Granny Ranny's Coming Attractions

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation and the American Academy of Pediatrics have joined with the best-selling children’s book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and with We Give Books to help families learn about healthy eating habits at home. The Eating Healthy. Growing Strong. campaign is an important part of the Alliance’s mission to combat childhood obesity.

This spring, more than 17,500 pediatrician offices across the United States will receive free copies of specially created The Very Hungry Caterpillar books, together with growth charts and parent handouts that encourage doctors and parents to have meaningful conversations about the importance of healthy eating.

In addition to beginning the conversation on healthy eating between pediatricians and parents, the campaign also showcases ways to integrate discussions of healthy active living into family reading time. Tips for parents to discuss healthy active living using The Very Hungry Caterpillar include:

    * Teach your child that apples, pears, plums, strawberries, and oranges are all fruits. Ask them if they can name other fruits.
    * Talk to them about how fruits are good for your body.
    * Talk about how when the caterpillar overeats, he gets a stomachache—so it is important to stop eating when you feel full.

“Parents should read with their children every day, starting when they are babies,” said O. Marion Burton, MD, FAAP, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. “This campaign provides a wonderful opportunity to teach children about healthy eating habits at a very young age, while fostering a love of books and language.”

The materials are being provided to the campaign by We Give Books, a digital initiative from Penguin—the publisher of The Very Hungry Caterpillar—and by the Pearson Foundation. Visitors to We Give Books will have the chance to read a library of great children’s books for free, any time they like, and each time they read a book at http://www.wegivebooks.org/, the Pearson Foundation will donate a brand-new book to a leading literacy group.

Parents and healthcare professionals are encouraged to visit the Alliance for a Healthier Generation (www.healthiergeneration.org/veryhungrycaterpillar) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (www.healthychildren.org/veryhungrycaterpillar) websites for free resources and materials to encourage eating healthy at home including a reading guide on how to discuss healthy active living usingThe Very Hungry Caterpillar and a special growth chart to keep track of a child’s journey to becoming healthy and strong.

Barbie: A Fairy Secret” is the story of how Barbie discovers that fairies really do exist. Here is a review from our 9-year-old film critic, Makai Weber Colvin. See her video review here. Or, read below:

When a fairy princess captures her boyfriend Ken, Barbie along with her costar, Raquelle, and two of Barbie’s stylists, head out to rescue him from Gloss Angeles, a floating town filled with fairies.
I really like the animation in this movie, especially how each of the characters are drawn. Barbie’s eyes glisten like jewels and get me into the fairy mood. Each scene bursts with color, like their hangout – Wally’s.

I also love how every piece of clothing has a modern twist. I wish I could have two fairies as my personal stylists. The movie also has great music that makes me want to dance.
Barbie is already friends with her two fashion stylists at the beginning of the movie, but is uneasy around her rival Raquelle. Raquelle is jealous of Barbie, so what will happen when they get twisted up in this magical world together?

When Ken is forced to marry fairy princess Graziella he realizes how much he loves Barbie but lots of trouble stands in their way. Don’t worry, because Barbie will do anything to get Ken back.
Girls ages two to ten will really enjoy this movie filled with friends, fashion and adventure. Will Raquelle and Barbie ever be friends? How will they get into the magical world? Will they rescue Ken? Find out when you watch “Barbie: a Fairy Secret.” Credit: Makai Weber Colvin, Age 9, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic

On March 2, PBS KIDS is honoring the birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel, more widely known as Dr. Seuss, with a two-hour marathon of THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT!  PBS KIDS will celebrate Dr. Seuss’ 107th birthday by rhyming along with the playful Cat during two brand new episodes, “Incredible Journey/Bamboozled,” where the Cat introduces Nick and Sally to two incredible creatures, Salmon Sam and Zhu Zhu the panda, and “Teeny Weeny Adventure/I See Seeds,” in which the Cat takes Nick and Sally on two “tiny” adventures.  The fun will then continue with encore presentations of two favorite CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT! episodes.

The Roommate is the story of a crazy chick who doesn’t take her meds and wants to be her college roommate’s only friend.

This movie was scary but it wasn’t very good. It was supposed to be a thriller but it wasn’t very suspenseful and it wasn’t scary enough to be horror. I think the rating PG-13 was good because there wasn’t really any language or sexual content and the horror level was low. The only part that was sooo horrible it made me cry was when the crazy lady put the cutest little kitten in the washing machine.

