Common Sense Media Review
Stories of magic based on popular kids' books.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 3+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
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.
Is It Any Good?
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.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the differences between reading and watching a film, and might also talk about how magic is used in these tales and how they might be resolved in a more realistic fashion.
Movie Details
- In theaters : February 22, 2005
- On DVD or streaming : February 22, 2005
- Cast : John Lithgow , Lynn Whitfield
- Director : Syd Hoff
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Black Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Scholastic
- Genre : Family and Kids
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Book Characters
- Run time : 53 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : all audiences
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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