Customer Reviews

Treasury of 100 Storybook Classics (Scholastic Storybook Treasures) (Thinpak Packaging)

5 star:		(96)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Scholastic's collection of 100 Storybook Classics is like no other DVD set we've ever owned. Crammed full of animated renditions of well-loved modern children's classics and a wide range of animation styles that match the feel of the original picture-books, there's no better bang for your DVD dollar.

Parents will be thrilled to find well-respected works of literature that have endured the test of time ' Robert McCloskey's Make Way for Ducklings, Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, and H.A. Rey's Curious George Rides a Bike are only a very small sampling of well-loved tales that are found in this collection.

Newer inclusions in the set include Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr., Max's Words by Kate Banks (a new family treasure), andDiary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin. This is such an eclectic collection of animated stories that there is something here for everyone. Animation ranges from pans over the original picture book pages in The Five Chinese Brothers by Clare Huchet Bishop, to full-blown modern animation in Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson, to live-action shorts in Frog Goes to Dinner based on Mercer Mayer's book of the same title. Likewise the production age of the shorts range from the '70s through to recent years.

Divided into sixteen separate DVDs, each represents a thematic collection of stories. For example, the Diary of a Spider DVD also includes other 'critter stories', one about a mouse, another about a 'tadpole', one about a frog, and the other, a termite. Other DVDs include the work of specific authors, the Where the Wild Things AreDVD includes six animated shorts from Maurice Mendak, and the Ezra Jack Keats Collection includes seven stories from ' you guessed it- Ezra Jack Keats.

Each DVD features four featured titles that play with optional 'read-along' text that displays along the bottom of the screen and changes color as each word is narrated. As a bonus, two to three additional animated shorts are included that don't have the 'read-along' feature. The stories that are the most well known also feature foreign-language narrations and 'read-along' text in the target language. Some of the titles include Spanish versions of Make Way for Ducklings, The Snowy Day, Where the Wild Things Are (also available in French), Click, Clack, Moo and more.

Professional narrations are provided by a huge array of voice artists, some notables include: James Earl Jones, Patrick Stewart, Meryl Streep, Pete Seeger, Sarah Jessica Parker, and many others. The stories are wonderfully read, with great matches between the narrators and the stories they've been assigned.

With over 19 hours of viewing, and 100 'picture book inspired' animations included in this sixteen-disc set, you just can't go wrong! Of course there will be some that aren't your favorites; for instance, I'm not a fan of Maurice Sendak, and the jiggly little-boy-bits of In the Night Kitchen have turned me off of that DVD. On the other hand, there are absolutely wonderful new treasures that we've discovered -Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes, and The Foolish Frog by Pete Seeger, are great additions to our digital library.

A very handy guide for checking off which Scholastic Storybook Treasures DVDs you own in your collection is included, along with a small activity book that corresponds with several of the stories in the DVD collection.

I've never seen such a comprehensive collection of animated storybooks, and I highly recommend it ' the cost is less than $1 per animated story, and these treasures will be enjoyed for your children for many years to come.

Alphabetical Title Listing:

Alligators All Around
The Amazing Bone
Angus and the Ducks
Angus Lost
Apt. 3
Arnie the Doughnut
The Beast of Monsieur Racine
Blueberries for Sal
Cat & Canary
The Caterpillar and the Polliwog
Chicka Chicka 1,2,3
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Chicken Little
Chicken Soup with Rice
Chrysanthemum
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type
The Cow Who Fell in the Canal
Curious George Rides a Bike
Danny and the Dinosaur
Diary of a Spider
Dinosaur Bones
Dot the Fire Dog
Drummer Hoff
The Elves and the Shoemaker
Emily's First 100 Days of School
Five Chinese Brothers
Five Creatures
The Foolish Frog
Fourteen Rats and a Rat-Catcher
Frog Goes to Dinner
The Great White Man-Eating Shark
Harold and the Purple Crayon
Harold's Fairy Tale
Harry the Dirty Dog
Here Comes the Cat
Hondo & Fabian
Hot Hippo
How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?
How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon?
How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?
How Much is a Million?
I Stink!
I Want a Dog!
I, Crocodile
If You Made a Million
In the Night Kitchen
Inch by Inch
The Island of the Skog
Let's Give Kitty a Bath!
A Letter to Amy
Lon Po Po
Make Way for Ducklings
Max's Words
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
Millions of Cats
Moon Man
Mouse Around
The Mysterious Tadpole
No Roses for Harry
Norman the Doorman
Officer Buckle and Gloria
One Was Johnny
Owen
Pet Show!
Peter's Chair
Pete's a Pizza
A Picture for Harold's Room
Pierre
Princess Furball
Rapunzel
The Remarkable Riderless Runaway Tricycle
Roberto the Insect Architect
The Snowy Day
Stanley and the Dinosaurs
Stars! Stars! Stars!
The Stonecutter
A Story ' A Story
The Story About Ping
The Story of the Dancing Frog
Strega Nona
The Swineherd
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
T is for Terrible
The Talking Eggs
Teeny-Tiny and the Witch-Woman
Time of Wonder
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Trashy TownThe Trip
The Ugly Duckling
Waiting for Wings
Wallace's Lists
A Weekend with Wendell!
What's Under My Bed?
Where the Wild Things are
Whistle for Willie
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears
Wild About Books
Wings: A Tale of Two Chickens
The Wizard

