Non Fiction Video Thursday--Eyewitness

Today I'm falling back on a tried and true series of non fiction videos -- DK's Eyewitness series.

These are very, very good. They are short and snappy, they present facts coupled with brilliant images, and there are lots of them so it is pretty easy to find one about a subject that interests your child. They combine real images with computer graphic to excellent effect. We started with Ocean, and it remains one of our favorites; Planets is another good one that both boys like. It's my impression that the less obvious the subject (titles like Sight, Survival, Human Machine as opposed to Cat, Bear, Amphibian) the less engaging the episode--they are more like pastiche than purposeful progress. I don't include Flight in this category, however--it's a good one. The introduction (soaring through the Eyewitness Museum) is worth watching for its own sake. Often there is a Making--an informative behind the scenes look at how they did it which I think is a wonderful thing for children to see--because then they have a basis of understanding videos as things that are created and manipulated rather than straight reality (at least that's what I hope they are getting out of it).

These are available as videos and dvds. Here's a link to the DK site where they are listed; if you click on the "more" part of each problem, it will indeed tell you more about that episode.

Potential problem--Inappropriate regurgitation of knowledge:

Like many other parents of non-fiction video watching children, I can quote "The distinct style of the Eyewitness books forms the basis..." "clarity and super-realism" "bringing the world into sharper focus." The quotes my older son remembers are mostly facts. For instance, a few years ago he said, "Mama, let me tell you about the mating habits of the vampire salamander." It is an ugly, ugly story, but one he wanted to tell. To everyone he met. I guess his day care teacher already knew him well enough to take it in stride, but still.

DK is currently having a couple of contests; here's one where you can win some sticker books and an encyclopedia; here's another, via Fuse #8, for a set of 100 books...



If you have a favorite Eyewitness video, let me know!

Non-Fiction Video Thursday: Mars, Dead or Alive

Mars, Dead or Alive (NOVA)

This program first aired just hours after the rover Spirit landed on Mars (January 3, 2004). As a result, its title is somewhat misleading. It is not actually about Mars, but rather is about the development of the Mars rovers that are currently exploring it. It documents the months that preceded the landing on Mars, as the technicians and scientists struggle here on Earth to create workable rovers. A lot was riding on this mission--50 percent of previous missions to Mars had been disasters. NASA had to get it right this time, to show that it was capable of doing something right. And it worked--in a glorious finale, Spirit arrives safely on Mars.

This documentary is, essentially, a "boys and their toys" thing. It is very male dominated, and very machine focused (with a smidge of exo-geology). This is not to say that it is not good--for those who love robots, and anyone interested in the process of creating machines that will survive the hostile conditions of an alien world, this is a great video. It carries the useful message that if at first you don't succeed, try try again (like a Dragon Tales video, or such like, only more educational). And it is also interesting to see all the hard, hard work and hope and disappointment that is behind every space mission.

The Spirit and Opportunity rovers turned out to be a phenomenal success, so much so that people like myself have become a bit blase about them. I used to follow their progress assiduously; not so today. This documentary was released before we knew how stupendous the information sent back by the rovers would be, so it is more a background to what today's kids might already know. Because this is a very techie video, kids interested in Mars qua Mars might not be engaged, but kids interested in really cool machines should be engrossed.


A second documentary, Welcome to Mars picks up where Dead or Alive leaves off (shown above is Spirit's parachute), but we haven't watched it yet.

Here's the show's webpage, for those who want more information.

Non Fiction Video Thurs.-- Henry's Amazing Animals

Today I offer Henry's Amazing Animals, a series available as videos and also shown on tv. This is more maintream than previous reviews, but heck, my children (6 and just turned 4) like them.

Premise: A animated lizard named Henry, who is very silly, is taught by an unseen male voice about the wonders of the natural world. Henry gets things wrong, gets into trouble, makes bad jokes; the narrator presents clips of animals and discusses their behavior.

Here's what's good about this series:

There are lots and lots and lots of titles in this series. So if your child enjoys them, the novelty can last for a long time as you track down the various videos in your state's library system (they also come up on ebay, but tend to be more expensive than the 3 dollars or so I like to spend).

The parts where we are shown real animals are interesting and informative. The language is clear enough so that very young children can follow what's happening.

They are not long--only half an hour or so, so they work well for keeping the children happy while you are trying to cook supper/keeping the children happy while eating your own supper (although of course every meal in our house is Family Togetherness Time ha ha), and the trauma of turning of the tv halfway through a video is avoided.

Here's what's indifferent about the series:

The creators tried really really hard to make Henry the lizard funny. My husband and I find this aspect painful; the children are sometimes amused, sometimes unmoved.

The use of an animated lizard and supplemental "humorous" animated bits possibly serves as a entre into non-fiction for kids used to cartoons; I'd rather have mine watching the real thing.

The show is very segmented--we jump from clips of real animals, to cartoon episodes, to Henry's Golden Gecko Awards for Best xxxx Animal. This possibly holds the young viewers attention, but also dumbs the whole thing down.

Here's what's possibly negative:

The jokes are bad.

The omnipotent narrator, being male, reinforces the non-fiction video stereotype that men are the arbiters of scientific knowledge.