 It really bugged me when Rebecca, the crazy person, beat herself up. It was kind of scary and gross and made me sick when she broke her own face!! It was, like I said, not very good.
I had a fun time seeing it with my friends, but I wouldn’t watch it again. Wait ‘til its out on DVD.
I think this movie would be good for a sleepover with friends because it is a good movie to socialize in if you don’t have to completely watch it.

I give this movie 2 stars because I wasn’t very impressed but the acting was really good and believable.

Credit: Raven Devanney, age 13, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic

Earth Day Network announced that it has exceeded its one-million-tree goal for The Avatar Home Tree Initiative with the planting of 1,006,639 trees on six continents in 2010. The resulting reforestation, sustainable development and increase in environmental awareness will last far into the future. The project was made possible through the generous support of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and its Avatar Blu-ray & DVD. It was accomplished through the tireless work of 17 partner organizations. Over 31,000 individuals were directly involved in the massive planting effort.

“In creating this project, we wanted to make every tree count. That’s why we selected ecosystems around the globe where we believed trees were most crucial to protect, and partners we were confident would work the hardest to get strong healthy trees in the ground and nurture them to maturity. While our requirements were high, in the end, the results of this project surpassed our expectations,” said Kathleen Rogers, Earth Day Network President. “Planting trees fights global climate change and is the essence of service inspired by Earth Day. We want to thank our partner Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment for making this meaningful project possible.”

“At the core of AVATAR lies an inspiring message of empowerment and self-discovery, said Mike Dunn, President Worldwide, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. “Our program to plant one million trees resulted in fans around the world fervently getting involved to promote a healthy, sustainable planet. That alone has made this initiative a huge success.”

Earth Day Network reports that the trees planted for the Initiative protect some of the world’s most bio-diverse and threatened forests; restore acres destroyed by fire, flood and wind; enable local and regional governments to rebuild communities devastated by disaster; engage tens of thousands of children and youth in learning about the environment; create career opportunities in the green economy; and provide hands-on service opportunities to volunteers of all ages.

In one of the most compelling projects, in Haiti, Trees for the Future worked with local citizens under the Avatar Home Tree Initiative to address urgent needs to reforest degraded hillsides, produce fruit and biodiesel fuel and establish intensive hillside farming practices. Over 500,000 trees have been planted in Haiti.

Within the U.S., the Avatar Home Tree Initiative supported city reforestation efforts in New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles, shaping urban tree canopies that improve air quality, provide shade, cool the ground, save energy, attract birds and other wildlife, beautify landscapes, grow free fruit for residents and even increase homeowner property values.

Each of the million trees planted under the Avatar Home Tree Initiative has been added to Earth Day Network’s Billion Acts of Green® campaign, a global service project to log one billion sustainable actions in advance of the Rio+20 Earth Summit in 2012. Additionally, the trees planted in this initiative have been pledged towards the Billion Trees Campaign, a worldwide tree planting initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme.

The tree planting was also a part of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment’s parent company News Corporation’s Global Energy Initiative, a company-wide commitment to reduce impacts on climate and engage global audiences with environmental issues.

Trees were planted in 16 countries including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Haiti, Italy, Japan, Mexico, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Wishbone. Let your imagination run wild with everyone’s favorite dog Wishbone! The adventurous little terrier takes four action-packed journeys in these beloved classic tales. Join the Merry Men and follow Robin Hood in the Paw Prints of Thieves as he takes from the rich to give to the poor.  In Hot Diggety Dawg and The Impawssible Dream, band together with Don Quixote and Jules Verne’s Professor Liedenbrock to battle giants and monsters. In Hunchdog of Notre Dame, escape danger as Wishbone rescues maidens and defeats his evil master. This clever pup with a nose for adventure will delight and inspire the whole family. Includes “The Making of Wishbone” featurettes. DVD release February 15, 2011.115 minutes. MSRP  $8.99 Ages 2-5. Lionsgate Home Entertainment.

Jump Into Spring. Discover the joy of Spring with these eight sunny episodes! It’s a perfect Spring day to fly kites with Barney and his friends, or join a three legged race with Fireman Sam and then race backwards with Thomas around the Island of Sodor. With episodes from your favorite friends from Timmy Time™, Angelina Ballerina™ and more, there is something for everyone in this Springtime celebration of warmhearted fun! DVD, Full Screen, Widescreen arrives on February 15 and is targeted to ages 1 – 5. Runtime is 65 minutes. MSRP $14.98  Lionsgate Home Entertainment