Spanish Versions of:

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type
Curious George Rides a Bike
Danny and the Dinosaur
Harry the Dirty Dog
How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?
Make Way for Ducklings
Moon Man
Owen
Strega Nona
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
The Caterpillar and the Polliwog
The Snowy Day
Where the Wild Things Are
Whistle for Willie
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears

And:

Where the Wild Things Are (French)
Interview with Maurice Sendak

I thought this set was a great concept. It comes well packaged and each of the main books included covers one of the DVD pages. When I list the names below, the stories on the cover will be labled with an "*" ...

I was disappointed by the organization. Yes. The stories artre all clearly listed on the box in alphabetical order, but they're hard to find on the DVDs because they're not organized in any particular way per DVD set.

For example. I LOVE Courduroy. They probably could have included the live action movie along with the two cartoon versions that more closely resemble the books. Instead.. they put a book called "Yo! Yes?" on the DVD... That starts out with two kids throwing a ball back and forth saying and one saying "You? ... .... .... " pointing to himself and tossing the ball and the other one responding "You? ... ... ...." ...... hmmmm... not so educational. Not so interesting. Kind of a waste of space on the DVD. This particular DVD also has "Here Comes the Cat!" -- which I had never heard of.

While skimming the DVDS, I thought I was getting jipped. 3-4 stories on each of the 16 DVDs doesn't really come up to 100. Thats when I noticed they were counting sories they put in the DVD features as a special. I thought the features area was supposed to be for author comentaries... actual extras.. ?? Then.. The best part of this is that you actually only get 90 stories. 10 are also available in Spanish. If you're not learning spanish.. Given that most DVDs currently come in English and Spanish--- This was a little disappointing. AND misleading. I think that's why I couldn't find a list of stories included ANYWHERE.

The "read along" is really just captions. You can turn them on yourself.

You can't skip their advertisement for the DVD set you already own. You can fast forward... but strangly, you are then able to forward past the main menu and end up watching something aweful.

That being said.. there are a few good ones on here. I haven't really decided if it was worth buying as a set or if I should have purchased each one individually. I spent $50. I'm seeing some of the individuals selling used for as low as $1. (I don't think I'd spend much more than $3 on each one as an individual). Resale value is low....

Key to my list:
Here's the list (And again.. astericks mark the ones that are on the cover). (Sp) means that it is also in Spanish. I have gone ahead and numbered them Sp-10 accordingly. "Bonus" means the story is located in the special features section as a bonus story, rather than on the main menu. ... I only included such detailed info on 8 of 16 DVDs. However, all of the titles are listed.

A-C
1. Alligators All Around
2. Angurs and the Ducks
3. Antartic Antics [Fly Story 2 of 5]
4. Apt. 3
5. The Beast of Monsieur Racine
6. Blueberries for Sal [Ducklings Story 2 of 5]
7. Burt Dow: Deep-Water Man [Ducklings Story 4 of 5] "Bonus"
8. By the Light of the Halloween Moon [Lagoon Story 3 of 7]
9. Cat and Canary
10. The Caterpillar and the Polliwog
11. Changes, Changes
12. Charlie Needs a Cloak [Moo Story 5 of 5] "Bonus"
13. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
14. Chicken Soup with Rice
15. Chysanthemum
16. * Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type [Moo Story 1 of 5] (Sp6)
17. * Corduroy [Corduroy Story 1 of 4]
18. The Cow who Fell in the Canal [Moo Story 4 of 5] "Bonus"
19. Curious George Rides a Bike

