Happy November!

Here are our top book suggestions for the month!

These Star Wars Epic Yarns board books are great for the very young readers! Star Wars® Epic Yarns that tells the story of each of the first three Star Wars movies in just 12 words and 12 iconic scenes depicted in incredibly detailed – and adorable – needle felt.

What a great way to introduce the youngest of children to Star Wars! I received copies and highly recommend! Would be great for ages 2-5.

Created by twins Holman and Jack Wang, the team behind the hit Cozy Classics series, Star Wars Epic Yarns will delight Star Wars fans, geek-y crafters and fans of the cute! The Wang brothers painstakingly re-create each scene in incredible detail at a 1:7 scale, building elaborate sets and staging elaborate on-location photo shoots.

You can find them at http://www.chroniclebooks.com/

The next one is a great one for Moms and Dads! It is actually a great one for families!

Conversation Starters for Young & Old!

In the midst of our hurried, screen-filled lives, actual meaningful connection can be difficult. Are we losing the ability to truly connect with one another? Have we forgotten how to communicate without texting? This holiday season, give the gift of richer life and better connections.

Margery Leveen Sher, a work-life balance expert and author of the new book The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing: Change Your Life Without Changing Your Routine, offers fun and thought-provoking conversation starters and “noticings” to discuss with the entire family around the dinner table, or with coworkers at the next team-building activity. In The Noticer’s Guide, entertaining observations lead to lively conversation, which leads, ultimately, to better connections and more happiness.

I received a copy of this one and I really like how this can be used with the entire family! A great way to get families to communicate with each other!

More about the Author:

Margery Leveen Sher is the Founder and Chief Noticing Officer of The Did Ya Notice? Project™. Sher is a writer, speaker, entrepreneur, and executive who has had a long consulting career working with corporations, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and foundations. She co-founded, grew, and eventually sold a successful consulting firm, which specialized in developing work-life balance programs and policies. Her firm worked with many multinational corporations as well as U.S. government agencies including the White House. She also has developed a number of non-profit organizations and two charitable funds.

Sher posts new Noticing essays weekly at www.DidYaNotice.com and she blogs for The Huffington Post. She has published a book on corporate-supported childcare and numerous articles on various aspects of work-life balance.

Sher holds a Master’s Degree in Developmental Psychology from Rutgers University. She is the mother of two excellent, grown sons and has one amazing grandson. She is an expert at getting people to laugh.

Website: www.DidYaNotice.com

The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing can be purchased from www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com

The next one is a New Children’s Book That Teaches Kids How to Play Fair Amid Competition!

Win or Lose, I Love You! Teaches Children That Value Is Tied To Who They Are, Not How They Play!

This one has such an important lesson for young kids today. I loved the story and bright illustrations.

Do you have a Minecraft fan at home? The next one is a must-buy if you do!

JeromeASF is an enormously popular Minecraft Internet personality with nearly 3.6 million YouTube subscribers and over 647 million views. He has teamed up with Sky Pony Press, whose unofficial novels for Minecrafters are an industry phenomena with over 1.25 million titles sold, to debut his Bacca character in BACCA AND THE RIDDLE OF THE DIAMOND DRAGON: An Unofficial Minecrafter’s Adventure (8/4/15; $9.99; ages 9+). JeromeASF’s debut novel is timed to release with the premiere of a brand-new animated webseries based on the author’s Bacca character.
Perfect for Minecraft fans of all ages, Bacca and the Riddle of the Diamond Dragon showcases the YouTube Minecraft star that fans around the world have come to love: funny, creative, and just a little bit crazy!

Using an expert’s knowledge of the game and an exciting plot that mirrors much of what users would actually be doing while playing the game, the book is an energetic and action-packed digital saga. Perfect for reluctant readers, these books are sure to fly off the shelves just as quickly as the bestselling PC game of all time.

I received a copy of this one and I do recommend for kids ages 9+…especially if you have a Minecraft fan! Bacca is a very likable character and older kids will enjoy this one!

You can purchase at the following:  amazon, B&N, indiebound.

