Healthier Happier Life Skills

PreS-Gr 3—This production features an odd combination of songs sung by creator Pennie Sempell interspersed with upbeat advice on how to be happy. Each disc has ten or eleven "episodes," framed in the context of a television call-in show called "Broadway and Beyond," and hosted by DJG. Sempell poses as DJG's guest. The two sit at a counter beside a large screen and talk to children who "call in." This doesn't occur as live action video. The same five or six photos of the two adults are repeatedly flashed onscreen as they chat. Silhouettes of the children appear on the screen. In each episode, the adults and the child talk for a few minutes and then a still scene of silhouetted children against a graphic of sun rays is shown while a recording of Sempell singing plays and words flash across the scene; the words aren't always in sync with the singing. The segues to the songs, which range from vaudeville to more current selections from musicals, are forced. Songs and scenes are repeated from disc to disc. The lack of visual interest is a serious shortcoming. The advice given related to health, happiness, and relationships is valid and would be helpful if presented in a more appealing, child-friendly way. A tedious production.—Constance Dickerson, Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library, OH