D-G
20. A Darm Dark Tale [Lagoon Story 5 of 7] "Bonus"
21. The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash [Moo Story 2 of 5]
22. Drummer Hoff [Harold Story 5 of 6] "Bonus"
23. Elizabeti's Doll [Mama a Llama Story 3 of 5]
24. Five Creatures [Mama a Llama Story 5 of 5] "Bonus"
25. Fossie and the Fox
26. The Foolish Frog
27. 14 Rats and a Rat Catcher
28. Georgie [Lagoon Story 6 of 7] "Bonus"
29. Good Night, Gorilla
30. Goose [Mama a Llama Story 4 of 5]
31. The Great White Man-Eating Shark

H-L
32. Happy Birthday, Moon
33. The Happy Lion
34. * Harold and the Purple Crayon [Harold Story 1 of 6]
35. Harold's Fairy Tale [Harold Story 3 of 6]
36. Harry the Dirty Dog
37. The Hat
38. Here Comes the Cat! [Corduroy Story 3 of 4]
39. Hot Hippo
40. How do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?
41. In the Night Kitchen
42. * Is Your Mama a Llama [Mama a Llama Story 1 of 5] (Sp1)
43. Joey Runs Away
44. John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat
45. Joseph Had a Little Overcoat [Nona Story 2 of 4]
46. Keeping House [Fly Story 4 of 5] "Bonus"
47. Lentil [Ducklings Story 5 of 5] "Bonus"
48. Leo and the Late Bloomer [Mama a Llama Story 2 of 5] (Sp2)
49. A Letter to Amy

M-P
50. * Make Way for Ducklings [Ducklings Story 1 of 5] (Sp5)
51. Monty
52. Musical Max [Fly Story 3 of 5] (Sp7)
53. The Mysterious Tadpole [Harold Story 4 of 6] "Bonus"
54. The Napping House
55. Officer Buckle & Gloria
56. One Was Johnny
57. Owen
58. The Paperboy
59. Patrick
60. Pet Show!
61. Peter's Chair
62. Picnic
63. A Picture for Harold's Room [Harold Story 2 of 6]
64. Pierre
65. The Pig's Wedding [Moo Story 3 of 5]

R-T
66. The Rainbabies [Corduroy Story 4 of 4] "Bonus"
67. Rosie's Walk
68. Smile for Auntie [Harold Story 6 of 6] "Bonus"
69. The Snowy Day
70. Stone Soup [Nona Story 3 of 4] (Sp4)
71. A Stoy, A Story
72. * Strega Nona [Nona Story 1 of 4] (Sp3)
73. The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks [Nona Story 4 of 4] "Bonus"
74. * The Teacher From the Black Lagoon [Lagoon Story 1 of 7]
75. Teeny-Tiny and the Witch-Woman [Lagoon Story 7 of 7] "Bonus
76. * There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly [Fly Story 1 of 5]
77. The Three Robbers [Lagoon Story 4 of 7]
78. Time of Wonder [Ducklings Story 3 of 5]
79. Trashy Town
80. The Trip

V-Y
81. The Village of Round and Square Houses
82. Waiting for Wings [Fly Story 5 of 5] "Bonus"
83. What's Under my Bed? [Lagoon Story 2 of 7]
84. A Weekend for Wendell
85. Where the Whild Things are
86. Whistle for Willie
87. Who's in Rabbit's House?
88. Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears
89. The Wizard
90. Yo! Yes? [Corduroy Story 2 of 4]

Recap:
One star lost for terrible organization.

Half star lost for story selection and choices of movies. (They're not all so great.. but I guess that's what you expect with 100 stories, right?)

Half star lost for including "Bonus" spanish versions as 10 of the 100 stories.
... Oh .. And spanish versions are included for:
click Click Moo, Curious George Rides a Bike, Is your Mama a Llama, Leo and the Late Bloomer, Make Way for Ducklings, Musical Max, Stone Soup, Strega Nona, Where the Wild Things Are, Why mosquitoes buzz in Peoples Ears.

