Customer Reviews

A Pocket For Corduroy [VHS]

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I am a children's librarian delighted to see two favorite storytime videos available for the home market. "A Pocket for Corduroy" is an extraordinary live-action adaptation of the story by Don Freeman in which a toy bear accidentally gets left behind in a laundromat(with puppet animation so seamless that kids (and grown-ups!) are left wondering how they filmed it!) The video also contains "The Remarkable Riderless Runaway Tricycle," a very funny live-action adaptation of the book by Bruce McMillan in which a tricycle, whose young owner distractedly abandons it, ends up in a dump, escapes and careens around town before returning, at last, to its downcast owner. Both these videos are library favorites shown year after year in library storytimes.

Other wonderful videos by the same producer are:
"Corduroy and Other Bear Stories" (not to be confused with the television show "Adventures of Corduroy" -- this is a much better product) and "A Boy, A Dog, and a Frog, and other Frog Stories."

To improve vocabulary, comprehension, and fine motor skills, this October a series of DVDs comes out of Scholastic Storybook Treasures where you can now introduce your child to Sign Language!

A Pocket for Corduroy
1 DVD Disc being released October 26, 2010

When I first saw this title, I got really excited because I used to read the Corduroy books as a child and I had a live action version of the story on a VHS tape somewhere so I was hoping for the movie, but like the other DVD above, this is the book comes to life through illustrations and sign language. This DVD has a running time of 38 minutes plus extras of sign language vocabulary, comprehension quizzes, alphabet fingerspelling, and a read-along feature. "A Pocket for Corduroy" was written and illustrated by Don Freeman of the story of a little bear's quest for a pocket that takes him on a journey through the laundromat. The next story is "Blue Burt and Wiggles" that was written and illustrated by Derek Anderson about two friends who try to make the summer last forever because they don't want to say goodbye. The last story is "Big Al" by Andrew Clements and illustrated by Yoshi (Mario's dinosaur friend that eats eggs????). This is the story of a big guy without any friends because the other fish are afraid of him until the day he proves what a great asset he is and becomes loved by all. Each of the stories has a sign language professional on the screen telling the story so your child can practice along.

The latest entries in the Scholastic Storybook Treasures series incorporate sign language in the read-along stories. The DVDs in this series were designed to "help children of all hearing abilities to gain literacy and pre-reading skills." They teach early sign language skills in a format appropriate for preschool children. As in all the DVDs in the Storybook Treasures series, fun, colorful illustrations delight the eye as the story is told.

Scholastic Storybook Treasures - A Pocket for Corduroy offers the long-popular title story about the adventures of a stuffed bear that wanders off in search of a pocket while at the laundromat with his little girl owner. Two other stories on the subject of unlikely friendships are Blue Burt and Wiggles about two best friends who happen to be a bird and a worm that don't want to let summer end, and Big Al about a very big, very lonely fish who wants to make friends, but the smaller fish are afraid of him until they learn what a valuable friend he can be.

All three stories on each DVD are appropriate for toddlers, beginning readers, and beginning signers, and are recommended for ages two through nine. Captions can be left on or turned off. Extras include vocabulary and quiz activities for each story and a demonstration of the ASL (American Sign Language) alphabet. Each vocabulary exercise demonstrates the proper sign for a variety of the words used in the related story; the quizzes test comprehension. The stories and activities are designed to support vocabulary, comprehension and fine motor skills.

There are two very good reasons why parents of hearing children should introduce them to ASL. One comes from Scholastic: "Studies have linked early sign language learning to improved fine motor skills, increased vocabulary [and] higher IQ scores." The other is common sense: the more skills a child has, the more adaptable s/he is. This adaptability translates to increased opportunities

I LOVE this video. It all starts when Lisa and her mom go to the laundromat with Corduroy. When Lisa goes out to get ice cream with her friends, a mom and a boy come in. The boy rides his trike around and crashes into Corduroy's basket which sends him flying into the boy's basket. The boy's mom doesn't notice Corduroy and accidentally throws him into the laundry. When Lisa returns, she doesn't see Corduroy where she put him. After the boy and his mom go home, the mom sees Corduroy in the clean laundry. The boy takes care of Corduroy during the night. In the morning, Lisa goes to the laundromat and finds Corduroy wheeling over to her in a laundry basket. That night, she sewed a pocket on Corduroy's overalls and puts an ID card in it so that whenever he gets lost, everyone will konw where he belongs.

The stories really come to life on this DVD! The ASL signers are just so excellent and the animation, voice over, and on-screen display of the words are all fabulously done and work really well together. This is no "baby signing" either. These stories are told in fluent ASL by native speakers. In that respect, this DVD is a great resource for families that speak ASL in the home for whatever reason. Out of all the ASL materials I've seen for kids, this is the BEST. This DVD is exactly what we have wanted for our family for almost three years now, since we found out our son is deaf and decided to raise him bilingually. The only complaint I have is: there aren't enough stories or DVDs in the series. More please!!!

Corduroy is no ordinary teddy bear. Just when you least expect it (as when you are asleep), he comes to life. He is full of antics.

A little girl (Lisa) loses Corduroy at a laundry. She pleads with the owner to find him. The mischievous teddy bear ends up, by mistake, at a boy's house. At night, Corduroy comes to life and rides on a skateboard across the home. The parents lock up the dog, thinking that he is the one making all the nighttime commotion. Corduroy gets away.

Lisa continues to miss Corduroy. He takes a ride on a truck chute, and ends up locked in in a box for shipping. The suspense is obvious to all: Will Corduroy and Lisa ever see each other again?

As a teacher, I have found that this VHS keeps the attention of small children very well.