Don't Say Yes When You Really Mean No!

This short video, featuring the "Drug-Free Kids" Puppets, is a fun, fast-paced mini rock opera that dramatizes good strategies for not giving in to negative peer pressure, while putting a new twist on the familiar "just say no" theme. Through a series of four songs, presented in music video-style format-complete with the requisite fast zooms, swish pans, dizzying cuts, and digital effects-the following situation is presented: two puppet girls on a playground find a cigarette; the first shows off with it, then hands it to her friend. What should she do? Saying "yes" is often the easier route, but this program advises kids to listen to their "BodyTalk"-i.e., pay attention to their physiological reactions. If they feel like it's bad, and their pounding hearts, sweaty hands, and knotted stomachs concur, it probably is. The video advises viewers to stop, think, and decide for themselves-not let someone else choose for them. The puppetry is not too bad, the music is upbeat and catchy, and the message will encourage young children to trust their intuition when making choices as their world becomes more complicated. Recommended. Aud: K, E. (E. Gieschen)