~Cheers!~

We are very pleased with this set. The titles are both familiar--like ones from Ezra Jack Keats and Robert McCloskey--and new. But the DVDs are all well-done, with excellent music and voice-overs. Some of them, particularly the Antarctic Antics, are hilarious. Some are winsome. None, to quote Chrysanthemum's father, are jaundiced. Our toddler is afraid of _Where the Wild Things Are_ and loves _Chrysanthemum_. We love Ezra Jack Keats' works, and the extra interview with him is fantastic. Overall, for about $45, I think that this set is a steal. The local library uses individual DVDs from this series for movie night!

If I had to pick one favorite out of this whole set, it would be Meryl Streep reading _Chrysanthemum_. She is absolutely perfect. She really 'gets' kids, and she knows, probably from direct experience, how fragile and impressionable children can be. The set is worth it to me to hear her read that one story.

I do not believe that these can help kids learn to read, though. And I would be remiss to advise parents to substitute real reading with these. What we like to do is to read the stories before the DVD and then read an additional story afterward. One more warning...Simms Taback could become your very next favorite author and illustrator. He is very clever, and the colors and collages are bright and stimulating.

As a Reading Specialist and grandmother, I enthusiastically endorse the Scholastic Treasure of 100 Storybook Classics. First of all, they selected excellent books for children. Secondly, they utilized the illustration style of the originals, so the aesthetics of the books are clearly presented and preserved. Thirdly, the animation is well-done though not overdone. The pacing is slow, as when a book is read aloud. This gives the listener a chance to absorb the story, just as he or she would if the story were being read aloud. It even has the option to include the text on each page, if you have a blossoming reader. In fact, this is just about the equivalent of having someone read aloud great picture books for your child, while you do -- whatever.

I bought this set for grandsons because they already own several of the books included in this video collection. I only got to watch several of the dvds, but what I saw was really great---visuals identical to the books. Grandsons especially loved "Corduroy" and "Goodnight, Gorilla".

There are so many great storied on this collection. I remember many of them from when I was little. I really like that the narration follows the books exactly so that children can follow along or resite along with it if they are familiar with a particular story. I recommend this to anyone.

Okay, I'm going to get the complaints out of the way first.

As far as I can tell there is no way to skip the commercial advertising the Scholastic Video Collection at the beginning of the dvd. Thanks, Scholastic, We bought a huge set of them already we don't need to sit through an ad for the series every time we put one on. Bleh.

Some of the stories are a bit busy for my taste. Now, I have a very young child, so maybe when my kid is a bit older I won't mind as much, but for now we aren't going to be showing him a couple of the dvds. That's fine because he isn't in the age range for the "busy" ones yet, so perhaps I shouldn't complain about this but I thought it was worth mentioning.

It's super annoying that there wasn't a complete list of titles, so I have uploaded one to the pictures section for people to look at before taking the plunge. Note that 10 of the 100 are just Spanish versions of stories already on the dvds. I find it kind of disingenuous to advertise a collection as having 100 titles when it really has 90 +10 done over with a different language track.

Now that I've moaned about the things that I don't like, I'll sing the praises of this collection.

My child does not live in a bubble, and although I don't use tv as a babysitter there are times when a little tv is inevitable. I would far rather toss one of these on than have a random, jarring tv show. It's nice to know that he can watch a gentle, non-busy dvd like this and then we can sit down and read the book together. It's also a collection that he is going to grow into, as he's too young for most of the collection right now. I like having the option of something like this, The best of the collection that I have watched so far is the Good Night Gorilla collection (also containing How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight, Happy Birthday Moon, The Napping House, The Paperboy, Patrick, and The Hat). It is really lovely and gentle, a great way to help wind a kid down at night before starting the normal bedtime routine that includes "real" reading.

I really like how long lived this collection is. There are things on here that a 9 year old would happily sit down and watch, and stories that are appropriate for my toddler. So really there is a lot of value and a good selection for kids of different ages.

It is also nice that each dvd has a bit of a theme, bedtime stories, slightly scary stories, stories from Africa, Caldecott Award-winning folk tales, stories that sing, tales of mischief, learning fun, stories about growing up, etcetera. It makes it easy to grab the right collection for the "mood" of the moment.

This is a real treasure of a collection, and while the annoyances are enough for me to knock off half a star, it would be a pretty priceless addition to the video collection of the young child(ren) in your life. Of course it shouldn't replace reading to your child, but any good parent doesn't need to be told that in an Amazon review! Get this if you're like me and want the option of something a bit more gentle than what you'll typically find on kids tv or if you want to help foster a child's love of reading. This set plus a few of the books in the collection (if the intended child doesn't already have them!) would make a really lovely gift. Watch one, then sit down and read the book together. Or the other way around! Turn on the subtitles and have the child follow along with her own copy. There are lots of options here if you don't want to just use it as a typical dvd. The fact that you can go and buy every one of the books makes this collection very versatile.

