Watching videos has become one of the most popular ways for parents and kids to spend time together. Selecting videos, however, can be overwhelming, and often you may find that you've chosen a film that's too young, too violent, or too sophisticated for your child-or too tedious for you. With this witty, authoritative guide, video rentals will be a breeze. For each movie, the authors provide a quick thumbnail sketch of the plot, entertainment value rankings, and age recommendations-for toddlers through teens. "Ten Best Lists" organize films by both age-range, genre, and special categories, such as:
* Ten tasteless movies you can safely say yes to
* Ten sibling sagas
* Ten movies almost as good as the books
* Ten black-and-white classics kids will sit through.
It also features developmental information on what children understand at different ages and how to select videos depending on your child's age and taste.
The Parents Guide to the Best Family Videos draws on the expertise of authors who review movies, as well as suggestions taken from the readers of Parents magazine. Including forgotten favorites and little-known gems, this guide offers you invaluable kid-tested reviews of fabulous films for your family.
Patricia McCormick reviews books and movies for Parents magazine. She was a regular contributor to the "Taking the Children" feature of the Arts & Leisure section of the New York Times. She lives with her husband and two children in New York City.
Steve Cohen is a managing director at Scholastic, where he is responsible for Literacy Initiatives and serves as co-chair of the White House literacy initiative, "Prescription for Reading Partnership." He is the author of The Learn to Read Treasure Hunt and co-authored the best-selling Getting In! and also Getting the Right Job. He lives with his wife and two children in New York City.