Up With Phonics

Geared towards children aged 4-9 (with emphasis on the lower end of the scale) this excellent program teaches children short and long vowel sounds. Created by Leah Jane Sadden, Ph.D, the tape features an amiable format as JoEllen and her overgrown dog Jupiter take a ride in the magic balloon to different places (a farm, the jungle, an Indian reservation, the zoo, etc.) where they look for items to name and test out the vowel sounds. Each of the sounds is repeated several times, which is necessary for young viewers, and children have numerous opportunities to try out the sounds themselves over the course of the tape. This is a fine program, which would be perfect for elementary school collections, but is also affordable and entertaining enough to be included in public library collections. A 30-page workbook is included, but the video stands by itself. Highly recommended. (Available from: Up Video Educational Productions, 16720 Stuebner-Airline Dr., Suite 178, Spring, TX 77379.)