Archives for 2015

 

This new Disney / Pixar film explores the bumpy road of pre-teens and the emotions they experience when growing up. Riley, who is uprooted from her Midwest life when her father starts a new job in San Francisco is guided by her emotions – Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness. The emotions live in Headquarters, the control center inside Riley’s mind, where they help advise her through everyday life. As Riley and her emotions struggle to adjust to a new life in San Francisco, turmoil ensues in Headquarters. Although Joy, Riley’s main and most important emotion, tries to keep things positive, the emotions conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house and school. KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Mia A. comments, “This animated movie is incredible! The animation is spot on. It is so detailed and life-like that sometimes, it made me forget that it is a cartoon and not real.” Tre’ana H. adds, “It captures some comedic moments and connects you to to your inner self. It makes you become more aware and in touch with your conscience.” See their full reviews below.

 

Inside Out

By Mia A., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 13

https://youtu.be/YvfODvPVgYE

This animated movie is incredible! This is one of my favorite Disney / Pixar movies. The story is about a young girl named Riley (Kaitlyn Dias) who moves from Minnesota to San Francisco with her family and how her emotions support and confuse her through the move.  Amy Poehler as Joy, Bill Hader as Fear, Mindy Kaling as Disgust, Phyllis Smith as Sadness and Lewis Black as Anger are perfect for the roles. It gets the audience attached to her emotions.

 

Many people might enjoy the movie because some of the emotions, characters and scenes have happened to you or you have felt the same things. That’s what makes it so relatable and realistic. In one scene, all the emotions are taking charge of a young Riley and they are reacting to her trying broccoli for the first time. During that scene, I was laughing and relating to what the emotions were saying.

 

This animation is very fascinating. I give it a five out of five stars because of all the funny and bittersweet moments. I recommend Inside Out for ages 3 to 18 because it has joy for younger kids to like it even though it does have some sad moments.  I believe that adults will like it too. Remember to go watch this amazing film when it comes out in theaters June 19 because It is totally worth it.

Inside Out

By Tre’ana H., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 11

Inside Out is a Disney / Pixar film that is filled with emotions tied up like a shoe lace.  It captures some comedic moments and connects you to to your inner self. It makes you become more aware and in touch with your conscience.

The movie is about a girl named Riley (Kaitlyn Dias) who lives in Minnesota with her parents.  Due to some circumstances, the family relocates to San Francisco.  Riley starts to have different emotions going on throughout this tenacious move.  She misses her friends; she is starting at a new school.  Her emotions are all over the place.  These five emotions in Riley’s brain are Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith).  These emotions play a very important role in her life and keep her balanced.  When one is out of whack it definitely affects her mood.  She goes through so many obstacles as a pre-teen which is very trying.  I can relate because I am also eleven and I am very in touch with my emotions and pre-teen feelings.  It touches on so many ideas that are realistic in my everyday life.

The director and writer Pete Docter does an outstanding job creating the visual effects of these animated characters and their emotions.  The bright colors and costumes distinguish each emotion’s individuality. The pitch of their voice captivates and draws you into their character.  Each emotion has a unique personality.

My favorite part of this movie is when Disgust says, “What does this button mean?” It is Puberty!  I can relate because this is the next phase of my life that I am approaching.

I recommend this movie for ages 8 to 18 and I give it 4 out of 5 stars because it connects to an older audience even though it is targeted to a younger audience. I think younger children can see this, but the parent will have to give them some explanation after the movie.  I really enjoyed it because I could relate to this movie. Inside Out comes out Friday, June 19, 2015. Go and check it out.

