Scholastic Video Collection: I Love You Like Crazy Cakes...and More Stories About Families - NR
Common Sense Note
Parents should know that this is a collection of three cartoon adaptations of award-winning picture books. The stories feature different kinds of families, including a woman who adopts a baby girl from China, a Russian girl who lives with her mother and grandmother, and a little girl who lives with her parents (a mom and a dad) and two cats. Though touching, the adoption story can be a little confusing and sad ("Why didn't her real mom want her?").
Families can talk about how unique and special the love is among family members. Who are your family members? How do you show each other that you care? What other kinds of families do you know?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Maria Llull
I LOVE YOU LIKE CRAZY CAKES...AND MORE STORIES ABOUT FAMILIES is a cuddly collection of three award-winning children's books lovingly translated to video. Love in the family is the central theme of the stories, and preschoolers will be entranced by the playful background music and the clean, bright illustrations that bring each story to life.
The first story is "I Love You Like Crazy Cakes," written by Rose Lewis and illustrated by Jane Dyer. The story, about the adoption of a little girl from China, is told by the girl's adopted mother (voiced by Mia Farrow). Speaking to her daughter in the second person, the story begins in an orphanage filled with Chinese baby girls. The narrator brings her new daughter home, where extended family members greet them at the airport. There is much rejoicing by friends and family, and at the end of the day, mother holds daughter in a rocking chair and quietly sheds tears of joy as well as sadness for the mother who couldn't keep her daughter.
Next is a fun and quirky story about a young girl named Sara who lives with her Russian mother and grandmother (the title character) in "Three Cheers for Catherine the Great!. Catherine, who speaks, reads, and writes Russian and doesn't "have much English," is celebrating her birthday and tells family and friends that she wants "no presents." Living in the same apartment building are a single dad and his daughter, a single mom and her son, and an older man and his cat. Everyone comes up with a perfect "no present," and Sara finally draws on her writing and reading skills to give her grandmother the gift of English. The timeline of the story can be a little hard to follow for young children as it starts in the present and then jumps back to a week ago and follows the characters back to the present.
The last story is about a young girl who lives with her mom and dad and two cats. Formatted like a poem, "Five Creatures," written by Emily Jenkins and illustrated by Tomek Bogacki, playfully compares the five family members and tells how they are similar and how they are different ("Three are humans and two are cats...Five love birds but not all in the same way.").
All in all, these are very sweet stories, and kids will be drawn to their simplicity, light humor, and warmth.
Families who like this DVD might like others in the Scholastic Video Collection, including Bear Snores On and Danny and the Dinosaur.
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