They're being shown on the Discovery Channel at 8:30 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon (ET)...It almost makes me wish that our tv could get channels, instead of simply serving as a portal to videos. But on the other hand, we are not home at 8:30 in the morning anyway. Someone else must agree with me that this series works well for kids 5 and under, since they're the only ones home.

There's a list of Henry titles here.

Non-Fiction Video Thursday: Building Big

Building Big is a five episode series about building big things--bridges, domes, dams, tunnels, and skyscrapers--narrated by David Macaulay. It first appeared as a PBS show in 2000, and is now available on dvd and vhs. The series focuses on the engineering challenges of each type of structure, but it includes so much history, geography, and general cultural literacy that even those who find engineering problems unappealing will find much to enjoy. In Dams, for instance, we travel to Egypt to learn about the Aswan dam, placed nicely in cultural and geographic context, with a look at the ancient Saad El Kafara as well, we explore the Hoover dam, the Itaipu Dam of Brazil and Paraguay, and are alarmed by the description of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania 19th-century dam disaster. Domes might appeal to a kid who likes baseball, because it looks closely at the Houston Astrodome, among others.

At the end of each program is a do-it-yourself presentation for kids. On screen, I think this is great; in practice less so. We did, however, get a kick out of making popsicle stick dams and pouring buckets of water around.

In short, this series is very well presented, eclectic, and informative without being didactic! However, there are lots of disasters (not as bad as a Thomas the Tank Engine episode, but close), so these might not be appropriate for younger kids who are bothered by these things. My six year old loves them, my three year old could care less.

The six year old has been a huge fan of David Macaulay for most of his young life. When he was four, he wanted me to find D.M.'s address, so we could go sit outside his house, preferably for days at a time. So when I stumbled across the videos of his Building Big series in a library far from our home, I knew I had to get them for our own library. Thanks to generous donations from our patrons, we acquired the boxed set of 5 dvds, and check them out every 6 months or so (I hope other patrons are checking them out too...).

If you want to read more particulars about the show, look here; there are more related activities on the website for reading kids. There is an excellent companion book by David Macaulay, also called Building Big.

Thurs. Non Fiction: Walking With Prehistoric Beasts

BBC released Walking With Dinosaurs back in 1999, using state of the art computer animation and animatronics to create the most realistic screen dinos ever. The program was deservedly popular, and copies of this video abound in local public libraries (at least, here in Rhode Island). In 2001, they followed it up with Walking With Prehistoric Beasts (the English title left out the Prehistoric), which aired on the Discovery Channel. This one isn't as common in local libraries, but it is much much cooler than the dinosaurs! Everyone and their uncle watches dinosaur programs, every kid has read dinosaur books and knows more dinosaur names than many adults (I still know more than my children. I study at night). So dinosaur sminosaur.

Enter a new cast of characters--the Hyaenodon, the Entelodont, the Megatherium, the Andrewsarchus etc. (there's a character gallery up at Discover). They are fierce, amazing, stunning, and fantastically presented (on the left is a Propalaeotherium, one of the gentle herbivore types). This is the sort of video that the parent has to watch at least once, so as to have at least an idea of what the children are talking about.

There are 6 discrete episodes, each a bit less than an hour. The narrative follows your basic nature documentary, but the producers tried to have a story line tying each episode together. Episode 3, for instance, follows first year and a bit of an Indocathere calf. Will it survive the drought? the rainy season? its rejection by its mother after she finds a new mate? (warning: adult themes, although tastefully presented). If anyone wants to know the details of all the episodes, look here.

Of all the many non-fiction videos my children have watched, Walking with Prehistoric Beasts has sparked their imaginations the most. Imaginative play, so we are told, is a good thing. No longer does my three-year old want to eat his ice cream at the table, with a spoon. Instead, the bowl goes on the floor, his face goes on the ice cream. "I'm an Andrewsarchus eating a turtle out of its shell!" He snarls around the house, pretending to be a savage Hyaenodon (shown at right), casting his unfortunate big brother in the role of Prey. "Darling, can't you be a gentle herbivore?" I suggest. "ROAR!" he says.

The only episode I did not embrace wholeheartedly was episode 4, which focused on a group of Australophithecus Afaransis (Lucy's species). I appreciate how difficult it is to make a movie when you aren't sure if your characters are "human" or not. I appreciate the fact that they lived in Africa and probably had darker skin than I do. It wasn't bad anthropology. But it made me uncomfortable.

Finally, here's a link to the BBC page, where you can find more information and good games!

Non-fiction dvd of the week: Mystery of the Megaflood

On Thursdays, I present a non-fiction video that my children have enjoyed. Today's is Mystery of the Megaflood, a NOVA program first broadcast in 2005, now available on DVD.

Summary: A vanished glacial lake, huge ice dams breaking up (think Ice Age II, only better), a tortured landscape, and the brave and clever geologists (both male and female, although predominately male) who figure out the clues and solve the Mystery of the Megaflood! This is almost a prefect non-fiction video. There is a lot of dramatic action, but it's geological and doesn't involve people getting hurt. The mystery that the geologists are trying to solve gives a plot-like structure to it, which helps hold the viewer's interest. The images are stupendous:

It's hard to put a bottom line on the age of viewers who would like this; for what it's worth, my six year old loves it. I think it should appeal to any kid who likes rocks!

