The current state of the American public school system places less emphasis on creative development and more on the basic fundamentals of math, science, language, etc. It’s good to focus on those things, but it’s been shown time and again that fostering a child’s creativity actually leads to better performance virtually everywhere else. So if you’re looking to give your young ones an extra infusion or nudge towards a creative mind, then the stories of Scholastic Storybook Treasures’ “Young Artists Collection” might be a good supplement for your educational needs thanks to some solid children’s stories and an interesting collection of celebrity talent as narrators.
You can watch the stories with or without the read-along subtitles (designed to teach kids how to read) and all of them have narration by the likes of Calista Flockhart, Billy Dee Williams, Alfre Woodard, Marvin Hamlisch, Aretha Franklin, Thora Birch, Zach Braff, and Bobby McFerrin.
The collection of stories is quite enjoyable and provides about 2 hours and 45 minutes of entertainment.
The 15 stories assembled here include:
Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin by Lloyd Moss
Keeping House by Margaret Mahy
Musical Max by Robert Kraus
Patrick by Quentin Blake
Apt. 3 by Ezra Jack Keats
The Star-Spangled Banner by Peter Spier
The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds
Art by Patrick McDonnell
Ish written by Peter H. Reynolds
Norman the Doorman by Don Freeman
Wallace’s Lists by Barbara Bottner and Gerald Kruglik
Shrinking Violet by Cari Best
Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
Three Cheers for Catherine the Great by Cari Best
DVD Bonus Features
Save for the Read-Along feature and the Spanish versions of two of the stories, the only featurette is an interview with author Patrick McDonnell.
"Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin and More Stories for Young Musicians" is on sale July 26, 2011 and is not rated. Animation, Children & Family. Written by Lloyd Moss, Margaret Mahy, Robert Kraus, Quentin Blake, Ezra Jack Keats, Peter Spier, Cari Best Peter H. Reynolds. Starring Alfre Woodard, Billy Dee Williams, Calista Flockhart, Thora Birch, Zach Braff, Aretha Franklin, Bobby Mcferrin, Marvin Hamlisch.
