Back to School: DVD Review: WORD GIRL The Rise of Miss Power

Believe it or not, the kids are heading back to school in a few weeks. I'll do my best this month to feature products you might find useful as your kids get ready to start a new school year.

I grew up on PBS shows like Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, Electric Company and Zoom. When I was asked to review WORD GIRL: The Rise of Miss Power, I hopped at the chance. My girls haven't watched this show in a year, but the Lil Princess (8) sat down to help me review it.

This DVD contains two episodes. In "The Rise of Miss Power," a new super hero arrives in town with her sidekick Colonel Giggle Cheeks. She agrees to take WORDGIRL under her wing to show her how to fight crime quickly. It soon becomes apparent that Miss Power is nothing more than a bully who uses mean words to fight her enemies. Can WORDGIRL defeat Miss Power and save the city?

What the title episode shows young people is the power of words. Words can be used to build up or cut down. The Lil Princess easily grasped the message, and it has a real application for her at home and at school. Often we think of bullying as being physical, but our words can be just as painful. "The Rise of Miss Power" allows young viewers to understand how our words can hurt others. In addition, it shows how your actions and personality can change as a result of using such hurtful words.

In "A World Without WORDGIRL," Becky is upset when her crime fighting responsibilities interfere with enjoying her most amazing birthday party ever. When her wish for a WORDGIRL-free world comes true, she's afraid of what she's just done.

This was another great episode. Like the first one, it teaches a valuable lesson. Becky learns the impact of her wish and how one person can make a huge difference. This easily shows children their value in their home and their community.

WORDGIRL is a fabulous show that blends action, adventure and fun learning. At the beginning of the episode, they announce the words that will be featured during that segment, and they are used often. WORDGIRL or one of the other characters will provide a definition of the word during conversation, so your child will know what the word means and how it is used.

This DVD also has special features: two interactive games and coloring pages. I couldn't get these special features to launch on their own, but the troubleshooting instructions included on the DVD got me to them just fine. The games are short, but there are more games online.

WORDGIRL is geared toward younger elementary students. If your child struggles with vocabulary or reading comprehension, they can find some help from this show.

Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Subtitles: English

Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only.)

Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: NR (Not Rated)

Studio: PBS (DIRECT)

DVD Release Date: February 21, 2012

Run Time: 70 minutes

I received a free copy of this DVD from the publicist in exchange for my honest opinion. I received no monetary compensation of any kind for this review.

You've Got Mail Monday

It's Monday, so that means another peek inside my mailbox. After returning from vacation, we had a boatload of mail. Thankfully there wasn't as much to sift through last week. I think our mail carrier is on vacation, because the mail is coming later than usual, and one day we didn't get any mail at all--which rarely happens.

A new Justice® catalog arrived. The girls try to beat each other to the table when that one comes in. The Lil Diva (10) and the Lil Princess (8) have already given me a list of things they want for back to school. Hard to believe school starts up again in month.

Another great catalog that came in was Pottery Barn Kids. We're eyeing their Larkin Bedroom Collection for the Lil Princess. Her bed belonged to her father and her dresser was the one I bought when I was pregnant for John Boy (okay, not the best nickname, but I had to call him something). Our son is now 25, so I'm impressed that the dresser is still usable. Our girl is definitely due for an upgrade. We bought the Lil Diva bedroom furniture from Bob's Discount Furniture a couple of years ago. She's tough on things, so I didn't want to spend a lot of money. It's holding up well, and she's been happy with it, so it was a good purchase.

The American Girl® doll catalog also showed up. We had a group of girls over yesterday and they all played in the bonus room with their American Girl dolls. It's cute to watch them. I think Santa is supposed to bring McKenna this year.

Our Fed-Ex® driver dropped off a package that contained a scanner and software from the National Consumer Panel. I used to participate in this program years ago, when the technology wasn't as advanced as it is now. After reviewing the contents: scanner, charge base, USB cable, and software, I've decided it isn't for me. What you are supposed to do is scan your purchases. In addition, you can complete surveys using the scanner's keyboard. You earn points for rewards.

I must have forgotten how time consuming a project it is. Though you scan barcodes, there is still a lot of manual entry: store name, if you used coupons, if you used a rewards card, and the most time consuming--price and quantity. Granted, the scanner will use the data you input to remember your favorite stores, but I buy over $200 worth of groceries a week. I pay attention to prices while in the store, but once I get home I just want to put it all away. If I need to hold onto my receipt and find a price to match up each product I purchase, it will take me an hour or more to get all the groceries put away. It's a shame, because I really wanted to do this.

That's it for You've Got Mail Monday. Look for my reviews of WordGirl: The Rise of Miss Power and Super Why: Around the World Adventure coming this week.

Coming Soon: Reviews of PBS KIDS™ WordGirl and Super WHY DVDs

Last week, two PBS KIDS™ DVDs arrived:  Super Why: Around the World Adventure and WordGirl: The Rise of Miss Power.  In addition to the television show episodes featured on each DVD, there are also special features like interactive games, music videos, and coloring pages.

Look for my review of these two DVDs coming soon!