The Mary Calhoun Series; Tessa On Her Own

A compilation of three read/told stories presented by Mary Calhoun using simple artwork for visuals, The Mary Calhoun Series includes "Black Jack Crow," the story of a crafty crow; "The Magic Teapot," about the benefits of good manners; and "Why Cats Wash After They Eat," a folkloric tale. The production looks low-budget, the music is bland (and obviously wasn't composed specifically for the video), and the price of $199 is outrageous when there are any number of good children's tales out there priced at $12.95 which run circles around this one. Ditto for the identically priced The Donna Guthrie Series. Not recommended.At $59.95, Tessa On Her Own is no bargain in the children's video department either, but at least MarshMedia's productions (the most recent was Bailey's Birthday [VL-9/94]) are good and the public performance rights make them suitable choices for library story hours. In Tessa On Her Own, the title character is a rather lazy fox who depends on her brother Rex to bring home the bacon, so to speak, at dinner-time. When Rex sets out on his own, Tessa is forced to do the same but without her brother's hunting skills. Asking neighboring animals for food brings only insults, and Tessa is forced to raid garbage cans in a nearby town. After someone drops the lid when Tessa is in the middle of dumpster diving, she re-evaluates her attitude, and decides that in order to save her self-esteem she's going to have to actually get a job hunting like the rest of her kind. A tale that would warm the frozen cockles of Newt Gingrich's heart, Tessa On Her Own is recommended for larger children's collections. Ages 4-9. (R. Pitman)