Our KIDS FIRST! Film Critics have called the new Disney / Pixar film, Inside Out, a “masterpiece” of animation. They love the storyline which explores the bumpy road of pre-teens and the emotions they experience while growing up. It explores the emotions that a young girl, Riley experiences when her family moves cross country and she is torn away from everything that is familiar.  As Riley and her emotions struggle to adjust to a new life in a new city, turmoil ensues with her emotions. Although Riley’s main and most important emotion, Joy tries to keep things positive, her other emotions kick in as she tries to navigate a new city, new house and new school. KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Willie J. comments, “We have a masterpiece on our hands. Pixar has done it again… I will gladly go on record by calling this one of the finest animated features to ever be created.” Ryan R. adds, “I love watching Inside Out because it is hilarious and enjoyable for all ages.” Samantha A. concludes with, “Something I really enjoy about this movie is that it’s a childish take on a more complex topic… One thing I learned from this movie is that you don’t always have to be happy. It’s good to express other feelings like sadness or anger.” See their full reviews below.

Inside Out (DVD/Blu-ray/Digital)

by Willie J., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 16

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a masterpiece on our hands. Pixar has done it again. They already lay claim to two of the top 100 movies of all-time with Up and Wall-E and they have now added Inside Out to their mantelpiece. I will gladly go on record by calling this one of the finest animated features to ever be created. Why? Because it’s THE most innovative, imaginative and creative film to be made since 2008s Synecdoche, New York.

The beautiful thing about this movie is that both adults and children can enjoy it. As a matter of fact, I’d say that adults may enjoy it more, because they can have a more fundamental understanding of what this film is. It is 100 minutes of analogous brilliance, that changes our idea of what goes on in our heads.

Is this idea fathomable or true? No. But the analogy provides the very product film was invented to produce: a stimulation of the imagination.

Children will enjoy the beautiful colors and the basic plot. What the children can understand is what they can relate to: growing up and adjusting to life as they enter puberty. They will laugh at things that SEEM funny or the more, for lack of better word, simple pieces of humor. But the true jokes, the pieces of humor that have the most intellect are the ones children won’t understand. I appreciate those the most because they’re fathomable. It’s the moment when you laugh, not because the joke is ridiculous, but because you can actually imagine that happening.

Amidst the hilarity there is also a certain depth of emotion. There is a tear-jerking moment, yes, but I mean more along the lines of nostalgia. The way the movie portrays the effects of the emotions and the rationalization that go along with them, conjure a desire to reflect on oneself in their pre-teen days. This film may literally get into the mind of a pre-teen, but the metaphorical representation is what seals the reflection. “I was like that?”, “Is that how I thought then…I that how I think now?” may be questions you find yourself asking yourself. These are the effects of a brilliant screenplay.

On a final and personal note, I’ll tell this short story. There is a scene in the film, where two officers are questioning a cloud in Imagination Land about her dead husband. Then, in the middle of the interrogation the cloud herself is killed as she is run through by our main character. One cop goes, “Hey wait…”, but as he says that, the other cop grabs him and says, “Forget it Jake, it’s Cloud Town.” Get it? It’s a parody of the famous final words from the classic 1974 noir, Chinatown. I’ll tell you, it wasn’t very comfortable being the only person in the theater laughing at that joke. It’s just one joke amongst many. Beyond the hilarity and, mainly due to the aforementioned reasons I explained, I happily give this instant classic 5 out of 5 stars. I recommend it for ages 7 to 18.

This film will be released on DVD/Blu-ray/Digital on November 3 and its bonus features are very informative and engaging. They give wonderful insights to the making of the movie. The feature,  Story of the Story really tells you how much thinking went into this story. Mixed Emotions and Mapping the Mind go hand in hand as they provide both characterizations of the emotions and scientific findings pertaining to our emotions. There are also great features about the underrated parts of making this movie, like how the score was created and what the editing was like.

My favorite of all of them, is the short film Lava which has become one of my favorite short films.

Inside Out (DVD/Blu-ray/Digital)

By KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, Ryan R., age 11

I love watching Inside Out because it is hilarious and enjoyable for all ages. I also like that this movie sends out a positive message on how all five emotions have a role to help Riley (voiced by Kaitlyn Dias).

