PBS Kids DVD New Releases: Dinosaur Train and Caillou

I always feel at ease when my daughter asks to watch one of her PBS Kids shows. They always have great, educational programs! Recently, they came out with a couple of new DVD’s we reviewed here.

Caillou: Caillou’s Summer Vacation
Run Time: Approximately 110 minutes
SRP: $12.99

Our Thoughts

While we are generally a fan of all things PBS Kids related, I can’t believe that we haven’t seen Caillou until now!  Kieran loves it!  The cute little boy reminds her of her baby brother.  My favorite episode was All Wet! As a physical therapist, I work with people of varying abilities every day.  It is important to expose children to these difference, and I love that Caillou did so in a way that was easy for Kieran to understand. The ‘Glee’ side of me loves the songs incorporated in each episode. I loved “growing up”-it was such a sweet song!  It also has sparked discussion of these differences, even when the show is off.  In generally, I also love that Caillou is so great at independent play..something Kieran is starting to catch on to as well! Kieran loved the song in Summer Time, and the episode it reminded her of her favorite things—playing in the sand and the beach.

DVD Synopsis

he curious and adventurous Caillou returns with his favorite summer time adventures in THE BEST OF CAILLOU – CAILLOU’S SUMMER VACATION.  Join Caillou as he teaches kids about imagination, animals and outdoor activities while he visits new and interesting places with his friends and family.  The BEST OF CAILLOU – CAILLOU’S SUMMER VACATION DVD includes four episodes featuring 13 fun-filled outdoor adventures, interactive games, coloring pages and parents’ information.

This DVD includes the following episodes:

• Summer Time: Caillou and his family visit the beach, camp outdoors, visit a theme park, and explore nature by taking a canoe trip.  Caillou also learns duck calling tricks, befriends a rabbit, and encounters a heard of cows during a family picnic.
• Captain Caillou: Grandpa surprises Caillou with a remote-control sailboat! Caillou then visits an airport and attends his first wedding ceremony as a ring bearer.
• Caillou the Explorer: Caillou and friends have ice cream and imagine that they’re in the South Pole playin with penguins.  Caillou makes a new friend who knows a lot about fish, then pretends to be a deep-sea diver!  Caillou and the family head to the beach and Caillou imagines that he’s in the Bayou searching for alligators.
• All Wet!: Caillou learns about having fun with water through fishing, making a homemade water park, playing a laundry game, and swimming with a new friend, Tammy, who happens to be handicapped.

Dinosaur Train:  Dino-Mighty Music
Run time: Approximately 60 minutes
SRP: $12.99

Our Thoughts

Dinosaur Train is one of our favorite shows to watch with Kieran. It’s also one of the few shows my husband will watch with her, too! The lyrics to the songs are catchy and they always teach great lessons about natural science and history. We enjoy learning about a new dinosaur in each episode and the time period that they lived during. I love that it compares the differences between the dinosaurs they’re studying with themselves, too. Kieran and I both love “One Smart Dinosaur”—the swingy “Dinosaur A to Z” song featured in this episode is our all-time favorite!  We dance around the house and sing it all the time (if you’ve seen it…you understand!-Hey, Hey, Hey Come along with meeeee…). I would buy the DVD just for this song!

DVD Synopsis

Get on board the Dinosaur Train with Buddy, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and his adoptive family of Pteranodons as they sing and dance through four great adventures in DINOSAUR TRAIN: DINO-MIGHTY MUSIC.  Dinosaur Train embraces and celebrates the fascination that preschoolers have with both dinosaurs and trains while encouraging basic scientific thinking and skills as the audience learns about natural science, natural history and paleontology.  From the world-renowned Jim Henson Company, PBS KIDS and Paramount Home Entertainment, the DINO-MIGHTY MUSIC DVD includes four exciting edu-tainment adventures that bring dinosaurs to life and makes science fun.  The “Dinosaur Train” television series is a 2010 Parent’s Choice Award Winner and ranks among the top 5 children’s programs among kids ages 2 to 5*.”

This DVD includes the following episodes:

• Valley of the Stygimolochs: Buddy wonders if he’ll grow horns when he gets older, so Mrs. Pteranodon takes him to visit some dinosaurs called Stygimoloch, who have really impressive horns.
• I’m a T. Rex!: Buddy travels to Rexville on the Dinosaur Train and meets Delores Tyrannosaurus and her daughter Annie.  When he sees that he shares all the same features, Buddy learns that he is a Tyrannosaurus rex!
• One Smart Dinosaur: Mrs. Pteranodon takes Buddy and Tiny to visit a Microraptor named Mikey.  Microraptors were one of the smallest dinosaurs ever.  Tiny is annoyed that Mikey is even smaller than she is, but Mikey looks up to Tiny as a role model.
• Surprise Party: Shiny, Tiny and Don throw a surprise party for Buddy on the Dinosaur Train and invite a whole caboose full of his friends!

– Heather

* We did not receive monetary compensation for this review. That’s IT Mommy did receive the DVD’s mentioned to facilitate this review. This will in no way sway our opinion of the product or service.
 The review is in our own words and is our opinion. Your results and opinions may differ.