Note on Gender Issues: I liked it because it showed a brave female geologist rappelling down a cliff. I fret a bit about the predominance of men in non-fiction videos, especially in their role of narrators (leading to the impression that men = the ones who have knowledge, which is not what I want my boys to believe). It is very rare to find a really good sciency video narrated by a woman. The DK folks found a female narrator for their videos about mythological creatures, for instance, but all the science ones are male. So if anyone knows any hard core science videos with female narrators, let me know!

If you'd like to learn more about the geological details, here's the link to PBS.

2 non-fiction videos about castles and siege warfare

Last Thursday I decided to review non-fiction videos every week, talking about videos that appealed to my kids and deserve a wider audience. Today's offerings are two videos about castles and siege warfare -- Castle, one of a series based on David Macauley's books, and Medieval Siege, an episode of the Secrets of Lost Empires series produced by NOVA.

I hesitate a smidge to recommend the video Castle, because it is based on Macauley's book of that name, and books are generally to be preferred. However, I find Macauley's books are hard to read out loud, even to interested 4-5 year olds, whereas the videos, which mix live action and animation, are easy for kids that age to watch. They are also very, very good--instructional without being pedantic, engaging without being giddily enthusiastic.

The castle in question was built in Wales in the 13th century by the invading English. Macauley takes the viewer on a tour through real castles, demonstating his impressive understanding of how things were built and his ability to translate this knowledge into terms the rest of us can grasp. The live action shots are interspersed with animated vignettes of the lives and doings of fictional people living in such a castle, bringing, as it were, the ruins to life.

Bringing medieval siege warfare to life is what Medieval Siege is all about--specifically, how do you build a trebuchet (the biggest baddest catapult of all), when you have no plans, no surviving examples, and only a few historical references? How exactly does it work? The Secrets of Lost Empire series takes a problem like this, and puts live experts (and live workers) to work on it. Different experts have different theories, and everyone involved learns by doing--there's a lot of open disagreement shown. The physical labor involved is tremendous--the idea is that everything will be done by hand, with authentic tools. I think this is great stuff for kids to watch, in as much as it teaches that learning involves a lot more than being told things. Medieval Siege is a favorite in our house, because there is a lot of catapult action (it is pretty cool to watch walls getting smashed with giant boulders). I think it is the best one of this series to start with--they run for around 60 minutes and some of them are a bit too slow for kids.

NOVA has lots more information on trebuchets at their website, including a trebuchet game.

Problems with this video:
1. At the end of the video, viewers are sent to the NOVA website for information on how to build their own trebuchet. My boy really really thought he was going to get to build a full size siege engine in our back yard ("Can we build my trebuchet now?" he asked incessantly). However, he and his father did build a model that gave him some pleasure.

2. My boy wanted to dress as a trebuchet for Halloween. He decided his baby brother could be the boulder.

Non-Fiction Videos we like: Sea Nasties

In our house, many non-fiction videos are watched (perhaps because the guilt is less extreme when the children are being "educated" by the television). It all started back when 6yrold was a 3 yr old, and I got him an animally National Geographic to watch. From then on there was no looking back. He explored the non-fiction video holdings of our library, developing some odd favorites--"Oh Mama! Let's get out Avalanche, the White Death! And Asteroid, Deadly Impact!" he would plead in his sweet baby voice. (I did draw the line at Killer Bees: When Swarms Attack. We don't live in the shadow of snowy mountains, and asteroid devastation is not that frequent around here either, but we do have bees. I also drew the line at Quicksands: deadly life engulfing pools of horror, or something like that, just because).

So I thought that to add Structure here at my blog, each Thursday I might review one or two non-fiction videos that are perhaps off the beaten child track (the beaten track of children? the child's beaten track?). But to get things started, I picked a video aimed specifically at children--Sea Nasties, a National Geographic video narrated by Leslie Nielsen.

Do you think the seaside is a nice place to take the kids? Wrong! It is full of deadly creatures, such as box jellies, sea snakes, and lion fish, all out to get Nielsen! A friendly mermaid takes Nielsen on tour of these "sea nasties," clarifying the facts (lots of them are darn toxic) and providing a corrective to his wacky hysteria (lots of them aren't all that bad, if you just leave them alone). There is considerable great footage of the nasties, and my kids enjoy the dark humor. At the end of Nielsen's sojurn with the mermaid, he has come to accept that not all dangerous sea creatures are monsters. The video ends with a visit to Sting Ray City, where tourists swim with rays. (Although thinking about it, after what happened to the Crocodile Hunter, I wonder if this still works as a peaceful human/deadly animals happy together scenario). Added bonus: this video is a great source of future cocktail party conversation: "Did you know that the venom of a sea snake is so deadly that one drop can kill 60 elephants?" etc. etc. (or something like that. I haven't watched it enough to keep my venom doses straight). Highly recommended for kids who do not already have Ocean Anxieties!