Families of the World Series
(Master Communications $19.95 Score:) Newest in the series, this year's video is set in Vietnam. Narrated by a child from the featured country, these are low on energy but high on information about the food, work, school, and customs, told from a child's point of view. More like social studies films for school or libraries, these are nevertheless one way to introduce kids to far-away places. Earlier videos cover, among other places, China, Thailand, Mexico, India, Korea, and Israel. 30 min.

Age: Early School Years,Later School Years. Award Year: 2005.

Look Mom! I Have Good Manners
(Thinkeroo $14.95 Score:) Based on the title alone, we expected this would be a didactic thumbs down. But with its quiz-show format, the hyper-happy show host involves viewers as players with questions that center on table, good health, playground, and school manners. Kids featured are school-aged kids—the audience for this lively and non-preachy video.

Age: Early School Years,Later School Years. Award Year: 2005.

Popular Mechanics for Kids: Radical Rockets
(Koch Vision $12.98 Score:) Two teens take kids on a visit to NASA and get to try out all sorts of equipment used to train real astronauts. This is an interesting video for kids who are taken with the idea of exploring space. We didn't like Slither & Slime, with too many moments that felt like "Fear Factor," with earthworms slithering over the kids' faces. 7 & up.

Age: Later School Years. Award Year: 2005.

Potty Power
(Thinkeroo $14.95 Score:) Toddlers who are on the threshold of "potty power" will relate to the kids in this video who demonstrate all the things they as big kids can do—including "going potty." An amiable young woman sings and speaks along with an animated roll of toilet paper—sounds a bit hokie, but comes across as age-appropriate and not preachy. No miracles promised, but it couldn't hurt! (800) 477-7811. 2 1/2 & up. Also recommended: It's Potty Time (A Vision $19.98). Developed by the Duke University Medical Center, this "story" features kids of many ages getting ready to go to a party.

Age: Toddlers. Award Year: 2005.

Angelina Ballerina, The Show Must Go On
(HIT Entertaiment $12.99 Score:) It's Christmas in Mouseland and Angelina wanted to be the star of the show. But, alas, she dances better than she sings and ends up cast as the mean old stepmother in Cinderella. This is the first feature-length special (50 mins.) and the best of this year's Angelina videos. 4–8.

Age: Preschool,Early School Years. Award Year: 2005.

Elf
(New Line Home Entertainment $22.99 Score:) Starring Will Ferrell as the man who grew up at the North Pole, thinking he was an elf. He heads to New York to seek out his father, a Scrooge-inspired character played by James Caan. Ferrell is great at the physical humor that appeals to kids; adults also didn't mind this family fare with a memorable performance by Bob Newhart as Papa Elf. 9 & up.

Age: Later School Years. Award Year: 2005.

The Incredibles
(Disney $29.99 Score:) We first reviewed The Incredibles in a packed New York City movie theater. Parents and kids found aspects of the movie that especially appealed to them. Kids loved the fast paced adventure and were big fans of Dash's speed. While siblings could identify with the tension between Dash and his big sister Violet, parents identified with the everyday problems and frustrations of the middle aged former superheroes. Unlike many family films that are tolerated by adults, The Incredibles is truly family entertainment. The adult humor is there but not in an over the top way that would make you or your 10 year old uncomfortable. The DVD's extras are worth a look. The short, Jack Jack Attack chronicles the adventures of the youngest superhero. Kids and adults also enjoyed the behind the scenes information about the making of the film.

Age: Early School Years,Later School Years. Award Year: 2005.

Hiroshima No Pica
(First Run Features $29.95 Score:) Using the text and art of the award winning book, this is a film that tells the story of the events surrounding the atomic bomb. What makes the video extraordinary is the story of the husband and wife team, Tosh and Iri Maruki, who created the book and the way they collaborated. Narrated by Susan Sarandon. This is a film for older students, not young audiences. 10 & up.

Age: . Award Year: 2006.

Healthy Happy Monsters
(Sony, Sony $14.99 Score:) This is so much better than most of the piles of videos we reviewed this season. It delivers the information in a lively format that encourages kids to get up and move along with their friends from Sesame Street. Getting exercise, eating healthy—all important messages that are presented with humor that is age appropriate and not condescending in tone. Still top rated, Fiesta! BLUE CHIP (Sony $12.98 ) introduces kids to counting, colors, and familiar music with a Latin beat. Also top rated: Get Up & Dance () and PLATINUM AWARD ’97 winner Elmocize (). We have found the Elmo’s World series to be inconsistent. Our viewers enjoyed Birthday Games & More () (once they got past the first frenetic 10 minutes), but found Elmo’s Magic Cookbook () to fall below the usual high standards set by Sesame Street. We found the dumbed-down content was more irritating than inspiring.

Age: Toddlers,Preschool. Award Year: 2006.

The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash
(Scholastic $14.95 Score:) This collection might have been subtitled, “Tales out of School.” Steven Kellogg’s illustrations come to life in this lightly animated version of one of the zaniest class trips in children’s books. It’s one of those tall tale stories that grows as the narrator goes on and on. Other stories on the video include “Shrinking Violet,” narrated by Calista Flockhart, and “Will I Have a Friend?” which is much younger than the other stories. DVD bonus stories are “Wings: A Tale of Two Chickens” and the marvelous Canadian film, “The Sweater,” about a boy who receives the wrong sweater through a mail order mix-up and is an outcast on his hockey team. 6 & up.

Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2006.