Caldecott award winner Ed Emberly is the artist-teacher in this half-hour video which features Emberly's renowned "drawing alphabet". Using simple shapes (ant, beetle, worm, rectangle, circle, half-circle, and a scribble), Emberly's students demonstrate the building block approach to drawing everything from simple animals to elaborate ships. In addition to providing encouragement for young children who are interested in drawing, the program also features some ideas for using their drawings (such as making different cards to send on various occasions). Emberly is an excellent teacher who quietly exudes a confidence that will have children automatically reaching for their colored pencils. As a side note: although we have mixed feelings on the subject, we feel obligated to point out that this program is being sold direct to consumers for $24.95. The institutional version has a short talk on the educational benefits of the video appended to the end of the tape (otherwise, the two programs are the same). On the one hand, quality children's programs are hard to find (and many carry much higher price tags than $79.95.) On the other hand, libraries aren't paying $50 extra to buy copies of Ed Emberly's books. Two-tiered pricing aside, this program is highly recommended. (Available from: KIDVIDZ, 618 Centre St., Newton, MA 02158.)
Squiggles, Dots & Lines
(1989) 25 m. $79.95. KIDVIDZ. Public performance rights included. Vol. 4, Issue 4
Squiggles, Dots & Lines
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.