’s Web, The Trumpet of the Swan) and made popular by the hit feature films, the Stuart Little series revolves around stuart, a spirited mouse who has been adopted by the little family, and his older brother, George. stuart may be a three-inch-tall mouse on the outside, but inside he is a bold, daring and curious youth with a never-say-never attitude. our furry hero explores our commonplace world from a fresh perspective, while he and his brother—separated by species, joined by brotherhood—have immense fun together and learn a few lessons along the way. includes “a little Too Fast,” “a little Vacation,” and “a little Bit country.” dVd. 66 min. $12.99. Ages 2-5. sony Pictures Home Entertainment. eLMo and tHe BookaneerS. everyone loves to read—even pirates! The “Bookaneers,” led by Tina Fey, have come ashore on sesame street, and they want to plunder elmo’s bookshelf. When elmo finds out how much they love to read, he can’t wait to become a bookaneer himself. can he pass the test and help them find their treasure? Bert and ernie are also on the hunt for treasure in an episode from the fantastic new claymation series Bert and Ernie’s Adventures. plus, you can sing along with abby in a song about something she treasures: words! in “elmo’s World: Books,” elmo invites you to learn all about the books he treasures. “arrr” you ready for a reading adventure? dVd. 41 min. $14.95. Ages 2-5. Genius Products. Grade school tHe taLe oF deSPereaux. once upon a time in the far-away kingdom of Dor lived a brave and virtuous mouse with comically oversized ears who dreamt of becoming a knight. Banished from his home for having such lofty ambitions, Despereaux sets off on an amazing adventure with his goodhearted rat friend roscuro, who leads him, at long last, on a very noble quest to rescue an endangered princess and save an entire kingdom from darkness. Based on the heartwarming children’s bestselling book and featuring the voice talents of an all-star cast, The Tale of Despereaux is a magical, modern fairytale that’s destined to win the hearts of young and old alike. dVd and Blu-ray. 90 min. $29.98 (dVd) and $39.99 (Blu-ray). Ages 8-12. Universal Home studios. street date: 4/7/09. SnooPy’S reunion. Snoopy is homesick for his puppyhood days at the Daisy hill puppy Farm, so he and charlie Brown organize a reunion with his brothers and sisters, who include spike, andy, olaf, Marbles, Belle, Molly and rover. however, when snoopy and charlie Brown arrive at the puppy farm, charlie Brown is aghast to find that urban sprawl has replaced it with a parking garage. dVd. 24 min. $19.98. Ages 8-12. Warner Home Video. TV shows CyBerCHaSe, the only math series for children on american tV, will be premiering new episodes starting on april 20, featuring nBc-TV meteorologist Janice huff as part of its seventh-season Weather Watchers initiative that helps kids learn more and get motivated about climate change. The episodes embed math concepts in situations where the cybersquad measures physical properties, quantifies atmospheric conditions and makes predictions to get out of jams. Janice huff will be featured on the first two premiere-week episodes, april 20 and 21 (check local listings). in three live-action short-form videos for Weather Watchers, to debut on cyberchase online and the pBs KiDs Go! broadband player, Cyberchase goes behind the scenes with meteorologist Janice huff, the voice of stormy Gale in the Weather Watchers episodes, and real kids engage in weather-related activities that motivate viewers to “try this at home!” KiDs FirsT! is a project of the coalition for Quality children’s Media, a not-for-profit organization whose goal is to empower children to make wise media choices and to promote quality media products that enrich their lives. www.kidsfirst.org.

http://www.kidsfirst.org

GRAND Magazine - April 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - April 2009