books for children

The Perfect Easter Basket DVD: The Springtime Collection (Giveaway!)

March 23, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 69 Comments

Have you noticed a trend this year to move away from candy kids’ Easter baskets? I’m not jumping on that band wagon, but I do see the point and I am making some changes in the types of candy I am purchasing. I mean, the type that the Easter Bunny will be bringing. 😉

But I do like the idea of having some non-candy stuff in the basket, and if you are looking for a great DVD option, this is it! Scholastic has just released The Springtime Collection Featuring Max’s Chocolate Chicken. It is going to be released on March 26th and will retail for $24.95. It contains 13 stories over 3 discs and they are all winners!

Disc 1: MAX’S CHOCOLATE CHICKEN…AND MORE STORIES BY ROSEMARY WELLS – also includes “Max’s Christmas”, “Morris’s Disappearing Dog”, “Otto Runs for President”, “Max’s Christmas – Spanish Version”. (Max, by the way, is from Max and Ruby which is currently on Nick, Jr.)

Disc 2: THE RED HEN…AND MORE COOKING STORIES – also includes “Bread Comes to Life”, “How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?”, and “Arnie the Doughnut” (This is one of Darah’s VERY favorite Scholastic DVDs, by the way)

Disc 3: CHICKEN LITTLE…AND MORE ZANY ANIMAL STORIES – also includes “The Great White Man-Eating Shark”, “The Three-Legged Cat”, and “Dooby Dooby Moo”

Darah has asked to watch Max’s Chocolate Chicken multiple times, and it has gotten her very excited about the Easter Bunny’s upcoming visit! If your little one would love some new shows to watch, I highly recommend this set. It has almost 3 hours of quality content! It can be purchased on the Scholastic website or on Amazon.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a copy of The Springtime Collection Featuring Max’s Chocolate Chicken!

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Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post may contain affiliate links. Gotta pay for those Easter eggs!

Get Your Kids Inspired to Cook! The Red Hen DVD GIVEAWAY!

March 5, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 48 Comments

Do you have a child who is currently interested in “helping” in the kitchen? Or do you want to give a little nudge to get your child more interested in the process of making food? I have a DVD to share with you today that I think will help make cooking with kids a regular event at your house!

Scholastic (of course!) has recently released The Red Hen and More Cooking Stories. This 56 minute video has 3 really cute stories all related to food. The first one is about a red hen and all the trouble she goes through to do a little baking.

After The Red Hen comes a live action film narrated by the fantastic Lily Tomlin. It’s called Bread Comes to Life and it is REALLY fascinating, showing the entire process from start to finish of making lots and lots of bread. It sort of reminded me of trips Mr. Rogers would take from time to time to different factories.

Finally, one of our very favorite authors, Jane Yolen, has her book How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? is brought to life. If you aren’t familiar with her dinosaur books, they are really delightful. I purchase copies of them for gifts every time I find them at our local used book store.

I highly recommend this DVD for all the little chefs-in-training! It retails for 14.95.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a copy of The Red Hen And More Cooking Stories!

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.
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I received a complimentary DVD for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

March On and Stone Soup DVDs (GIVEAWAY!!!)

February 19, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 68 Comments

Scholastic has just published some great new DVDs and I’m excited to be sharing them with you today!

First up, we have Stories About African American Heritage Featuring March On. This is a FANTASTIC 3 DVD set that commemorates Black History Month. In the set you will find 13 award-winning stories that run a total of 3 hours. You will see stunning illustrations and hear narrators such as Phylicia Rashad (one of my childhood idols…this is Claire from The Cosby Show!), James Earl Jones, Samuel L. Jackson and Forest Whitaker. I would say that this box set is a true treasure, and a must not only for schools, but also for personal collections. This set retails for $24.95 and can be found here.

In addition, Scholastic is celebrating Chinese New Year by releasing Stone Soup And Other Stories from the Asian Tradition. Stone Soup is actualy one of my favorite folktales because of what it highlights: when people pool their resources, the sum is greater than the parts! Three other stories are also found in this collection, and if you are a Law and Order: SVU fan, you will recognize the voice of B.D. Wong. This DVD is 43 minutes in length (that’s the perfect amount of time for a Saturday afternoon “movie” viewing experience for my 3 year old!). It retails for $14.95 and can be purchased here.

Our Scholastic DVD collection is one of our prize possessions in our home. If you haven’t had the pleasure of owning any of their titles yet, let 2013 be the year you give them a try. You will love them, I absolutely know it!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a copy of March On, and one reader will win a copy of Stone Soup!

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Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Make Way for Robots! Scholastic My First Collection DVD Set Review and GIVEAWAY!!

November 13, 2012 · by Tiffany Merritt · 88 Comments

Volume 4 of the My First Collection from Scholastic was recently released, and it is fantastic! This DVD series features stories that are aimed at children from ages 2-6. Darah has consistenly loved every My First Collection series she has received. She has MANY Scholastic DVDS, but the ones from these collections get viewed the most frequently.

Volume 4 has some very cool stories, including Robot Zot (and more rhyming stories), Too Many Toys (and more stories about problem solving) and The Curious Garden (and more stories about nature). There’s something for everyone! I also like how thoughtfully Scholastic has each book narrated. They are interesting to listen to in their own right, but adults will often hear familiar voices (on this set you will hear Zach Braff).

And of course, the Scholastic Read-Along feature (where the words are at the bottom of the screen and highlighted as they are read) is available. I always have that feature turned on to help Darah with her reading skills.

The set of 3 DVDs is available for $24.95 and would be a fabulous holiday gift. You can also purchase each single DVD for $12.95. If you don’t have any Scholastic titles in your video collection for your kids, I just can’t say enough wonderful things about them. They are true treasures for us. In fact, I will be giving a DVD set to a niece of mine for Christmas and I know she is going to giggle and laugh again and again as she watches it, just as Darah does! Scholastic videos are winners, to be sure!

Speaking of winners, it’s time to win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a copy of My First Collection Volume 4!

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Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.