‘Little Angels’ Just Right for Valentine’s Day
Tuesday, February 14th, 2012
Little Angels is a new DVD series from Twentieth Century Fox. This animated series produced by Roma Downey (star of TV’s “Touched by an Angel”) teaches life lessons to preschoolers through stories from the Bible. With the release of the first three in this series – Little Angels ABCs, Little Angels Animals and Little Angels 1, 2, 3’s – timed for Valentine’s Day, they are a treat moms can feel good about sharing with their little angels.
The main characters are brother and sister Alex and Zoe, two ordinary kids who find that the angel decorations their parents had put on their ceiling come to life to help them through their daily discoveries and adversities.
The project is near and dear to Downey’s heart: “For many years, I had the privilege of playing an angel on television, bringing a message of God’s love to millions of Americans,” she says. “As a mother, I have longed to be part of a project that would help to bring that same message to children by not only teaching them the foundations of education, but also providing strong examples of good behavior. Little Angels does just that. It offers critical learning skills through the lens of timeless and age-appropriate Bible stories.” Little Angels is the first animated project from Lightworkers Media, a production company of which Downey is president that is dedicated to creating inspirational entertainment. She adds, “I only wish this series had been available when my kids were younger!”
KIDS FIRST! reviewed two DVDs in the Little Angels series: ABCs and Animals. In ABCs, Alex and Zoe, are first introduced to the angels, who help them learn to read by showing them how to recognize letters by their shapes and relate them to real-life images. The angels use concepts from the Bible to help them remember, for instance, “J” looks like a fishing hook, like one you might use to catch the Big Fish that ate Jonah — which starts with a “J.” The angels also help Zoe and Alex appreciate each other and treat each other fairly, with honesty and without jealousy.
In Little Angels Animals, the angels make Bible stories come to life, allowing the children to interact with its characters while learning lessons of cooperation and hard work. Throughout, the message that “God Loves You” helps them navigate their feelings and overcome fears and adversity. When Zoe is afraid of lightning and climbing to the top bunk, she learns from Jonah that facing her fears is less scary than not doing what God wants you to do, and as she chants “God loves me,” she is able to reach the top bunk and overcome her anxiety.
Young children from religious families will delight in seeing Alex and Zoe as they are helped by angels and get to talk to characters they’ve only read about – or, since they are preschool-aged, been told about. It is comforting to children of this age to feel as if they are never really alone and they are always loved.
Each vignette is short; three fit nicely into a 30-minute DVD, and you can choose a single episode, or story, at a time. The DVDs also include some special features. Roma Downey explains her underlying idea and gives parents tips for listening to their children. You can watch music videos covering the topics of each of the stories and animated with images from each.
The Little Angels ABCs, Little Angels Animals and Little Angels 1, 2, 3’s DVDs feature a great deal of interactive extras, including charming music videos and downloadable activity sheets, plus a downloadable bonus digital copy of each lesson that will allow for learning on the go.
For more about Little Angels, visit www.facebook.com/romaslittleangels or http://www.littleangels.com/.
