Plans for Kidlet weekend and some kids' books/movies notes
It's a Kidlet weekend! It's also Kidlet's Grandmother's birthday celebration that evening, so we'll have less time than usual. This time we're planning on spending most of Saturday over in Coventry/University Circle. On the list of places to go:
Big Fun Toy Store
Play Matters Toy Store (maybe)
Mac's Backs-Books on Coventry
Coventry Cats -- might want to wander in here, find a little something for his kitten
For lunch: Tommy's or Mongolian Barbeque (sound autoplays)
Botanical Gardens
Adults: $9.50
Children (3-12): $3
Kidlet's been having a good time with the Explorer's Kit I made him, so I've asked Chad that they bring it with them so he and I can explore in my yard. I suspect he'd also enjoy taking it along to the Botanical Garden.
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Kids' Book and Movie Notes:
So while I was all migrainey yesterday I checked out a bit of what's on Netflix at the moment for Kids and Families.
Princess: A Modern Fairytale -- Live-action, full-length, seems tween-oriented. Blech. Ditched it about five minutes in after the first gratuitous homophobic joke.
Prince Cinders -- Animated, 1/2 hour short, aimed at the young 'uns. Cute, but not required viewing. I was most baffled by the princely brothers, who seemed to be doing a group impersonation of Freddy Mercury.
Spy Kids -- Live-Action (although with enough CGI and surrealism I'm not sure it counts!), PG-rated, full-length. I'd somehow never gotten around to seeing this one, and was really surprised and impressed by it, overall. Admittedly, I was pretty heavily medicated, and may have slept through sections. Also, I had no idea Alan Cumming and Danny Trejo were in this! Bonus!
Kikkerdril (Frogs & Toads) -- Live-Action, Full Length, G-rated. My favorite discovery of the day. The Grandmother is especially awesome. I love seeing kids encouraged to explore the world around them, and this is a good one for that!
Phoebe in Wonderland -- Live-action, PG-13, full-length. -- This is a relatively complicated and thoroughly fascinating one. It's also stunningly beautiful, if rather flawed. It's about a young girl who's starting to show the symptoms of Tourette's Syndrome, and about her escape from her family/school stresses within the school play (Alice in Wonderland, of course). Ella Fanning, Patricia Clarkson, and Felicity Huffman were marvelous. I was especially impressed with Ella's work, given her age. The setting is just a bit off in ways that I think are meant to heighten the fantastical elements, but really just ended up pulling me out of the story (times when teachers/administrators reacted in ways that made no realistic sense to me). And it's hard to sort out what's the Tourette's and what's her fantasy life until the end, but I think that was intentional. All in all, it feels a bit messy and complicated, much like life. Recommended, although as much for adults as for older kids; despite the fantastic visuals and child star much of the meat of the plot is about the parents and their relationship with each other and their daughters.
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On the other end of the age spectrum, a friend just got her elderly mother an e-reader, and had this to share about the benefits:
E-readers for older people:
What I hadn't planned was three great advantages for older people.
1. Being able to change font sizes means all the books in there can be Large Print, so less eye strain, and she can even read without her reading glasses.
2. It's so lightweight her arms don't get tired, it's lighter than even many paperbacks, and far far lighter than hardcovers. (I didn't know what a big deal that was but she tells me all the time she is reading more now since it doesn't make her as tired). The light weight also means she is more likely to bring it along and that helps her get though all those doctor office waits.
3. On days when her arthritis acts up it's easier to hold and push a button with her thumb to advance the pages than to try and grasp and turn a paper page.
(and one that was mentioned later: the number of books in Public Domain that are available free for E-Readers)
Also, I've been reading Astrid Lindgren's Ronia the Robber's Daughter today. It'll be getting its own post with lengthy excerpts as soon as I finish it because I AM IN LOVE.
Big Fun Toy Store
Play Matters Toy Store (maybe)
Mac's Backs-Books on Coventry
Coventry Cats -- might want to wander in here, find a little something for his kitten
For lunch: Tommy's or Mongolian Barbeque (sound autoplays)
Botanical Gardens
Adults: $9.50
Children (3-12): $3
Kidlet's been having a good time with the Explorer's Kit I made him, so I've asked Chad that they bring it with them so he and I can explore in my yard. I suspect he'd also enjoy taking it along to the Botanical Garden.
___________________________________
Kids' Book and Movie Notes:
So while I was all migrainey yesterday I checked out a bit of what's on Netflix at the moment for Kids and Families.
Princess: A Modern Fairytale -- Live-action, full-length, seems tween-oriented. Blech. Ditched it about five minutes in after the first gratuitous homophobic joke.
Prince Cinders -- Animated, 1/2 hour short, aimed at the young 'uns. Cute, but not required viewing. I was most baffled by the princely brothers, who seemed to be doing a group impersonation of Freddy Mercury.
Spy Kids -- Live-Action (although with enough CGI and surrealism I'm not sure it counts!), PG-rated, full-length. I'd somehow never gotten around to seeing this one, and was really surprised and impressed by it, overall. Admittedly, I was pretty heavily medicated, and may have slept through sections. Also, I had no idea Alan Cumming and Danny Trejo were in this! Bonus!
Kikkerdril (Frogs & Toads) -- Live-Action, Full Length, G-rated. My favorite discovery of the day. The Grandmother is especially awesome. I love seeing kids encouraged to explore the world around them, and this is a good one for that!
Phoebe in Wonderland -- Live-action, PG-13, full-length. -- This is a relatively complicated and thoroughly fascinating one. It's also stunningly beautiful, if rather flawed. It's about a young girl who's starting to show the symptoms of Tourette's Syndrome, and about her escape from her family/school stresses within the school play (Alice in Wonderland, of course). Ella Fanning, Patricia Clarkson, and Felicity Huffman were marvelous. I was especially impressed with Ella's work, given her age. The setting is just a bit off in ways that I think are meant to heighten the fantastical elements, but really just ended up pulling me out of the story (times when teachers/administrators reacted in ways that made no realistic sense to me). And it's hard to sort out what's the Tourette's and what's her fantasy life until the end, but I think that was intentional. All in all, it feels a bit messy and complicated, much like life. Recommended, although as much for adults as for older kids; despite the fantastic visuals and child star much of the meat of the plot is about the parents and their relationship with each other and their daughters.
_______________________________________
On the other end of the age spectrum, a friend just got her elderly mother an e-reader, and had this to share about the benefits:
E-readers for older people:
What I hadn't planned was three great advantages for older people.
1. Being able to change font sizes means all the books in there can be Large Print, so less eye strain, and she can even read without her reading glasses.
2. It's so lightweight her arms don't get tired, it's lighter than even many paperbacks, and far far lighter than hardcovers. (I didn't know what a big deal that was but she tells me all the time she is reading more now since it doesn't make her as tired). The light weight also means she is more likely to bring it along and that helps her get though all those doctor office waits.
3. On days when her arthritis acts up it's easier to hold and push a button with her thumb to advance the pages than to try and grasp and turn a paper page.
(and one that was mentioned later: the number of books in Public Domain that are available free for E-Readers)
Also, I've been reading Astrid Lindgren's Ronia the Robber's Daughter today. It'll be getting its own post with lengthy excerpts as soon as I finish it because I AM IN LOVE.