Global Wonders: Around the World

A cheerful, fast-paced children's program, Global Wonders: Around the World offers a friendly introduction to a handful of the world's cultures and languages. Each segment introduces a topic—greetings, cuisine, birthday celebrations, music, famous landmarks, sports, etc.—which is discussed by animated children representing nearly a dozen countries or cultures, followed by a live-action montage on the subject, and a “language jam” that reinforces the new information in six languages. Using a framing device of families and friends joining one another for a fun day at the park, the video is able to present some of the more sophisticated information through the characters of the kids' friendly parents. Cultural similarities are pointed out at every opportunity (“That Chinese dragon reminds me of Quetzalcoatl!”) in this winning title encouraging children to celebrate our multifaceted world. DVD extras include interactive content for grade-school-aged viewers. Other titles in the series include: Global Wonders: Mexico, Global Wonders: China, Global Wonders: African-American, Global Wonders: America, Global Wonders: Italy, and Global Wonders: India. Recommended. Aud: K, E, P. (E. Gieschen)