Credit: KIDS FIRST! Upcoming attractions! www.kidsfirst.org

 

 

“What is it about the relationship between fathers and daughters that provokes so much exquisite tenderness, satisfying communion, longing for more, idealization from both ends, followed often if not inevitably by disappointment, hurt, and the need to understand and forgive, or to finger the guilt of not understanding and loving enough?” writes Phillip Lopate, in his introduction to Every Father’s Daughter,a collection of 25 personal essays by women writers writing about their fathers. The editor, Margaret McMullan, is herself a distinguished novelist and educator. About half of these essays were written by invitation for this anthology; others were selected by Ms. McMullan and her associate, Philip Lopate, who provides an introduction. The contributors include many well-known writers—Alice Munro, Jayne Anne Phillips, Alexandra Styron, Ann Hood, Bobbie Ann Mason, Maxine Hong Kingston, among others—as well as writers less well-known but no less cogent, inventive, perceptive, lacerating, questioning, or loving of their fathers.

From the Foreword by Margaret McMullan

“After my father died, I couldn’t read or write, perhaps because, in the end, my father was unable to read or write. I didn’t know it then, but I was looking for a collection of intensely personal essays, written by great women writers telling me about their fathers and how they came to know their fathers, a collection which might help me make some kind of sense of my own very close relationship with my father. I wanted to know from women, replacement sisters, if they had similar relationships with their fathers as I had with mine. Or, if their relationships were altogether different, I wanted to know how exactly these relationships were different. I wanted to know if the fact that my father was southern had anything to do with anything. I suppose, more than anything, I just wanted to know that I wasn’t alone in my love, my loss, my loneliness. I wanted to read this anthology, but it did not exist. Writers write the book they want to read. Editors do the same. This book came out of a need, my own, personal, selfish need.

“Eventually, I contacted the authors I loved and admired—some of them friends, some of them friends of my father’s. I never wanted this to feel like an assignment, but I suppose it was. I simply asked these women to tell me about their fathers. They took it from there. For some authors, the idea of writing about a father just clicked, and they wrote their essays, often within days of the request. We all have stories about our fathers, even if it’s a bad story or a non-story, it’s a story. If you write, you will read these essays and feel the need to write your own.

“I kept my father’s tastes very much in mind during the difficult but joyful process of selecting essays for this book. This collection reflects my father, and, of course, other fathers as well. These essays are a sort of collage or mosaic of fatherhood and all the ways daughters communicate or don’t with their fathers. Of course, there’s a long list of wonderful women writers not included here—this anthology really should extend itself into another volume.”

Author’s website: www.margaretmcmullan.com,

About the Author:

Margaret McMullan is the author of six award-winning novels including Aftermath Lounge, In My Mother’s House, Sources of Light, How I Found the Strong, and When I Crossed No-Bob. Her stories and essays have appeared in The Chicago Tribune, Ploughshares, Southern Accents, TriQuarterly, Michigan Quarterly Review, and The Sun, among several other journals and anthologies. She has received an NEA Fellowship in literature and a Fulbright award to teach at the University of Pécs in Pécs, Hungary. She currently holds the Melvin M. Peterson Endowed Chair in Literature and Writing at the University of Evansville in Evansville, Indiana.

Self Disclosure: No compensation was received to post and I did not review. I participated in a Blog Book Tour.

 

 

 

 

Led by a husband-and-wife team of conservatory-trained jazz musicians who lead double lives as successful lawyers, the beloved DC-area band Here Comes Trouble is thrilled to announce the June 9 national release of their debut kids’/family album,Goo On My Shoe, an eclectic collection of songs that celebrate the goofy and sweet things that are likely to pop up in everyone’s life.

Singer/songwriter Kelly Donohue, drummer Jon Babu, and their Here Comes Trouble bandmates are dedicated to preserving one of Kelly’s central songwriting messages:  never pass up a chance to embrace your inner silliness, whatever the occasion. Here Comes Trouble takes kids on musical adventures through bogs filled with procrastinating alligators, dessertless dinners, and soap-free bubble baths, with songs that are a delightfully mixed bag of pop, jazz, and hip hop, sprinkled with traces of rockabilly, samba and punk.  Influences include artists from many genres, including Medeski Martin & Wood, Jimi Hendrix, Shel Silverstein, and practically anything from the 1980s.

