Synopsis:
"Lion cubs Lionel and Leona and their parents Cleo and Theo welcome you to a library like no other! In BETWEEN THE LIONS, the doors swing open to reveal a magical place where characters pop off the pages of books, vowels sing, and words take on a life of their own. “VOWEL POWER” includes five fun-filled episodes. In “The Chap with Caps,” the Lion family helps a writer fix a story about a chap, a cap, and lots of chattering monkeys (target sound – short “a”). In the second episode, “Pecos Bill Cleans Up the West,” a storybook tornado blows into the library and makes a terrible mess (target sound – short “e”). In “Little Big Mouse,” Click’s feelings are hurt when Lionel and Leona start a fan club for a heroic storybook mouse (target sound – short “i”), and in “The Lost Rock,” a rock rolls out of his book and then can’t remember which book he belongs in (target sound – short “o” and double “o”). The final episode, “Fuzzy Wuzzy, Wuzzy?,” uses the childhood rhyme, Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear. Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t fuzzy, was he?, to help kids learn (target sound – short “u”). "
Special Features:
Printable activities, coloring pages, and practice sheets
Runtime: Approx. 125 minutes
SRP: $9.99
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My Thoughts:
If you have preschool age children, this would make the perfect Easter basket gift, as the DVD is not only entertaining to watch, but your children will learn in the process. :-) I first found out about this show when Savannah was a year old. I was flipping through the channels and stumbled upon it, and for some reason started to watch it. I could see Savannah was getting into it, as she loved puppets and hearing the stories being told to her. We started to watch this show on a daily basis, but then it stopped airing on PBS Kids. Thankfully, there were other fun educational programs she was starting to get into including Sesame Street, but I always wondered about this show and hoped it would come back on the air, or at least release to DVD so that I could watch with the girls.
A few weeks ago, I received a press release about this very thing -- that PBS distribution was "Between the Lions: Vowel Power" on DVD. I waited until I received a review copy to tell the girls. I wasn't sure if Savannah would remember the show, but as soon as I started playing the DVD, I saw her eyes light up and she smiled, as she turned to me and said "I remember this show, Mama." She wasn't talking when we first saw this series, but now is, so it was great to see how far she has come in a couple of years. :-)
If you are not familiar with the PBS Kids series, here is more about it:
"BETWEEN THE LIONS is designed to help kids ages 3 to 7 learn to read. Unique among the hundreds of programs aimed at children, this puppet, animated, and live-action show is curriculum based – a lively, educational blend of phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, and other teaching methods for preschool, kindergarten, and first grade students. Independent studies show that kids who regularly watch BETWEEN THE LIONS learn key reading skills faster than kids who don’t watch. "
Because it has been awhile since we watched this show, I wasn't familiar with the five episodes that make up this upcoming DVD release. Included on this DVD are the following episodes, which have already aired on television:
- The Chap with Caps -- Target sound - short "a"
- Pecos Bill Cleans Up the West -- Target sound - short "e"
- Little Big Mouse -- Target Sound - short "i"
- The Lost Rock -- Target Sound -- short "o" and double "o"
- Fuzzy, Wuzzy, Wuzzy? -- Target Sound -- short "u"
It was hard to tell which of the above episodes were my girls' favorite, as we have watched this DVD countless times since receiving a short time ago. I loved watching the girls get into each episode, as the magical storybooks came alive, characters popped off the pages of the book and vowels sang.
I am so happy to final be able to share this wonderful show with the girls, and love watching them practice their vowel sounds.
Disclosure: I was sent a screener copy from the vendor in order to write up an honest review. All views shared are mine and mine alone.
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