Ordered this with the 20 classics collection and really like them. My 2 year old daughter seems to find one story and gets attached to it - so far, the whole Good Night Gorilla disc, Click Clack Moo, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, and He's Got the Whole World in His Hands.

I also like the fact that some stories are for an older age range, so we'll continue to introduce new stories as she gets older!

There's a great variety of stories in these discs, and I think we'll be be pulling them out for our son (who's four) for years to come. About half of the discs are read-along, which is fun.

Disc 1: Curious George Rides a Bike...and a lot more monkeying around
Curious George Rides a Bike
The Wizard
Fourteen Rats and a Rat-Catcher
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears
Here Comes the Cat!
Frog Goes to Dinner

Disc 2: Where the Wild Things are...and five more stories by Maurice Sendak
Where the Wild Things are
In the Night Kitchen
Alligators All Around
Pierre
One Was Johnny
Chicken Soup with Rice

Disc 3: Harold and the Purple Crayon...and more stories to spark the imagination
Harold and the Purple Crayon
A Picture for Harold's Room
Harold's Fairy Tale
The Swineherd
Time of Wonder
The Foolish Frog
Drummer Hoff

Disc 4: Harry the Dirty Dog...and more playful puppy stories
Harry the Dirty Dog
No Roses for Harry
Officer Buckle and Gloria
Dot the Fire Dog
I Want a Dog
Angus Lost

Disc 5: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom...and more fun with letters and numbers!
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Five Creatures
Wild About Books
Inch by Inch
Blueberries for Sal
A Story-A Story
Millions of Cats

Disc 6: Chicka Chicka 1, 2, 3...and more counting fun!
Chicka Chicka 1, 2, 3
Emily's First 100 Days of School
How Much is a Million?
If You Made a Million

Disc 7: Chrysanthemum...and more mouse mayhem
Chrysanthemum
Owen
A Weekend with Wendell
The Caterpillar and the Polliwog
Hondo and Fabian
Mouse Around

Disc 8: Make Way for Ducklings...and more delightful duck stories
Make Way for Ducklings
The Story About Ping
The Ugly Duckling
Angus and the Ducks
Cat and Canary
Wings: A Tale of Two Chickens

Disc 9: The Ezra Jack Keats Collection
The Snowy Day
Whistle for Willie
Peter's Chair
Pet Show!
A Letter to Amy
The Trip
Apt. 3

Disc 10: How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?...and more dinosaur tales
How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?
How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon?
How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?
Danny and the Dinosaur
Dinosaur Bones
Stanley and the Dinosaurs
T is foor Terrible

Disc 11: Diary of a Spider...and more cute critter stories
Diary of a Spider
Roberto the Insect Architect
Norman the Doorman
The mysterious Tadpole
The Story of the Dancing Frog

Disc 12: Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type...and more amusing animal tales
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type
The Cow Who Fell in the Canal
Chicken Little
I, Crocodile
Hot Hippo
Waiting for Wings
Let's Give Kitty a Bath

Disc 13: William Steig's Pete's a Pizza...and more great kid stories
Pete's a Pizza
Max's Words
The Great White Man-Eating Shark
Moon Man
The Island of the Skog
What's Under My Bed?
The Five Chinese Brothers

Disc 14: I Stink!...and more stories on wheels
I Stink!
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
Trashy Town
The REmarkable Riderless Runaway Tricycle
The Beast of Monsieur Racine
Arnie the Doughnut

Disc 15: Strega Nona...and more stories about magic
Strega Nona
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
The Stonecutter
The Amazing Bone
Teeny-Tiny and the Witch-Woman

Disc 16: Rapunzel...and more classic fairytales
Rapunzel
The Elves and the Shoemaker
The Talking Eggs
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story from China
Princess Furball

For those of us commuting to school, these DVDs are perfect. No more extraordinarily loud purple dinosaurs screaming out of my tiny DVD player. My 3 and 1 year olds are completely absorbed by these classic stories, gently and carefully told, without overstimulating cartoons. An added bonus is that I no longer feel guilty about listening to my news stations as they watch these enduring tales. Everyone wins on our long commute to preschool!