This film is about five emotions Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust. In the movie, Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler) and Sadness (Voiced by Phyllis Smith) need to find their way back to headquarters to save Riley from losing her personality and her emotions Joy and Sadness. Will they be able to save Riley or will Riley live a life without Joy and Sadness? If you want to know more you should go get this DVD.

I really like this Blu-ray/DVD combo because there are so many features. There are deleted scenes, trailers for upcoming movies, and many more. My favorite feature on the Blu-ray disc are two shorts. One is about Riley’s first date and it is hilarious and the other is called Lava which is about a lonely volcano. I love the song in that one. I love deleted scenes because I enjoy seeing them explain why a particular scene wasn’t in the final cut of the movie.

I enjoy this film so much because of the talented voice acting. My favorite character is Joy voiced by Amy Poehler.  I love how she portrays the voice of this character and makes the character sound so ecstatic. I like the jokes that her character makes and how she sounds so optimistic. Another reason why she is my favorite character is because she is like me – we are always happy and we both look on the positive side of things. If you need a positive role model, Joy is that!

The moral lesson of this film is that you need to feel every emotion in life. You just can’t be happy in all situations and experiencing each emotion is a good thing. Sadness shows Riley how to be empathetic. Disgust is honest because Disgust tells her whether something is good or not. Fear protects Riley from being hurt. Anger is there to make sure that Riley is not run over. This movie shows how you need to feel all these emotions in order to be a balanced person. It sounds like therapy but it’s not. It’s really fun.

I recommend this to kids ages 3 to 18 and I think adults will  like this as well. I also recommend this to people who like animated family and adventure movies. I give this film 5 out of 5 stars and recommend the DVD combo pack for all the extra features it includes.

Inside Out

By Gerry O., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, Age 13

When you think of a Disney/Pixar film, you think of a film that resembles a fairy tale story. I am extremely surprised by Inside Out. Not only did it make me laugh and almost cry, but it was intense and the ending was so unexpected.

This, of course, has great comedy that kids of all ages will enjoy and adults as well. However, it isn’t all fun and games. There is a lot of drama in this film, much more than I expected, and there is plenty of action too. But, it is all mixed together very nicely to keep audience entertained.

The story is about a young girl named Riley. She is an 11-year-old hockey fan and overall happy kid. Her family moves to San Francisco and she has to leave her old life behind. In her head, where her emotions control her personality, Sadness and Joy accidently get launched out the hub, where they control her. They have to travel extremely far back to the hub. Will it be too late when they get there? Her only emotions at work are fear, disgust, and anger!

This film is nothing but beautiful and thought provoking. The idea is so original, and the way they pull it off is right on target. The animation is exquisite. I love how they animate and illustrate each emotion to represent its character, down to the smallest detail. There is no possibility left behind. The story takes many twists and turns, making sure the viewer never anticipates the ending. The directing and producing are wonderful. The camera shots are amazing and really explore the scenes and the world around the characters.

My favorite scene is when Riley’s emotions first come to life. She is a newborn and her first emotion is Joy, then Sadness and the rest come afterwards. The thing I like about this most is that it shows that Riley is different. Usually a baby is immediately sad, not joyful. But this shows Riley is really a happy and cheerful girl. It is a very important scene and really takes a look at Riley herself, deeper than the viewer originally thinks when they first see it.

The only thing parents should be worried about in this movie is that it might be a bit too dramatic for little kids and it might be difficult for them to understand the concept of these emotions. So, I recommend it for ages four to eighteen and I give it five out of five stars because, over all, it is a beautifully executed original story.

The Inside Out DVD Combo includes a blu-ray disc, a blu-ray bonus feature disc and a regular DVD with bonus features. Bonus materials on DVD deserve a special mention. If you would like to see the movie with the comments from the creators, you can turn that feature on and immediately see the story from a different prospective. I most liked the fact how you are truly discovering the hidden story behind the one on the screen.

Credit: KIDS FIRST!