View: All Reviews | Book Reviews | Movie Reviews | Real Reviews | Video Game Reviews
Nintendo DSi XLNintendo continues to update and improve it’s popular handheld gaming system—the Nintendo DS—so before we talk about the latest version lets take a quick look at the history of the DS. The first DS was launched in 2004 as a successor to Nintendo’s popular Game Boy series. It was a clam-shell device with WiFi, a microphone and two screens, one of which was a touch-screen allowing people to play games without using buttons. Two years later, the DS Lite—a slimmer, lighter and brighter DS—arrived. In 2008, the DS received another makeover with the introduction of DSi. This iteration…
Bread and Jam for FrancesThis is a classic tale featuring Frances, one of children’s literature’s most endearing characters, and her fussiness about food. During a family breakfast of eggs, Frances announces that she prefers bread and jam, and gives a similar response at dinner that night. Feeling a bit frustrated, her parents try a new strategy—offering her only bread and jam for every meal. Predictably, Frances eventually tires of bread and jam when she sees the variety of foods that her friends and family eat. Her breaking point is when her mother serves spaghetti and meatballs. She softly cries at the thought of eating…
The Last SongRonnie (Miley Cyrus) is at that rebellious age. At the start of The Last Song, she resents both her parents for divorcing, her mom for remarrying, and her dad for leaving, or being kicked out or however her childhood went. She wears black boots and torn black pantyhose, and she slouches like she’s miserable in her own body. She’s recently been accused of shoplifting in New York City. And she’s mad that her mother (Kelly Preston) is sending her and her little brother Jonah (Bobby Coleman) off to live with their father, Steve (Greg Kinnear), for the summer.
Pinkalicious SeriesFirst published in 2006, Pinkalicious quickly became a best-selling children’s book and was followed up with Purplicious in 2007, along with a musical stage show which is currently running in New York. The third book in the series, Goldilicious, was released last spring, and with more titles and licensed merchandise being released throughout 2010, we decided to take a look at the three initial books in the series.
How to Train Your DragonBack in the very olden days, all the Vikings were broad-shouldered and courageous, loud and stout. All except for Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel). His Viking tribe, he narrates at the start of How to Train Your Dragon, spends most of its time on the island of Berk fighting off threats, sometimes from trolls or boars, but most often from dragons. These, he reports, come in all shapes and sizes, some fire-breathing and some flying, some large and some smallish. All of them, he says, are fair game, as Vikings are trained from birth to be dragon killers. Being slight of build and quieter than his peers, Hiccup feels…
Alice In WonderlandOften I find that video games “based on” or “inspired by” movies are not a lot of fun to play. They usually do a great job of recreating the look and feel of the movie and it’s characters but that doesn’t automatically make a game fun. This usually isn’t the game developers fault as the production schedule for a video game is rarely the same as a movie and the game developers don’t have the time they need to make a great game. Which is why I was so surprised at how much I enjoyed Alice In Wonderland, the video game from the new Tim Burton, Disney film.
It's Hard to Be FiveA five-year-old boy tells us, through an easy-to-read rhyming beat, about the many trials and tribulations of his age. We learn about how hard it is to control one’s hands and mouth, sit still, keep clean, start a new school and a number of other “hardships”. He turns the corner upon the realization that his body and mind are like a car. With the “license to steer,” he can make many decisions such as use manners, when to walk and run, cross the street and even how to dream.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid“The only reason I agreed to do this at all,” explains 11-year-old Greg (Zachary Gordon) at the beginning of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, “is because I figure later on, when I’m rich and famous, I’ll have better things to do than answer people’s stupid questions all day long. So this book is gonna come in handy.”
Endless Ocean: Blue WorldEndless Ocean: Blue World is a story-driven and visually enticing game in which you are a character taking time off from school to search for a legendary sunken city. Unfortunately, you aren’t made of money so in order to spend time diving and searching, you are going to have to work for L&L Diving Service and your boss, Jean-Eric, the ship’s captain. Along the way, you will find yourself going deeper into an undersea mystery as you learn about the creatures and habitats beneath the surface.
Wake Up, It's Spring!A very sweet, simple story that celebrates, how the Earth “wakes up” for spring, beginning with the sun, moving onto plants, insects, animals and finally, humans.
