December 2007 Releases for ages 2-5

**  POCKET SNAILS: POTTY ADVENTURE 
Potty training has never been so much fun! This DVD is designed to encourage and motivate children to say "goodbye diapers" and "hello potty." Your child will embark on an exciting journey right along with the Pocket Snails as they help guide their friend, Jake and his little sister Wendy step by step through the complete potty process. Complete with sing-along songs, colorful animations and an engaging storyline. Adult Juror Comments: Well done. Entertaining and educational. Jake and Wendy are good role models. Simple steps are reinforced on the video with the aid of a "potty map." Cute background music, very upbeat and original. The animated kids and Pocket Snails are engaging and easy for a child to relate to. Respectful of children while discussing a sensitive topic. English is spoken with a British accent. Kid Juror Comments: Obviously, the target age group for this is the child who is at potty training stage. Kids beyond that stage won't find it particularly interesting. The colors and music held their attention. The British accents threw some off. They liked the idea of the potty chart.
Age: 2-4
DVD. 30 min.; $15.95
Independent short from SOARING STAR PRODUCTIONS, LLC.

READY SET LEARN!: TRY, TRY AGAIN! (VOL 1)
Ready Set Learn! promotes Emotional Intelligence: skills needed for effective learning and an optimistic and resilient approach to life. Join Paz, Wilbur and The Save-Ums! as they guide children through a fun and adventurous path to learning!  Animated. Contains multiple episodes of Ready Set Learn! shows including "Paz," "Wilbur" and "The Save-Ums." Paz: Paz the Penguin can't wait to show you what he's discovered -- that achieving new skills takes patience, a good attitude and practice, practice, practice! Wilbur: Join Wilbur and his barnyard friends as they share some moovelous stories about how airplanes were invented and have fun with counting! The Save-Ums!: Watch The Save-Ums on the land, in the air, and under the sea as they use teamwork to rescue an octopus having trouble tying her shoes and two ants stuck on a see-saw!
Age: 2-5
100 min.
Short from GENIUS PRODUCTS.

***  SIGNING TIME! VOL. 7 - LEAH'S FARM 
Everybody's happy down on Leah's Farm.  Come join us as we learn more songs and signs for all of your favorite barnyard animals and critters. Signing Time! original songs including "Leah's Farm" and "Turtle Rock." Learn signs for farm, horse, goat and more. Adult Juror Comments: Entertaining and educational, good role modeling by leads Rachel Coleman, children Alex and Leah and their frog, Hopkins. The diverse group of children joining in the signing of each animal make it very down to earth. It's a real hands on approach to learning a second language and natural for kids to use their bodies to communicate. Wonderful songs like "Turtle Rock" are energizing and get us up and moving to the rhythm of the music and signing along.  Kid Juror Comments: Love it. The children had a great time learning from this one. The talented cast really appealed to them. The use of music and settings are a wonderful way to engage them by showing them familiar places. "I like the animals." "I like learning the signs." "We did watch it again - right away." It occurred to the older kids that they might want to learn signs for other things like knights, or firefighters - they could use it when their mask is on!
Age: 2-5
DVD. 30 min.
Independent short from TWO LITTLE HANDS PRODUCTIONS.

WAY TO GO, JUNO
From haircuts to the dark, Juno and the gang have worries that are as varied as their personalities. Through friendship and support, Juno and her friends cope with their various apprehensions. Adult Juror Comments: Such a fabulous program. Addressed issues toddlers face such as haircuts, eating different kinds of food, being afraid of swimming in the water and naptime with great ingenuity and creativity. One juror said, "The best programming I've seen for toddlerhood - has made me a convert. This is an Award Plus!"  Structure, inventive style, addressing fears and concerns of the young child in an imaginative, enticing, engaging way where screen time for a young child is used wisely in presenting material for the child to learn and grow along with parent participation. Delightful character puppets explore the concerns of a young child in creative, diverse ways to encourage one to overcome her fears.  The title rings true to the quote at the beginning of the program by Ralph Waldo Emerson - "He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life." Each situation is addressed with creativity, imagination and variety: from cutting one's hair, to eating broccoli and taking a nap. Music including both the original songs played by live orchestral musicians and standard known classical along with live action animation, inspire, educate and entertain. Available in English, Spanish and French. Kid Juror Comments:
Age: 1-3
DVD. 35 min.; $20
Independent short from JUNO BABY. (SERIES, AGES 2-5)

ZAKLAND, EPISODE 1, THE SHINY SURPRISE 
Join Zak on a magical journey into the musical world called ZakLand. There we learn the power of imagination and that anything is possible if you try hard and believe in yourself. Adult Juror Comments: Excellent. Great original music, positive lessons. Good combination of animation and live action. There is an ongoing storyline with issues, lessons, facts and fun along the way. Zak teaches kids to try their hardest and to believe in themselves. Wonderful presentation - Zak is like a young Mister Rogers. The background is fun and uncluttered; the music is clear and upbeat. The songs would stand alone, outside of the context of this story. The issues addressed encourage self-esteem.  Kid Juror Comments: Loved it. "Zak is very silly." "I want to see the tiodnaci song again." The kids notice how everyone treated each other well. "The kids were nice. His grandma was silly." It made one child talk about frogs, roosters, planes, chicken pox and put on a puppet show afterwards." The song about the dancing horse was a favorite.
Age: 2-5
DVD. 51 min.; $24.99
Independent short from TIODNACI PRODUCTIONS, LLC.