Scholastic Video Collection: Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (G, 2005)

SCHOLASTIC VIDEO COLLECTION: SYLVESTER AND THE MAGIC PEBBLE features four stories about magic, from the famous magic pebble found by Sylvester the donkey in William Steig's tale, to Princess Furball and her escape from marriage to an ogre. One story involves many delicious and mysterious (to us) foods from Australia, and there's a helpful and mouth-watering glossary at the end. If you don't know what a Lamington is, you'll want one when you're done! There is a Spanish language version of "Sylvester" for little bi-linguists, and a Read Along function that uses subtitles along with the narration.

This is another excellent offering from Scholastic, with charming stories beautifully presented. The animation is based on the stories' original illustrations, and is gentle and lovely to watch. The narrators are clever and fun to listen to, and the whole experience of the stories is very high quality.

Studio: Scholastic
Director: Syd Hoff
Cast: John Lithgow, Lynn Whitfield
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 53 minutes
Theatrical release: February 22, 2005
DVD release: February 22, 2005
MPAA Rating: G
MPAA explanation: all audiences