Says Kelly Donohue, “Goo On My Shoe holds a special place in my heart because it has given me an opportunity to be a strong role model for girls, showing them it’s okay to be yourself without worrying about fitting into a predictable pattern.  I want girls to know they can be strong, smart, unique, loud, and funny.  I can write a mean legal brief, but I’m also not afraid to snort when I laugh!”

Kelly Donohue and Jon Babu met in 1991, while both were enrolled in joint degree programs at Tufts University and New England Conservatory, where, as Jazz Performance majors, they worked and studied with such jazz greats as Ran Blake, Dominique Eade, and Bob Moses.  After college, Kelly focused on songwriting, arranging, and performing with her vocal quartet Onomatopoeia, while Jon performed and recorded with dozens of bands, toured Germany with a jazz trio, and made NYC headlines with the hip hop group Red Time.  Fast forward to law school for both Kelly and Jon, marriage, children, and very successful legal careers in the DC metro region.

Here Comes Trouble began in 2010, at a time when Kelly and Jon had come to the startling realization that their kids knew nothing of their parents’ musical backgrounds.  On a personal level, forming Here Comes Trouble was about Kelly and Jon rediscovering their passion for music and wanting to show their kids the importance of never giving up on a dream.  Soon after assembling a group of musician friends to round out the band, Here Comes Trouble was off and running.

Here Comes Trouble continues to find a welcome spot on the regional music scene, with performances at such local venues as Baltimore’s Port Discovery and festivals like Rockville Hometown Holidays and Frederick’s Summerfest.  Songs from Goo On My Shoe are already receiving radio airplay, two songs made the 2015 International Songwriting Competition semi-finals, and one song took third place at this year’s Mid-Atlantic Songwriting Contest.

Kelly Donohue and Jon Babu set the bar high at their day jobs, as well.  Kelly was recently made partner at the nationally acclaimed Washington, DC law firm Wilkinson Barker Knauer, where she practices media and trademark law, and Jon is a highly rated tax attorney at an accounting firm in Bethesda, MD.  They feel fortunate to have found employers who embrace their dual-track “Hannah Montana” lifestyles.

I received a copy of this CD and I love their unique sound and that there is a different range of music styles from jazz to pop. I highly recommend for young kids. I think that they will love the lyrics and personally I love the 80’s feel to it.

Visit Here Comes Trouble’s website HERE.

Here Comes Trouble on Facebook

Self Disclosure: I received a free CD to facilitate this post. No other compensation was received. Photos were provided for this feature.

Looking for something fun and free for Dad this Father’s Day?

This Father’s Day there is a new FREE app that makes it fun and simple to turn a family photo into a work of art with just a few clicks; BeFunky.  Make Dad a fun cartoon, turn yourself into a cool greeting card, or even create a frameable masterpiece.   See some fun Father’s Day templates at www.BeFunky.com , which is one of the fastest growing photo editing apps and platforms in the world with over 45 million active user visits per month!

Credit: BeFunky. No compensation was received to post.

This summer, PBS KIDS is encouraging kids and their families to continue learning beyond the school year with a “Summer Safari” of content and activities. Developed to help bridge the summer learning gap, PBS KIDS’ Summer Safari includes specials and new episodes from DINOSAUR TRAIN, WILD KRATTS, CURIOUS GEORGE and WORDGIRL, free digital tools for parents and kids, and partnerships with AARP Foundation Experience Corps, I Can Read books published by Harper Collins Children’s Books, Reading Is Fundamental and National PTA that bring learning activities directly to communities.

 

“Research shows that it is critical to support children’s learning during the summer months to help prevent learning loss while they are out of school,” said Lesli Rotenberg, General Manager, Children’s Media, PBS. “PBS KIDS and our member stations are committed to making summer a fun and enriching time for all kids. Through this year’s Summer Safari programming, national partnerships and community activities, we will provide free PBS KIDS resources to families, helping them learn and explore during the summer months.”

