Amazon.com
An excellent introduction to Earth Day for preschoolers, this double-episode tape will be a perennial favorite whatever the season. In the title story, Franklin--a preschool-aged turtle who sports a red baseball cap--digs an enormous hole in his front yard in preparation for the tree he'll receive as part of his village's Earth Day celebration. His disappointment is equally large when he is handed a tiny sapling. It takes the wisdom of Mr. Heron, the local naturalist, to help him understand that all living things start small. In "Franklin's Garden," the little reptile overcomes his irritation at a ravenous caterpillar who devours his prized flowers in order to learn the wonder of the insect's transformation to chrysalis and then butterfly. Based on the book characters of Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark, this 22-minute video will absorb 3-5 year-olds, but its gentle nature and colorful animal characters will entertain children as young as 18 months.
--Kimberly Heinrichs
