American history | Rarest Kind of Best

Violence: a lot of guns, naturally, but all used for target shooting; only one re-enactment of an Indian attack, make sure kids understand it’s all a big circus act and nobody is really being shot; Frank gets mad at one point and punches somebody, but it’s a rather isolated event

Other: racial insensitivity, depicting Native Americans as uncivilized for comic purposes; lots of “ugh’ and “how”-type dialogue

Interests: famous women, history, cowboys, Wild West, circus/theatrical, musicals

Next: for girl cowboys see Annie Oakley (1935), Calamity Jane (1953); for Wild West musicals see Calamity Jane (1953), The Harvey Girls (1946), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954); or visit your library to find historical accounts of the real Annie Oakley and her times

The Music Man (1962)

25 Nov 2011 Leave a comment

by Kim in Movies, movies 6+, Old Movies Tags: American history, con man, crime, marching band, music, romance, song and dance

The Music Man

Released: 1962

Rated: G
Length: 151 min.
Age: 6+ (for comprehension) Commonsense media sez: 6 +

Scary: nothing violent, only the talk of angry townsfolk about tarring and feathering Hill

Sexual Innuendo: in some dialogue and songs, but all G-rated and too oblique to be picked up by small children

Interests: musicals, song and dance, marching bands, history, small town life, con men

The Biggest Bear

05 Jul 2011 Leave a comment

by Kim in Books, books 5+ Tags: American history, animals, bears, country life, hunting, nature

CALDECOTT MEDAL WINNER – 1953

The Biggest Bear

by Lynd Ward

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1952

85 pp.

Age: 5+

Interests: nature, farms, hunting, bears

The Iron Giant (1999)

28 Jun 2011 Leave a comment

by Kim in Movies, movies 6+ Tags: action, American history, robots, sci fi

The Iron Giant

Rated: PG – for fantasy action and mild language

Length: 86 minutes

Age: 6+ Commonsense media sez: 6 +

Scary Factor: plenty!… fishing boat goes down in storm (fisherman survives); the robot gets zapped at power station in a loud scene; scared boy runs away from robot; stressful scene in which robot is hit by a train; government agent menaces boy and threatens to take him away from his mom; boys fall from building but robot saves them; big ending has lots of action as army attacks robot and he returns fire; a nuclear missile is launched, heading directly for the town

Intense Scenes: robot learns about death when he sees a stag shot dead by hunters; during battle it briefly appears as if Hogarth is dead but he is soon pronounced unconscious; the moment when townspeople realize they are all going to die when the missile lands is quiet but intense; plus final climax in which robot saves the town is very, very sad and moving (but hang on for the ending!)

Language: “oh my god!”, a few “hell”s, and “you just blew millions of government dollars out of your butt!!” – these warranted the PG?

Bad Behavior: villain smokes a pipe, a boy drinks a little too much espresso and goes a little haywire in a funny scene

Interests: science fiction, robots, action, history (Cold War era)

Next: book The Iron Man by Ted Hughes, other movies written/directed by Brad Bird: The Incredibles, Ratatouille

Song of the Swallows

17 May 2011 Leave a comment

by Kim in Books, books 3+ Tags: American history, birds, gardening, nature, religion, seasons, Spanish language

CALDECOTT MEDAL WINNER – 1950

Song of the Swallows

by Leo Politi

New York: Scribner, 1949

31 pp.

Age: 3 +

Interests: birds, migration, Spanish language, American history, seasons, gardens

Next: natural history books about birds, birdwatching

Annie (1982)

16 May 2011 Leave a comment

by Kim in Movies, movies 5+ Tags: adoption, American history, dogs, history, New York, song and dance, strong girls

Rated: PG (language)
Length: 126 min.
Age: 5 and up. Commonsense Media sez: 6 +

Scary Factor: Annie is kidnapped, shoved into a car and taken away; she is also chased by Rooster (shouting “I’ll kill ya!”), climbs to a great height on a bridge, dangles over the edge before being rescued

Violence: the orphans are very rough with each other; Annie punches out a bigger boy, knocking him down; much slapsticky shoving about, pratfalls, foot-stomping; less amusing is moment at climax when Miss Hannigan tries to stop Rooster and he punches her, knocking her out; also, a ‘bolshevik’ tries to kill Warbucks with a bomb (a brief and rather lighthearted event)

Also: lots of verbal threats, between orphans and from Miss Hannigan (who likes to holler “kill kill kill!”), most used for humour

Language: “shut up”, several “damn”s, “hell”

Bad Behavior: Miss Hannigan is drunk most of the time (makes her own bathtub gin); grownups smoke quite a lot

Sex: Miss Hannigan throws herself at every man she encounters, in a manner, shall we say, unusual for a children’s film; Miss Hannigan lounges about in her lingerie; Rooster and his girlfriend paw one another, fully clothed

Interests: musicals, song and dance, New York, history

Next: OTHER MOVIE MUSICALS: Singin’ in the Rain (all ages), Mary Poppins (3), Meet Me in St. Louis (4), The Music Man, The Wizard of Oz (4), The Sound of Music (6), STAGE: see Annie the musical live if you can