 

Programming

 

DINOSAUR TRAIN: Zeppelin Adventure: PBS KIDS Summer Safari kicks off in June with one-hour specials from DINOSAUR TRAIN every week, including the premiere of DINOSAUR TRAIN: Zeppelin Adventure on Monday, June 15. In this all-new one-hour special, the Pteranodon family takes off on the Dinosaur Train Zeppelin to explore the continent of Pangea.

 

WILD KRATTS Wild Wednesdays: July is jam-packed with WILD KRATTS fun every Wednesday. The month kicks off onWednesday, July 1, with the hit movie WILD KRATTS: Back in Creature Time. Two new episodes of WILD KRATTS premiere each of the following Wednesdays in July. In addition, “Rhino Bowl,” an online game from WILD KRATTS, debuts this summer at pbskids.org. In this new mobile-friendly adventure, players must use rhinoceros-strength creature power to save the day.

 

CURIOUS GEORGE 3: Back to the Jungle: On Monday, August 17, the hit 2009 movie CURIOUS GEORGE 2: FOLLOW THAT MONKEY is followed by the world television premiere of CURIOUS GEORGE 3: Back to the Jungle. In the movie, George goes on an epic adventure to space that crash lands in the jungles of Africa, leading to an unforgettable journey with some new animal friends.

 

WORDGIRL: This summer, WORDGIRL flies onto screens from coast-to-coast and flexes her crime-solving muscles in 20 never-before-seen episodes on PBS KIDS digital platforms, including pbskids.org and the PBS KIDS Video App. Two episodes per week will premiere on air and on digital platforms.

 

 

AARP Foundation: PBS KIDS has partnered with AARP Foundation Experience Corps to extend the learning from this summer’s new WORDGIRL episodes. Through this initiative, AARP Foundation Experience Corps tutors, PBS member stations and their local partners will provide WORDGIRL literacy activity booklets to children in kindergarten through third grade. The activities build on the literacy and vocabulary skills addressed in the new WORDGIRL episodes, which will premiere weekly this summer. Episodes and materials will be available online at youtube.com/pbskids and youtube.com/aarpexperiencecorps, as well as pbskids.org/learn.

 

I Can Read! books published by HarperCollins Children’s Books: PBS KIDS and HarperCollins are offering free reading party kits for hosting an I Can Readathon event through participating retailers and PBS member stations. The kits include an I Can Read! activity booklet, reading logs, activity pages, stickers, certificates, a PBS KIDS Summer Safari activity chart and activity sheets.

 

Reading Is Fundamental and National PTA: PBS KIDS is partnering Reading Is Fundamental and National PTA to encourage families to explore reading and learning through a variety of activities this summer.

 

Digital Resources

 

PBSKIDS.org/learn: PBS KIDS provides parents with daily learning tips, extended learning ideas and recommended games and activities now through August 30 at pbskids.org/learn.

 

Free Apps: PBS KIDS offers a variety of free apps for parents and kids to support summer learning, including the PBS KIDS Super Vision App, now available on Apple Watch, and the popular PBS KIDS Video App. Information about the apps is available at pbskids.org/apps.

 

Free PBS KIDS Videos:  PBS KIDS will once again offer free episodes of favorite PBS KIDS series through iTunes this summer.

 

Local PBS Stations

 

PBS member stations across the country will be bringing PBS KIDS content to life in local communities to engage children ages 2-8 and their families in learning and fun. Local member stations will be partnering with organizations in their communities, including local libraries, schools, museums, social service agencies and more, to host hundreds of local events reaching hundreds of thousands of children and families and providing them with educational experiences, tools and resources.

 

Parents can follow PBS KIDS on Twitter and Facebook for more information on free summer learning resources and special offers from PBS KIDS and its partners.

Credit: PBS KIDS.